Esther Vergeer

Esther Vergeer was born in Woerden in the Netherlands. At six years old she became dizzy and lost consciousness after a swimming lesson, and doctors discovered a spinal cord haemorrhage that left her paralysed from the waist down. She grew up playing wheelchair basketball to national standard before deciding, in her teens, to focus on tennis instead, playing her first tournament in 1994.

She rose to the top of wheelchair tennis quickly and stayed there for longer than seems plausible in professional sport. She was ranked world number one from 1999 until her retirement in 2013, winning 43 major titles and four Paralympic gold medals in singles across five Games, from Sydney in 2000 to London in 2012.

The most extraordinary part of her career was a winning streak that began after a defeat in January 2003 and did not end until she retired ten years later, a run of 470 consecutive singles matches without a loss. Across that decade she won 120 tournaments, beat 73 different opponents, and was pushed to match point only once, in the final at the Beijing Paralympics.

She retired in 2013 as arguably the most dominant individual athlete, disabled or able-bodied, in the modern history of any sport, and has since worked in sports administration and mentoring, including with the International Paralympic Committee.