Even a cursory glance at the Wheelchair tennis history books will reveal the prosperity of one small nation. Since the formation of the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour in 1992, the Dutch have enjoyed remarkable levels of success, particularly on the women’s side.

At The Championships last year, Diede De Groot clinched her sixth ladies’ Wheelchair singles title at Wimbledon, which also happened to be her 15th consecutive Grand Slam singles title. No wonder the softly spoken Dutchwoman uses the X handle ‘Diedethegreat’.

Her compatriot Niels Vink won the men’s Quad Wheelchair singles title before going on to win the doubles event with fellow Dutchman Sam Schroder.

Since 2009, Dutch women have won more than two-thirds of all Wheelchair singles and doubles titles on offer.

While some of that success is down to “hard work”, young players have historically had strong role models they can look up to and learn from, according to former Wimbledon doubles champion Jacco Eltingh, who is now technical director at the Dutch Tennis Federation (KNLTB). 

“Especially with the women, we’ve had some great players over the last decades, and it’s always an inspiration to the next generation,” Eltingh told the ITF website in 2022. “That really helps.”

Take Dutch sporting legend Esther Vergeer, a 21-time Grand Slam singles champion who retired in 2013 after a scarcely believable, 10-year win streak of 470 matches. Vergeer served as a mentor to de Groot for three years.

“The mentoring wasn’t so much on the court, but mainly off it,” de Groot explains. “Like, how do you become a sports professional? How do you schedule your tournaments? Esther has been a big help in that.”

De Groot has been busy emulating Vergeer and in 2021 she became the first player to complete the Golden Slam in Wheelchair singles after winning all four Grand Slams and a Paralympic gold medal. 

Remarkably, de Groot, Vergeer and Jiske Griffioen (another Dutch titan who had 20 Grand Slam singles and doubles titles to her name at the start of this year) all hail from Woerden, a small town in the middle of the Netherlands.

Although most experts regard this as purely coincidental, there has been a deliberate strategy underpinning all the success.

In the 1980s, the KNLTB took over Wheelchair tennis from Nebas, an umbrella organisation that looked after 25 different Paralympic sports. It was a game-changer.

“This meant there was more money available to become a top Wheelchair tennis player,” says Dutchman Robin Ammerlaan, gold medallist in doubles at the Sydney 2000 Paralympic Games and in singles at Athens 2004.

“There was access to coaching and good facilities, and more people were able to train full-time.”

The KNLTB also allowed disabled players to compete in able-bodied tournaments. “In the beginning, tennis clubs had to put on their tournament posters that disabled players were welcome to take part,” recalls Ammerlaan.

“Two years later, the KNLTB turned this round, and told tennis clubs they had to put it on their posters if disabled players weren’t allowed to play. Of course, no one did that because you look like you are excluding people.”

The Dutch healthcare system, with a strong emphasis on wellbeing and sports, has played a key role in the country’s decades-long dominance.

Ammerlaan played tennis at a national level before complications from back surgery at the age of 28 resulted in his use of a wheelchair.

While he was in a rehab centre in 1997, he was spotted by a talent scout, who advised him to move to Wheelchair tennis. Three years later, he was a Paralympic champion. 

“Dutch rehabilitation centres are very focused on pushing their patients towards movement and playing sports,” he says. “Sport gives you the chance to get to know your new body.”

Unlike many other countries, the Dutch government covers the cost of buying a sports wheelchair, which typically ranges from €3,000 to €6,000 (£2,500 to £5,000).

“The threshold to play sports is much lower in the Netherlands than elsewhere for disabled players,” Ammerlaan adds.

No wonder the country has excelled at the Paralympic Games, finishing fourth in the gold medals table with 27 won in Paris last year. 

The National Tennis Centre in Amstelveen, near Amsterdam, has 14 outdoor and 14 indoor courts, all wheelchair accessible. And because the Netherlands is a relatively small country, top players can make the journeys to train together.

But past performance is no guarantee of future results. As Ammerlaan warns, Japan, France and the UK have all “copied and perfected the Dutch model”, and there will be no shortage of players – both new and established – hoping to usurp the Netherlands on the biggest stages.

This article features in The Official Wimbledon Programme 2025, which is available to purchase here.