Esther Vergeer Biography: Esther Mary Vergeer is a famous Dutch wheelchair tennis player known for excellent tennis skills. Till now, she has won 43 major titles including 21 in singles and 22 in doubles, 23 year-end championships (14 consecutive in singles and nine in doubles), and seven Paralympic gold medals (four in singles and three in doubles).
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Several people who aspired to become a tennis player admire Esther Mary Vergeer a lot as despite facing hardships she didn’t give up and became an excellent tennis player.
She ranked world No. 1 in women’s wheelchair singles since 1999 till her retirement in February 2013. She retired with a 470-match winning streak which no one could break for 10 years.
Let’s dive into a more detailed view of the iconic tennis player Esther Mary Vergeer.
Esther Mary Vergeer Wiki and Biography
Esther Mary Vergeer was born in 1981 and was an undefeated champion in singles for 10 years. During her era, Vergeer won a few singles matches and lost matches.
Vergeer achieved 169 titles in Singles, 14 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters, and four gold medals in Paralympics.
In doubles, she won 136 titles and three gold medals in the Paralympics, she also retained her title as the ITF World Champion for 13 years. Vergeer also retained her winning streak in women’s singles for 10 years.
Esther Mary Vergeer first lost her singles winning streak to Daniela di Toro on January 30.
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Esther Mary Vergeer’s Early Life
Mary Vergeer didn’t get her disability from her birth, when she was 6 years old after her swimming class she felt dizzy and unconscious. Later on, after her parents took her to the hospital they found out that she was diagnosed with brain hemorrhage and a brain shunt.
After she was discharged from the hospital, she continued experiencing headaches, neck pain, and groin pain. During the holiday season, she had a stroke which caused a shunt to be put in her head.
The doctors said that the reason behind her strokes was because of vascular myelopathy around her spinal cord. Vergeer has to go through two surgeries which in the end left her paralyzed.
While she was recovering, she used her wheelchair to play volleyball, basketball, and tennis. Later on, she joined the national wheelchair basketball team.
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Esther Mary Vergeer Career and Achievements
Dutch Tennis player Esther Mary Vergeer during her 1996 season won one singles title in Tilburg and went to several finals. In 1997, she won singles draws in Antony and Geneva and also a gold medal in singles and doubles at the Summer Paralympics 2000.
From 2003 to 2004, she achieved the World Team Cup for the 16th time and a title in Nottingham, she also attained singles titles in both Boca Raton and Nottingham.
In 2006, Vergeer earned singles titles in Nottingham, Atlanta, and San Diego with her loss for the first time since August 2004 She also achieved doubles titles in Nottingham, Atlanta, and San Diego.
Vergeer won all three Grand Slam titles in 2007 in Melbourne, Paris, and New York. At Roland Garros, she achieved her 250th straight singles win marking her 10th master title.
From 2008 to 2011, Vergeer secured both Grand Slam titles with Griffioen. Vergeer also secured both solo titles in Sydney, Pensacola, Boca Raton, Fukuoka, Paris, Nottingham, and Utrecht. Vergeer won Roland Garros and the US Open, marking her 400th win, and became the World no 1 tennis player.
Vergeer also won the Australian Open, Pensacola, Boca Raton, Eton Manor, Roland Garros, Geneva, and Nottingham.
She became known as the iconic tennis player who holds the most number of titles than any other wheelchair tennis player in the history of the Games at the 2012 Paralympics.
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