At
the age of 6, Dennis fell in love with tennis. The son
of missionary parents in Namibia, he first played over
a rope his mother strung up with sticks in the desert
near Windhoek. After moving to Capetown, the young player
got his first professional lessons, and rapidly progressed
to the provincial level. He claims his background of limited
equipment, no backdrops, and few tennis balls made him
appreciate consistency, and gave him the ability to rally
forever with one ball.
Dennis grew up before the professional tennis era, but
has had a very long career as a teaching professional.
His reputation grew throughout South Africa, and the outside
tennis world took note of the young coach. He was invited
to visit John Gardiner's famed Tennis Ranch in Carmel
Valley, where he was noticed by other top US coaches.
In 1961
he emigrated to the US to become the head
pro of the Berkeley Tennis Club. He coached numerous junior
national and world champions, including Margaret Court
and Billy Jean King. The Battle of the Sexes with Bobby
Riggs started the great tennis boom of the 70's. Dennis
coached both Margaret and Billy Jean in their matches.
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From California, he made his way east, purchasing property on
Hilton Head Island, which he saw as the perfect place to base
his operations. Since 1979, Van Der Meer Tennis has been helping
players of all ages and abilities to reach their top potential.
Dennis has traveled the world teaching teachers and coaching
players at Grand Slams, and making a huge difference in his
students' lives.
Coach
of numerous Grand Slam and National Junior Champions, Dennis
Van der Meer's teaching career has spanned more than 50 years.
His many achievements include the following:
- Citation
from the US State Department for furthering international
relations through sports education (1965)
- Tennis
Educational Merit Award from the International Hall
of Fame (1969)
- Coach
of both Margaret Court and Billie Jean King for the
“Battle of the Sexes” against Bobby Riggs
(1973)
- Founder
and President of Van Der Meer TennisUniversity (1973)
Founder/ President Emeritus of PTR (Professional Tennis
Registry) (1976)
- Founder/Board
Member PTRF (PTR Foundation) (1978)
- Featured
on many covers of Tennis Magazine
- Instructional
editor for numerous world wide publications
- Honored
by the US Olympic committee as the “Developmental
Coach of the Year” (1997)
- ITF
Service to the Game Award (1999)
- Inducted
into the following USTA Hall of Fames- S.Carolina,
Southern, N. California
- Honorary
doctorate from the University of Greenwich, England
for his contributions to sports science tennis education
(2004)
- Named
FACULTY EMERITUS for the Tennis Teachers’ Conference,
which he headlined since its inception in 1973 (2005)
- Inaugural
Inductee into the TIA Hall of Fame (2008)
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Tennis
Participant Testimonial
"VDM was a great experience. The staff's
great and the tennis center was of very high standard."
C.J., August
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