Chantal Vandierendonck (born 31 January 1965) is a Dutch former professional

wheelchair tennis Wheelchair tennis is one of the forms of tennis adapted for wheelchair users. The size of the court, net height and rackets are the same, but there are two major differences from pedestrian tennis: athletes use specially designed wheelchairs, a ...

player. Vandierendonck won various wheelchair tennis championships held by the International Tennis Federation and multiple

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

medals from 1988 to 1996. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2014.

Early life

Vandierendonck was born on 31 January 1965 in the Netherlands. She became a paraplegic after a car accident when she was eighteen.

Career

After meeting wheelchair tennis player Jean-Pierre Limborg in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, Vandierendonck began her tennis career at a French competition in 1983. In 1985, she won her first out of seven Super Series U.S. Open championships with her last win in 1993. Alternatively, Vandierendonck participated in the first team event at the

ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour The ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour (currently sponsored as the Uniqlo Wheelchair Tennis Tour and abbreviated to the Uniqlo Tour) is a tennis tour for disabled men and women. There are three divisions: Men, Women, and Quad. The Quad division is a mixed ...

in 1996 and co-won the ITF's women's doubles cup in 1997. During her time at the ITF in the 1990s, she was named

ITF World Champion The International Tennis Federation (ITF) designates a World Champion each year based on performances throughout the year, emphasising the Grand Slam tournaments,ITF Constitution, p.26, Rule 2.2(a)(iii) and also considering team events such as the ...

three times and won the

Wheelchair Tennis Masters The Wheelchair Tennis Masters refers to a pair of end of year tennis events for wheelchair athletes held on an annual basis under the jurisdiction of the International Tennis Federation. The Wheelchair Tennis Masters for singles is an end-of-yea ...

in 1996. Outside of the ITF, Vandierendonck competed at the

Paralympic Games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

for wheelchair tennis in both singles and doubles. Her first Paralympic medal was at the demonstration of wheelchair tennis at the

1988 Summer Paralympics The 1988 Summer Paralympics () were the first Paralympics in 24 years to take place in the same city as the Olympic Games. They took place in Seoul, South Korea. This was the first time the term "Paralympic" was used officially. Bidding proc ...

. She won additional Paralympic medals at the

1992 Summer Paralympics )( es, Deporte Sin Límites) , nations = 82 (BCN)75 (MAD) , athletes = 3,020 (BCN)1,600 (MAD) , opened_by = Queen Sofía , opening = 3 September (BCN)15 September (MAD) , closing = 14 September (BCN)22 September (MAD) , even ...

and

1996 Summer Paralympics The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympic Games, Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million. It was the first Paralympic Games ...

Awards and honours

In 2010, Vandierendonck was given the Brad Parks Award. After her nomination to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2013, Vandierendonck was inducted into the ITHF in 2014 as the first inductee in wheelchair tennis.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vandierendonck, Chantal 1965 births Living people Paralympic wheelchair tennis players for the Netherlands Dutch female tennis players Wheelchair tennis players at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair tennis players at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair tennis players at the 1996 Summer Paralympics People with paraplegia Paralympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Paralympic silver medalists for the Netherlands Paralympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands Paralympic medalists in wheelchair tennis International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Medalists at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Paralympics ITF World Champions Dutch wheelchair tennis players