Wesley Koolhof’s last five tournaments as a professional tennis player went like this — Davis Cup runner-up, appearance at the year-ending ATP Finals, champion at Paris Masters, finalist at Basel ATP 500 and winner at Shanghai Masters.
The Dutchman’s career ended with a nerve-wracking decisive doubles victory alongside Botic van de Zandschulp [7-6(4), 7-6(3)] over Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers in the Davis Cup quarterfinals, which also brought the curtains down on the legendary Rafael Nadal’s playing time.
Koolhof was ranked No. 8 in the World, was just 35 and had won the Wimbledon men’s doubles title just over 16 months ago. If anyone needed a text-book definition of how to end a sporting career on high, it was this.
Yet, Koolhof has no qualms about giving up the sport he loved so much and played so well, and the former World No. 1 is enjoying his current stint as the assistant coach of the Netherlands Davis Cup team. He spoke to The Hindu in Bengaluru before the recent Cup Qualifiers first-round tie, which the European nation eventually lost 2-3. Excerpts:
How has your transition to coaching been?
It was actually pretty easy. I stopped in November of 2024 and I was offered this role in February. I knew at the time I still wanted to do something in tennis. And they asked me if I wanted to fulfil this role. Davis Cup is something special, something different. So I was more than happy to support and help the team.
In the Netherlands, we see great teams in hockey and football. Is Davis Cup also valued? It’s also a team event…
Hockey and football are higher in ranking than tennis, but every time we have a home [Davis Cup] tie, it’s sold out, with around 3,500 people. It’s basically more of a party, a different atmosphere. Tennis is the third or fourth biggest sport in Holland and it is also valued from the players side. It’s always a dream to play for your country and we value it.
In 2024, you were in the Netherlands team that reached its maiden Davis Cup final. How was that experience?
Pretty good. I knew it was going to be my last event. As a whole, the energy around it in Spain was great. Spain announced that [Rafael] Nadal was going to play, which everyone knew was going to be his last. So the atmosphere was unbelievable. It was one of my better… or maybe the best match I’ve played in my career. Not many people can say that your last match was your best. I enjoyed it a lot. I was very happy with my level and very happy for the team because the two years before we lost in the quarter-finals.
It was a good thing that we made the final. Got a bit more publicity. Still, if the football team finishes second in the World Cup, they will be going through the streets in Amsterdam in buses and whatever. But I think it was a very good thing for Dutch tennis.
Netherlands’ Wesley Koolhof, left, and Botic van de Zandschulp celebrate after winning against Spain’s tennis player Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers during their doubles tennis quarterfinal Davis Cup match at Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Nov. 19, 2024.
| Photo Credit:
AP
Why is the Netherlands not able to produce top singles players like before? You have Tallon Griekspoor and van de Zandschulp now, but not someone like Richard Krajicek (Wimbledon 1996 champion) or Martin Verkerk (2003 French Open finalist).
Good question, but not sure. Of course, in doubles we had a lot of successful players, like Jacco Eltingh (six Majors), Paul Haarhuis (six Majors), myself. But singles, I don’t really know why. I think sometimes you have this period where a lot of players are coming up and then some periods where nothing happens. Tallon has reached the 20s in the rankings but missed out on the next step. But I’m not sure why singles players are not coming through.
How has doubles tennis changed?
The biggest change is that it used to be more for the older singles guys who are still good enough tennis players but can’t make it anymore in singles. But now, it’s a lot of younger guys with not much singles experience. We actually looked at the top 100 in doubles to see how many top 100 singles players were there. It was 19 or something, and that’s a lot. So people are starting younger. There’s obviously more money. Maybe people realise faster that they can’t make it in singles. I realised in 2015 or something, pretty young. Also, when it used to be the older singles guys, everyone knew them. Nowadays, you have the younger guys, powerful guys, and no one really knows them. It has become fast doubles. One, two, three shots. It can be boring from time to time, but with deciding points on deuces and match tie-breaks as third set, if you lose focus for five minutes, you can be in trouble. I think it has just became more versatile and faster. That’s the biggest change.
Has coaching for doubles changed? How do you approach those who are predominantly singles players but play doubles during Davis Cup?
A little bit. Nowadays you see that a lot of singles players are at least playing doubles. It may be for some money or to get a bit more experience. Some singles guys even have an advantage. If you have a Ben Shelton playing doubles, and can serve two or three aces and can hit just harder, it is a good option. Some singles players have better skillsets than a doubles specialist. Doubles is about intuition, reaction and volleys at the net, which specialists are normally better at. But sometimes a bit of brute force also helps.
Doubles is spectator-friendly. Are tennis authorities doing enough to promote it? There also seems to be this belief that if you promote doubles, you’re not promoting real tennis. Even Grand Slams put just singles matches on show courts…
It’s always tough because every Slam has its own view on things. Understandably, singles is the main priority. Some tournaments say doubles costs money. Sometimes, there’s a view of the doubles players as bad tennis players, which is obviously tough to hear. I was in the council at ATP for two years, trying to promote it more, but it’s tough.
Were people not receptive to your ideas?
It depends on the country where you are. India is a big doubles country, with [Rohan] Bopanna, Leander Paes and everyone. America is big, but in Spain, it’s not that big. Italy is not great. At Indian Wells [Masters 1000], they watch a lot of doubles. But if you are at the Madrid Open, not many people really care.
Can singles and doubles thrive together?
Yes, they can. I think doubles is a great different discipline. Singles nowadays has like 10-12 shots back and forth and it’s a bit like chess. Doubles can be faster and very spectacular. The only problem is that doubles is being played at such a high level that opponents are putting so much pressure on you that you miss returns and stuff. And 20 seconds later, the point starts again. So it can be boring.
But I do believe that doubles is a separate discipline. I’ve played with Botic [in Davis Cup] against two of the best singles players in the world. We win 6 and 6. I’m not going to say it’s easy, but I still have a chance if I play singles against any of the three. So we do something well. Bopanna… what was he? 43? And he still won a Slam! So yeah, we do something good.
How was it to win Wimbledon?
It was basically the start of the end. Winning Wimbledon in 2023 was unbelievable. It was with Brit Neal Skupski, so that helped because we were playing at ‘home’. I’d never played on Centre Court. If you’re very lucky, you get squeezed in somehow, otherwise it’s just the final. So I set the goal before the tournament to play on Centre Court. Personally, I played one of the better tournaments in my life. I was not nervous at all. I had won Masters tournaments, and the London Nitto [ATP] Finals in 2020. Winning Wimbledon was the only thing I hadn’t done yet. So it was great.
How were you received back home after that triumph?
It was okay actually, not that big. We come back to your previous question about how big is doubles when compared to singles. If Tallon or Botic would win Wimbledon, there’d much more attention. So for me, it was actually not much, which was okay. I don’t really want to be in the spotlight anyway. But it was a bit weird not to get the attention. I was fine with it, but [winning Wimbledon] doesn’t happen every two years. May be they could have done a bit more.
Don’t you feel you retired early?
No. I said to myself after winning Wimbledon, ‘Okay, respect for everyone who is going for the third, fourth, fifth Slam and to those who are above 40. For me it’s enough’. I wanted to be home more. I also wanted to start a family. But massive respect for Bops [Bopanna], who made it until 45, still winning Slams and being as fit as he was. But I’m happy with my decision.
