Massive grooming key to Dutch tennis success

JAKARTA (JP): A massive program to groom juniors is the key to preparing world-class players, says Ruurd de Boer, president of the Dutch tennis association (KNLTB).

De Boer said yesterday the Netherlands will never lack tennis players, noting that 140,000 youngsters under 18 are now swinging rackets on tennis courts across the country.

"We are grooming about 3,000 teenagers in a special junior training camp under the guidance of KNLTB," de Boer told The Jakarta Post upon his arrival here yesterday.

"We are expecting them to fill the shoes of Richard Krajicek and the like in not a very long time," de Boer added.

De Boer arrived here for the Indonesia-Netherlands junior tennis matches to sign a mutual agreement between KNLTB and the Indonesian tennis association (Pelti) today. Sarwono Kusumaatmadja will represent Pelti during the MOU signing.

Holland has been a tennis powerhouse since the 1970s era of Tom Okker, with four players now ranked among the world's top 30.

Krajicek is 14th in the latest ATP Tour computer, followed by Jacco Eltingh at 20th, Paul Haarhuis 25th and Jan Siemerink 28th. French Open champions Eltingh and Haarhuis have teamed up to top the world doubles rankings.

Tennis is the second most popular sport after soccer in the country of 14 million.

De Boer said that KNLTB has organized a number of tournaments and training camps for four different age groups to bolster tennis development among youths.

Children aged between five and six years old are also a potential target of KNLTB. A special Mini Tennis event accommodates little children.

"We need at least US$10 million a year to fund our talent scouting program," de Boer said, adding that KNLTB receives financial aid from big private firms such as the Silver Kruis insurance company and sports equipment manufacturer Lotto.

De Boer brought eight boys and eight girls, who now top the Dutch under-16 division, for the two-day tennis event at the Hilton tennis courts. The young guns include Stefan Aarts, who is ranked 10th in Europe.

"We expect to learn a lot from these matches, especially non- technical experiences. Our players have never played in a such a tropical, very humid terrain," de Boer said.

The weekend's matches will start a series of bilateral junior tennis meets, with Indonesia and the Netherlands taking turns in hosting the matches. They will use Davis Cup and Federation Cup formats.

Aside from the annual junior friendly matches, the MOU to be signed today also says that Pelti will facilitate Dutch junior players during their Asian tours and vice-versa. (aks/amd)