| Dennis Van der Meer | |
| Birth Date: | 1933 3, df=yes |
| Birth Place: | South West Africa |
| Death Place: | South Carolina |
| Tennishofyear: | 2021 |
| Tennishofid: | dennis-van-der-meer |
Dennis Douglas Van der Meer (2 March 1933 – 27 July 2019) was a South West African born, American tennis administrator, instructor and coach.[1] [2]
Van der Meer was born in South West Africa as Dennis Douglas van der Merwe, the fourth child of Maria Dorothea van der Merwe (née Hagen) and Isak Jacobus van der Merwe, a minister of religion.[3] He received his schooling at Jan van Riebeeck High School in Cape Town, South Africa, and in 1950 played for the Western Province junior tennis team. He later also played for the senior Western Province team.[4]
At the age of nineteen, Van der Meer took part in the South African Davis Cup trials but was unsuccessful. He then decided to focus on coaching and started working in the Johannesburg area, where he soon made a name for himself.
In 1961 Van der Meer emigrated to the United States where he settled in California and taught at the Berkeley Tennis Club. It was at this time that Dennis changed his surname from Van der Merwe to Van der Meer. In the early 1970s he went to South Carolina where he bought property on Hilton Head Island in order to set up a tennis academy and founded the Van Der Meer Tennis University in 1973, the Professional Tennis Registry in 1976, and the Professional Tennis Registry Foundation in 1978.[5]
At the academy he coached numerous players, from junior level to professional. His coaching included assisting both Margaret Court and Billie Jean King during the "Battle of the Sexes" with Bobby Riggs. He also regularly acted as the coach for Amanda Coetzer and under his guidance, Coetzer reached third place in the WTA rankings.[6]
Van der Meer has written several books on tennis coaching, including: