Wesley Koolhof Interview | Doubles tennis is a great different discipline Premium

Wesley Koolhof discusses the unique allure of doubles tennis and reflects on his successful career and coaching transition.

Wesley Koolhof’s last five tournaments as a professional tennis player went like this — Davis Cup runner-up, appearance at the year-ending ATP Finals, champion at Paris Masters, finalist at Basel ATP 500 and winner at Shanghai Masters.

The Dutchman’s career ended with a nerve-wracking decisive doubles victory alongside Botic van de Zandschulp [7-6(4), 7-6(3)] over Carlos Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers in the Davis Cup quarterfinals, which also brought the curtains down on the legendary Rafael Nadal’s playing time.

Koolhof was ranked No. 8 in the World, was just 35 and had won the Wimbledon men’s doubles title just over 16 months ago. If anyone needed a text-book definition of how to end a sporting career on high, it was this.

Yet, Koolhof has no qualms about giving up the sport he loved so much and played so well, and the former World No. 1 is enjoying his current stint as the assistant coach of the Netherlands Davis Cup team. He spoke to The Hindu in Bengaluru before the recent Cup Qualifiers first-round tie, which the European nation eventually lost 2-3. Excerpts:

🇳🇱 Wesley Koolhof 🏆 Neal Skupski 🇬🇧#Wimbledonpic.twitter.com/VfkArWkdzE

It was actually pretty easy. I stopped in November of 2024 and I was offered this role in February. I knew at the time I still wanted to do something in tennis. And they asked me if I wanted to fulfil this role. Davis Cup is something special, something different. So I was more than happy to support and help the team.