Tom Okker lost the Grand Slam final, but walked away with the prize money

We meet Tom Okker at the annual art and antiques fair PAN Amsterdam. Not a remarkable place for our appointment, because after his active tennis career Okker found his place in the art world.

“When I was still playing tennis, I started collecting art, that was in the late seventies. It is more of a hobby. Just like tennis was a hobby that you later earned a living from.

I traveled around the world. I played doubles with Wojtek Fibak, a Pole. I won a lot of tournaments with him. He was also an art collector, of Polish impressionist painters who worked in Paris. So we went to galleries in New York or London, actually in all the big cities. That’s how I started purchasing my first works of art. Later met in Karel Appel in New York and Corneille in Paris. That’s kind of how I got into it.”

And you also started selling their works?

“Certainly, I was enthusiastic and started selling them. In the mid-eighties I started a gallery in Amsterdam together with photographer Nico Koster. We had it for almost twenty years.”

At our request, Okker also brought one of his tennis rackets. A classic wooden racket.

“I played with this for most of my career. Until the mid-seventies, when plastic rackets and aluminum rackets came into the picture.”

How many of those rackets went through in a season?

“I sometimes used fifty of them a year. They are of course a lot less strong than today’s rackets. They broke and if you had strung them three or four times they also became weaker. Then you had to get new rackets. They were specially made Made for me in London, England. Exact size and weight and with the right grip. I thought it was a very nice racket. I could play with it with a lot of feeling.”

What kind of player were you?

“I was all-round. I am not big in stature and was not a power player. I had to rely more on my speed and my technique. I could do a lot with the ball: spin and accelerate. A bit of feeling and speed in the legs, those were my strongest points.”

Did you also spend a lot of time in the weight room?

“No, not actually. We just played a lot. At that time I played about forty-five weeks a year. That’s a lot. If you play every week and get to the semi-finals and finals, you hardly have to train “A competition is the best training.”

You played the final against Arthur Ashe in 1968, which you lost. Was that a highlight or not?

“It was unexpected for me that I ended up in the final. I surprisingly defeated Ken Rosewall in the semi-finals. It was the first time in history that a Netherlands was in the US Open final. So it was certainly a highlight. Yes, he was just a little better. I lost in the fifth set. There was not much difference between us.”

You lost, but walked away with his prize money

“That time was the beginning of open tennis, that was 1968. The amateurs played together with the professionals. The amateurs were not allowed to receive prize money, which was paid by their associations. Arthur Ashe was paid by the American Tennis Association. I played for the prize money. Rosewell and I played for the money and Graebner and Ashe were amateurs. Actually, Rosewell and I played the final for the money. The first prize was $14,000. If you win the US Open next year, you get $3.5 million So it has increased considerably. But I did indeed get the first prize in terms of prize money.”

How do you look back on your tennis career?

“I enjoyed playing tennis a lot. I didn’t become number 1, but I was in the top 10 for about eight years and was among the world top. Played everywhere and made friends and acquaintances all over the world. Won many tournaments “I really enjoyed doing it. It is something that is your passion, what you do well and where you earn your living. Actually, it couldn’t be better.”

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