Doubles specialist Wesley Koolhof is ready for Wimbledon: ‘The worst pressure you can have is the pressure of money’

Wesley Koolhof belongs to the elite at Wimbledon. A few steps from the famous Center Court, he can change clothes next to top players such as Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz. If Koolhof wants, he can have the bath prepared at his favorite temperature. The 34-year-old Dutch doubles player has access to the Gentlemen Members’ Dressing Room. One of the privileges for Koolhof, who was placed first in the grass tournament with Briton Neal Skupski (33). “That feels very special,” says Koolhof. “Now we hope that we can stay here for two weeks.”

Koolhof is not the type for whom bathing in luxury is a priority. The Dutchman is too sober for that. But now that he has a top status in doubles, he enjoys it to the fullest. There is virtually nothing more beautiful than being carried by the crowd on the Wimbledon grass side by the side of a ‘local favourite’. A tournament win would complete Koolhof’s remarkable story. “A big prize is the only thing that is still missing,” he says in the run-up to Wimbledon. “Although I see the number one position as the highest achievable. And that’s where I’ve been.”

Koolhof dropped to his knees in November last year when the title of the masters tournament in Paris was won. He was the best doubles player in the world for the first time. “That felt very good. It may not be what little boys dream of when they start playing tennis. Tennis is mainly about singles. That was also true for me. I didn’t make it to the top in that, but that is of course the basis of my current success.”

Still an elite sport

Together with his younger brother Dean, Wesley grew up as the son of top athletes Jurrie Koolhof and Monique Westerdijk. His father was a professional football player, his mother a hockey international. My brother has become a professional footballer. My parents knew exactly what it takes to get far. But they never pushed us. We were always involved in sports in our family. Discipline was important, there was no room for complaining.”

Koolhof took his first steps in the international circuit with his mother. Together they traveled to tournaments all over Europe. They were away from home for weeks. And sometimes, as a teenager abroad, he was on his own with his parents’ credit card. “The tennis circuit is a jungle. It is very difficult to break into singles. Conditions are not always good. And it costs a lot of money. For example, if you are playing for 120 euros in the first round somewhere in Turkey and you lose, that is tough. Money was always needed. That is an extra burden that you carry with you as a tennis player.”

Due to the strong financial component, tennis is still an elite sport, according to Koolhof. “My parents contributed about 35,000 euros annually. Otherwise it was impossible. Not everyone has that luxury. I fear that a lot of talent will be lost as a result.” Despite the support, he failed to make enough money in singles. His individual career comes to a halt at the age of 26, the 462nd position in the world ranking was the highest achievable. Koolhof: “I had to conclude eight years ago that I could not live on it. The worst pressure you can have is the pressure of money.”

The contrast with now is great. Koolhof has now collected 3.1 million euros in prize money. The doubles specialist laughs and says: “I really don’t have that much money in my bank. That costs so much. You do not want to know.” Nevertheless, Koolhof agrees that the financial pressure is completely different. “Now I am sometimes playing a point for 80,000 euros. If that goes wrong, I’m much less angry. It is now more about expanding my capital. Even if you try not to worry about that as a tennis player on the court. It’s all about sporting performance.”

It is the love for the sport that makes Koolhof decide in 2015 to continue as a doubles player. The Dutch duo Paul Haarhuis and Jacco Eltingh, who reached the absolute top together, served as a shining example. Koolhof’s second career gets off to a quick start. Alongside doubles partners such as Matwé Middelkoop, Artem Sitak and Marcus Daniell, he conquers a place in the sub-top. Then it stops for a while. Until four years ago he took quick steps towards the world top. With the Croatian Nikola Mektic he even wins the ATP Finals in 2020, the unofficial world championship. His father, who died of cancer on January 28, 2019 after a long illness, did not experience the breakthrough. “It is strange that things really started to take off after his death. I don’t know if there is a connection. Yet sometimes I have the feeling that my father will get it all with something.”

Good generale in Den Bosch

The death of his father, a former professional at PSV, FC Groningen, Vitesse, Veendam, De Graafschap and Oranje, was a sensitive blow to Koolhof. “As a footballer I have never seen him play in real life, but at home I have often watched images of him,” says Koolhof. “As a father, he was very concerned about us. As a former top athlete, he sympathized with everything. I liked listening to him. He was not a man of many words, but if he saw that certain things were not right, he said something about it. I miss him.”

Koolhof further specialized in doubles alongside Robin Haase, Nikola Mektic and Jean-Julien Rojer. “I started to realize more and more that I could compete with the very best in doubles,” says Koolhof. “I have a strong reaction capacity and can quickly think one step ahead. Those are important properties in the double. My weakness in singles was that I wasn’t stable enough. I couldn’t play five good games in a row. There was always a bad match between them. When I have a bad day, I can now sometimes fall back on my partner.”

Koolhof has been playing with Neal Skupski for a year and a half. The Dutchman and the Briton have a good click with each other on and off the track. Last year they won seven tournaments and finished number one in the world rankings. Winning a grand slam tournament is another goal that is high on the wish list of both. Winning Wimbledon would be a new high in that respect. The grass title that Koolhof and Skupski won in Den Bosch last month was a good general.

Now that Koolhof has won a tournament in front of his own audience for the second time, he thinks it is time for Skupski to do the same on the grass of The All England Club. “It could be an advantage that Skupski has grown on grass and artificial turf courts. It is a different game at Wimbledon than on the gravel at Roland Garros,” says Koolhof. In addition, the two have a secret weapon. By using a database of the British Tennis Association, they have inside information that others do not have. Koolhof: “It says everything about the professional players. Which way do they prefer to serve. Whether they like to come to the net. And what they do most often when they are under pressure. If you know that, you have an advantage. Because nine times out of ten, tennis players go for certainty at the most difficult moments.”

Although the American Austin Krajicek will lead the world ranking this week, Koolhof and Skupski will start – for the first time – as the highest-ranking couple at Wimbledon. As long as they are competing for the top prize, they are treated with all due respect and they step through the main entrance of the Center Court building every day. According to Koolhof, however, this also has a downside. “If you have ‘one’ behind your name, then you are everyone’s most loved target.”