As part of its Advantage All gender equality initiative, the ITF is profiling female leaders and role models from within the sport. It follows a 2020 ITF Female Leadership Survey that identified the lack of female role models as one of the greatest challenges women face in their careers.

While 47% of all tennis participants globally are women, there is still a large gender gap in coaching, officiating and sport decision-making, all the way from club level to the top of the sport. By raising the profile and sharing the experiences of female leaders from around the world, the Advantage All Ambassadors series aims to encourage women to pursue opportunities in tennis and fulfil their potential within the sport. To find out more about Advantage All, click or tap here.

For Amanda Hopmans, the beauty of tennis lies in the process. The former Olympian and Dutch Fed Cup player speaks with pride about her own progression through the ranks from the juniors to the Grand Slams and a career-high ranking of No.72 in 1999, and equally so when sharing her philosophy that drives her second life in the sport.

“I am somebody who really wants to make players better,” said Hopmans, who today coaches wheelchair tennis world No.1 Diede De Groot. “It’s not so much about results but I noticed, especially with younger players, that it is nice to see them making progress both on and off court. That is something that gives me a lot of satisfaction – I had that too when I was a player. So let’s say I am a process-oriented coach.”

'I noticed, especially with younger players, that it's nice to see them making progress both on and off court. That gives me a lot of satisfaction'

Trust the process, and the results will come – a coaching caveat Hopmans has embraced since retiring from the tour in 2003. For the past six years she has been working with compatriot De Groot, guiding the then-teenager to the top of the women’s rankings and overseeing the 23-year-old’s seven Grand Slam singles victories, including the non-calendar year Grand Slam sealed at Roland Garros in 2019.

While De Groot’s career arc has quickly turned stratospheric, Hopmans has played the long game to rank among the world’s leading elite coaches – not bad for an ex-pro who found herself wondering where to turn next once her playing days were over.

“As a player I never thought about what I was going to do after my career,” Hopmans admits. “When I quit, I still had no idea what to do. Then I got the offer from the national federation to do a coaching course – an accelerated version, because I had been a top-100 player. I thought, why not, let’s do it – and who knows, whether I like it or not, at least I did it.

“At the same time, I was asked if I was interested in training young kids. In this way I could combine theory with practice. One thing led to another, and to my surprise I really liked it.”

Hopmans is one of a band of coaches on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour who have either played or coached on the WTA and ATP Tours. It’s a trend that has gathered pace since Sven Groeneveld – coach to the likes of Monica Seles, Tommy Haas and Maria Sharapova – started coaching seven-time Paralympic gold medallist Esther Vergeer in 2009, with current wheelchair tennis coaches also including the likes of Germany’s former Olympic medallist Claudia Kohde-Kilsch.

'No-one had any experience in wheelchair tennis - but I just told myself to try it, and here again, one thing led to another...'

But she recalls the leap of faith it took to start working with one of the Netherlands’ hot junior prospects, having no prior experience with wheelchair tennis.

“In 2014 we had the World Team Cup at the Nieuwe Sloot Tennis Club in Alphen aan den Rijn. Dave Kok, the manager, was very closely involved in the organisation of the tournament and got to know Diede De Groot, who at that time was still playing on the junior tour. They kept in touch and as she was looking for a new trainer, she asked us if our academy could help her.

“The question came: would anyone like to do it? No-one had any experience in wheelchair tennis. But I just told myself to try it, and here again, one thing led to another.”

De Groot was just 17 and ranked No.34 in the world when she began working with Hopmans. “At that time I was very unknown in the wheelchair tennis world,” she adds. “I did, however, have a lot of experience because I played on the WTA Tour for 10 years and had also gained over 10 years of experience in training and coaching with top juniors in the Netherlands. It seemed like a nice challenge to me, and I decided to start training with Diede in October 2014.

“In the beginning I had a little insight into wheelchair tennis by reading a lot, watching and especially asking Diede. The differences with tennis were not as big as what I thought. Certainly, at the start, I did many things that I also did with young players. You want to have a good base and that is a lot narrower for wheelchair tennis players than for able-bodied players.

“The world of wheelchair tennis is so much smaller, which means that you will do well sooner and the base doesn’t have to be that high – but it is important, it gives a lot of confidence. The difference is in the mobility of course, and the most difficult thing for me is the real feeling of playing in a chair. I have tried to play but it’s very, very difficult.”

'You should have a clear goal and know how to achieve it. It is in your hands: you want this. And have good people around you, not those looking to cut corners'

De Groot has described Hopmans as ‘the very best coach I can wish for’, which the 44-year-old hopes can stand testament to the fact female tennis coaches are capable of leading players to the very top of the sport. The ITF Global Tennis Report 2019 revealed that of the world’s 164,000 registered coaches, women make up just 21% of the workforce.

“If you look at the number of female coaches, you see a huge difference,” she said. “There must be something, but I cannot tell exactly why that is.

“The way I look at gender equality, there really shouldn’t be any differences. In society there might be, but in the end it is about quality and competence. I stick to the fact that it is quality that matters, whether you are a man or a woman. But the fact is that the numbers [of female coaches] are much lower.

“My advice? You should have a clear goal and know how to achieve it. In the end, it is in your hands: you want this. Of course, it is important that you gather the best people around you, that are aligned with your goal and can help you reach it. In my own career I experienced how important it is to have good people around you, and not those looking to cut corners.”

And of course, trust the process. At the start of the 2019 season, with three consecutive Grand Slam wins to her name and the history books beckoning, De Groot switched to a new chair. The new model offered more mobility, “and more options on her strokes,” Hopmans explained shortly after De Groot completed the four-slam sweep in Paris a few months later.

The new chair required an adjustment period, but adjustment is still part of the game for De Groot in Hopmans’ eyes: “Diede can certainly still improve, all her strokes still stretch. Also mentally she can still grow.”

Tennis is all about the long game for Hopmans – for herself, for De Groot, and for the sport of wheelchair tennis at large. “I think wheelchair tennis can grow in all areas – technical, physical, mental, strategic, tactics and material - and that it can certainly be more professional in the width of the sport.”

The journey to gender equality in tennis requires a long-game approach too, but Hopmans is proof positive that the path does lead to the highest echelons of the sport.