Esther Vergeer is a former wheelchair tennis player from the Netherlands who was born on July 18, 1981. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame last week. Esther Vergeer is considered one of the best female wheelchair athletes of all time, with a staggering record unmatched by any other.
During the ceremony, she said in her speech, “This is a testament to the power of perseverance, resilience, and determination. This moment is not mine alone. It reflects the unlimited support, dedication, and love that surrounded me throughout my tennis career.”
Her numbers speak volumes about her as a player. She is a 21-time Grand Slam singles champion and a seven-time Paralympic gold medalist. Vergeer has held the No. 1 spot in the world rankings for 668 weeks from 2000 to 2013 and won 470 straight singles matches. She has won 96% of her singles matches overall.
Some lesser-known facts about Esther Vergeer
What led her to wheelchair sports?
When she was 8, she suffered a series of life-threatening strokes due to an abnormality in her spinal cord blood supply. Her life was saved; however, the operation resulted in paraplegia that left her legs paralyzed. During rehabilitation, she learned to play volleyball, basketball, and tennis in a wheelchair.
After a few years at the club level, Vergeer was invited to join the Dutch national wheelchair basketball team and won the European championship in 1997 at just 16 years of age. She continued with all sports but mastered her tennis skills. Her first breakthrough came in the 2000 Paralympics when she won the gold medal in both Singles and Doubles.
When Esther Vergeer posed n*de at the prime of her career
In October 2010, Vergeer posed n*de on the cover of ESPN Magazine’s annual Body Issue because she felt that a wheelchair tennis player should be as popular as any other tennis player – a household name that will encourage disabled athletes to take up wheelchair sports.
In one of her interviews, she said, “When they first asked me to appear naked in the magazine, I wasn’t sure about accepting and wasn’t that confident about my body. I just think it’s really cool that they wanted to put a disabled athlete on their front cover, and I was very happy with the photos.”
She earned respect from the greatest of the game
Vergeer receives the utmost respect from fellow players, including Roger Federer, who told CNN that he believes Vergeer’s achievements deserve the maximum recognition. He further said that there can be no argument that she is the best athlete of all time.
He said, “I think what Esther has accomplished is absolutely amazing. She hasn’t lost a match since 2003 and has gone on an incredible streak, which is impossible to imagine me being able to do. Obviously, there is also an argument that she is one of the greatest athletes in the world at the moment.”
Why Esther Vergeer wanted to have a dinner date with then-President Barack Obama?
In 2009, Vergeer told the BBC that her ideal dinner guest would be President Barack Obama. She said, “I think he is a very charismatic guy, but I would really like to know the reason why, for God’s sake, he would want to become President of America.”
Esther Vergeer was a pioneer and ambassador for wheelchair tennis during its rise to greater heights and entry into Grand Slam tennis. Her fascinating life and achievements will never go unnoticed after being inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame.