Robin Ammerlaan is a legend of wheelchair tennis. For several years, he has become a follower of padel-chair and play competitions against able-bodied people. The Dutchman will be present at the Le Mans International Tournament.

Gold medalist in Sydney and Athens

Padel Magazine : Who are you ? Tell us your story? Have you played the padel before being in a wheelchair?

Robin Ammerlaan: My name is Robin Ammerlaan, I was born in 1968 and ended up in a wheelchair after back surgery in 1997. Before that I played tennis at national level and I continued to play this sport in a wheelchair . I won the gold medal in doubles at the Paralympic Games in Sydney in 2000 and in singles in Athens in 2004. I played on the wheelchair tennis circuit for 14 years, I won 675 matches in singles and 509 in doubles (for 141 losses in singles and 130 in doubles).

After retiring from the Paralympic Games in London in 2012, I did a Masters in Coaching at Johan Cruyjff University and started working for the Dutch Tennis Federation (KNLTB). I couldn't thrive in tennis anymore, so one day I tried padel and I discovered that when I was on the track, I learned new things all the time, and now after 6 years of practice, I continue to learn! 

Padel Magazine : The padel in a wheelchair known in the Netherlands?

Robin: It's starting to develop, we're doing some exhibitions and we're trying to make it bigger, but it's a perfect sport to integrate with able-bodied players. I have played the last 5 years in valid competitions with my friends who are all on their feet.

Bring together players from different countries

Padel Magazine : What are your goals in the Netherlands and internationally? Have you ever had experiences against the best players in the world?

Robin: Next week at Le Mans will be my first international experience against other players from padel in a wheelchair and I think the tournament director, Sébastien Husser, is doing a great job bringing together players from different countries. I hope to be able to contribute to the development of the game at national and international level.

Padel Magazine : What are your strong points and areas for development? What is the hardest thing about practicing padel ?

Robin: The strength of padel in a wheelchair is that you can easily play with able-bodied players, the difference in playing level is less important than in tennis or other sports because the padel is less physical and more tactical, the second rebound from which we benefit of course also helps a lot!
The hardest part is moving the wheelchair out of the way of the ball. In tennis, players always want to be very aggressive, padel, you can wait and let the ball pass, it will come back after hitting the glass!

A great sport

Padel Magazine : Do you already have a diary? Are you going to travel for the padel ?

Robin: Not yet, I already have a busy life, so to integrate new things you have to take things out and I love everything I do.

Padel Magazine : How did you find a partner for the tournament at Le Mans?

Robin: My partner will be Toon Berkelmans, we played tennis against each other a long time ago but he stopped because of injuries. We gave a kind of “clinic” in his home town and he discovered that the padel is less demanding on the shoulders and neck than tennis, so he started playing more and more. Now we are together and we show people that it is fun to play with but also against us! 

Padel Magazine : Do you hope that the padel be part of the Olympics?

Robin: Yes, I don't know if it will be Olympic but it's a great sport with long rallies. Strategy is really important, which makes this sport a really exciting game to play and watch!

The creme de la creme of padel armchair will be present at Le Mans
Robin Ammallan at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens Greece Photo by Frank J Polich

From his names, we can guess his Spanish and Italian origins. Lorenzo is a multilingual passionate about sports: journalism by vocation and events by worship are his two legs. He is the international gentleman of Padel Magazine. You will often see it on the various international competitions, but also on the major French events. @eyeofpadel on Instagram to see his best photos of padel !

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