Diede de Groot: Back in the spotlight

She had to get used to the surroundings again. Wheelchair tennis star Diede de Groot (29) made her return to Rotterdam Ahoy yesterday after missing out on last year’s edition. The woman who has already won everything there is to win here, reached the semi-finals with a commanding victory over Britain’s Lucy Shuker (6-1, 6-1). Today, in the wheelchair arena, she faces a titanic showdown against Lizzy de Greef, last year’s tournament champion.

A mental dip following a rare defeat in the Paralympic final in Paris (2024) and a major hip operation set De Groot back significantly. Last year, the 23-time Grand Slam champion had to sit out the tournament in Ahoy while recovering. Now, "Diede 2.0” is back, perhaps not as the overwhelming favourite, but definitely as a strong contender.
"It’s really special to be back, though I definitely felt extra nerves,” De Groot said after her win over Shuker. "I mostly need to get used to the spotlight, and to having all eyes on me again. I felt that especially at the start of the match, when I struggled to hold my own serve.”

During her forced break, a lot changed for De Groot, who as an ambassador for ABN AMRO and the Esther Vergeer Foundation and also encourages young athletes with disabilities to get involved in sports. Even on the court, not everything is the same: "I used to draw my confidence from the fact that I would win. That’s no longer the case; now I have to find it within myself.”
And that doesn’t come automatically, the 2021 Paralympic champion knows. In Rotterdam, she is seeded second, behind tournament favourite Aniek van Koot, who faces France’s Ksenia Chasteau in the other semi-final of the day.

On the men’s side, the last two Dutch singles representatives were eliminated. Maarten ter Hofte fell to the seasoned defending wheelchair champion Stéphane Houdet, while Ruben Spaargaren came up short against Spain’s Martin de la Puente.