CNN
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At first look, profitable appears impossibly simple for Diede de Groot; an nearly nonchalant behavior of 69 consecutive victories, yielding a Golden Slam – all 4 grand slams and a Paralympic gold medal – in 2021, adopted by a calendar grand slam in 2022.
Collectively, these achievements amounted to a back-to-back calendar grand slam by no means earlier than achieved in tennis as De Groot accomplished the set with victory at this 12 months’s US Open within the wheelchair ladies’s singles, confirming her standing as essentially the most dominant participant of her technology.
However within the wake of such a powerful run, profitable each event she enters has turn out to be anticipated, creating extra stress with each victory.
“There’s a lot stress. Even final 12 months, that Golden Slam was like a bit little bit of a darkish cloud hanging over the 12 months,” De Groot tells CNN Sport.
“Every part was going nicely however there was this huge cloud of stress simply pushing on the truth that [everyone thought] I used to be the one which was going to do it, however I didn’t know if I used to be going to have the ability to do it.”
Because the 12 months progressed, the 25-year-old ticked off every milestone of a Golden Slam and, regardless of the mounting stress, she dropped simply two units alongside the way in which, and added three grand slam doubles titles in addition to one other Paralympic gold medal in doubles for good measure.
This 12 months, she continued her extraordinary type, as soon as once more sweeping the singles grand slams and selecting up one other three in doubles.
However reasonably than changing into misplaced amid all this stress, De Groot focuses on the smaller issues, setting her personal objectives for every match unrelated to the outcome and marking every win by having fun with a “chilled night time” along with her coach.
“We’re additionally simply so completely satisfied to be again residence and be with household as a result of I really feel like my household is aware of what I do for it essentially the most,” she says.
“They know what I’ve to undergo and what it means for me. So actually, after I’m with the household, they know what troubles I’ve gone by to get that plate or that trophy … And I feel that’s my a part of trying again and celebrating a bit bit.”
For all these accomplishments, it was solely a coincidence that De Groot ever picked up a tennis racket aged seven, as a part of a rehabilitation program following surgical procedures on her proper leg which is shorter than her left leg.
“They only mentioned to me, ‘Would you wish to play tennis as a result of it’s close to your home?’” she recollects.
“And I assumed, my grandmother’s enjoying, a few of my cousins are enjoying. And so I began enjoying.”
First invented in 1976, wheelchair tennis is performed based on precisely the identical guidelines as able-bodied tennis, besides that gamers can let the ball bounce twice.
“I initially cherished it as a result of I used to be the identical as all the opposite children that have been within the group,” De Groot provides.
“All of us struggled a bit bit with the wheelchair and holding the racket … Perhaps with my pals generally I felt like I used to be a bit bit completely different as a result of generally I couldn’t stroll as lengthy or couldn’t run as quick.”
In time, De Groot started enjoying nationwide wheelchair tennis tournaments the place, with out age classes, she confronted gamers of their twenties, thirties and even forties, earlier than she was scouted for the Dutch nationwide program and invited to worldwide junior tournaments.
Whereas nonetheless a junior, De Groot skilled on the Nationwide Heart, enjoying with Aniek van Koot and Jiske Griffioen, who have been then world No. 1 and No. 3 respectively.
“I may actually see the way it was achieved, and I may possibly even see what they have been doing after which have a look at myself and suppose, ‘Can I do it like that? Or do I make it even higher?’” she says.
“And I owe a lot of what I’ve discovered right now from them as a result of I used to be allowed to coach with them.”
As soon as De Groot reached the skilled circuit, her potential was shortly evident as she received a grand slam on the third try, however her early profession weaknesses turned seen too.
“Within the final two years, my psychological sport has gone up a lot,” she says. “Earlier than, I used to be good at tennis and I may already hit the photographs that I’m hitting right now. However then in my head, generally I might simply lose it.”
Enjoying in her first grand slam on the 2017 Australian Open, De Groot was defeated by Sabine Ellerbrock within the opening spherical – her solely loss to the German of their 19 profession conferences.
Shortly afterwards, she crashed out of the French Open within the first spherical once more after failing to transform her personal match factors, she recollects.
“Then at Wimbledon … I used to be like, ‘Okay, so I’ve misplaced my first match, I had probabilities to win my first match in my second event, however that didn’t occur, now I’m simply going to get pleasure from it,’ and I feel that’s what I did for the entire event,” De Groot says.
“I actually had no expectations and possibly that was the important thing to profitable that first one.”
When she received that first grand slam, De Groot was simply 20 years previous and unencumbered by the expectations she now faces.
“The precise shock feeling [after winning] has left, however nonetheless the sensation of pleasure and stuff, I feel that’s grown over time as a result of I’ve simply seen how regularly the stress will get on, prefer it will get increasingly more,” she provides.
“And my opponents … they make it tougher and tougher on me every time I play them. So I do know every time it’s getting tougher to maintain up the profitable streak.”
At each stage of her profession, De Groot has been challenged by her nice rival Yui Kamiji. Between them, the 2 ladies have received 22 of the final 23 grand slam tournaments, with Kamiji’s defensive brilliance offering the proper counterpart to De Groot’s extra aggressive fashion.
“She hit sure photographs that not one of the different gamers did so I made certain that in my coaching periods I might practice on these photographs,” De Groot says.
“Yui has taught me to be extra affected person and to actually anticipate my probabilities. I feel we’ve made one another cleverer gamers.”
Even throughout De Groot’s comparatively brief profession thus far, the profile of wheelchair tennis has elevated dramatically.
Wimbledon solely launched wheelchair singles into its program in 2016 – the 12 months earlier than De Groot’s title-winning debut – whereas the wheelchair tennis tournaments on the Australian Open have been held on completely different dates to the remainder of the grand slam for his or her first 5 editions till 2007.
“We might type of be there, however we weren’t included,” De Groot says, recalling tales from different gamers.
“So it was a bit bit prefer it’s known as the Australian Open, however actually it’s not inclusion in any respect. If you happen to have a look at it now, we’re on the identical time, we play on the identical courts, we use the identical locker room and so there’s so many variations and such huge adjustments have already occurred.”
This 12 months, 16 gamers featured within the males’s and girls’s wheelchair singles on the US Open – the most important ever discipline at a grand slam – whereas a junior event was additionally held there for the primary time, and the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour now incorporates over 150 occasions.
There may be nonetheless a protracted strategy to go, nevertheless.
As De Groot factors out, extra visibility is required for wheelchair tennis gamers in order that the larger courts on which they now play, such because the Louis Armstrong Stadium on the US Open or No.1 Courtroom at Wimbledon, are stuffed by followers.
“My dream is to get wheelchair tennis to a spot the place folks really purchase tickets to go and see us,” De Groot says.
“I don’t count on anybody to surrender their Nadal ticket to swap it for us. However it will be nice to have just a few folks be like, you already know what, I’m going to go to Wimbledon right now simply to see the wheelchair tennis as a result of they’re so wonderful.”
