These Hilton Head tennis legends changed the game. Now they get the ‘ultimate honor’
Hilton Head Island is the home of tennis legends.
Soon, two islanders will be honored for their contributions with the sport’s highest honor. The late Dennis Van der Meer and Kerry Melville Reid, both longtime Hilton Head residents, will be inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in July.
Van der Meer, who died in July 2019, will be posthumously inducted for his dedication to teaching tennis to thousands of students. Reid, who still lives on Hilton Head, will be inducted as part of the hall of fame’s first group honor for her contributions as part of the Original 9 — nine women who signed $1 contracts to compete in a women’s tournament in 1970. Reid and her cohort paved the way for today’s WTA tour.
“We had a goal and we just worked really hard,” Reid said. “Those early tournaments, we barely had time to practice even. We were doing so much PR, clinics and everything else to try and promote the tournament. It took a lot of dedication to do that. But I think we did a good job for women’s tennis and women in general as it turned out.”
Pat Van der Meer, Dennis’ wife, said he’d be honored to be inducted this summer.
“I think he would be very, very happy and proud. I know he’d be happy to be (inducted) with the Original 9,” she said. “That was his era, and he knew them all so well.”
Who are the Original 9?
Prior to 1970, there was growing disparity in prize money and playing opportunities for women in professional tennis.
On Sept. 23, 1970, the Original 9 signed $1 contracts with World Tennis Magazine publisher Gladys Heldman to compete in a new tournament for women.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame called the move “bold action that would forever change the course of tennis history.”
The resounding success of the women’s tournament led to the creation of the Virginia Slims circuit and paved the way for today’s Women’s Tennis Association Tour. It also landed Reid and Judy Tegart Dalton season-long suspensions in their native Australia; the suspensions eventually were repealed.
The Original 9 members are the first group to be inducted into the Hall of Fame; the honor previously has been presented only to individuals. The nine women who comprise the Original 9 are Americans Billie Jean King, Rosie Casals, Peaches Bartkowicz, Julie Heldman, Kristy Pigeon, Nancy Richey and Valerie Ziegenfuss, and Australians Dalton and Reid.
Reid, now 73, lives in Long Cove Club on Hilton Head. She was the tennis pro at Long Cove for eight years before she retired from tennis in 1992.
She said she feels proud that young women have opportunities in the sport that the Original 9 fought to get.
“There are just so many opportunities out there now. There are young girls’ programs and tournaments and opportunities for college scholarships. It’s a great opportunity for women, and I encourage as many young girls to play as possible,” Reid told The Island Packet.
“It’s extremely rewarding to see the impact the Original 9 made 50 years ago can still be felt around the world today,” Billie Jean King said in 2020 of the group. King herself has connections to Hilton Head Island. She served as Hilton Head Racquet Club’s touring pro in the early 1970s.
“There were three things we were really focused on achieving. Number one, that any girl born in this world would have a place to play and compete. Number two, that women would be appreciated for our accomplishments, not just our looks. And number three, that women would finally be able to make a living playing professional tennis.”
Who was Dennis Van der Meer?
Dennis Van der Meer, who was born in Namibia as the son of missionaries, is considered a legendary tennis coach and “teacher of teachers.”
He was a successful junior player who started teaching at 19 years old. As a young teaching pro, he saw a need to develop a universal manner of teaching tennis in order to grow the sport. He sourced input from tennis educators and assembled manuals and videos on teaching techniques.
Dennis Van der Meer standardized group teaching methods to develop a teaching certification. He was the founder of both the Van Der Meer Tennis University and the Professional Tennis Registry, an organization that educates, certifies and serves tennis teachers and coaches.
PTR became the first international tennis teaching organization, and it now has more than 16,000 certified members in more than 125 nations. Additionally, Dennis Van der Meer served as a coach to top pros, including King and Margaret Court in the 1973 Battle of the Sexes matches.
In 1979, he founded Van Der Meer Tennis Center on Hilton Head, an academy that offers clinics and camps for for all ages and ability levels and hosts tournaments and events. He and his wife married on the island in 1981 and were regulars at Plantation Cafe.
“It is amazing how many people come to Hilton Head for tennis, and a lot of people forget about that. Dennis brought a lot of people to this island. He cared about everybody,” Pat Van der Meer told The Island Packet.
Dennis Van der Meer died in 2019 after a lengthy illness.
Retired tennis professional Dennis Malick, who came to Hilton Head to work for Van der Meer, said, “If you attend a memorial for Dennis, he’s liable to sit up, call you by your first name and ask if you still have that crazy hitch in your service motion you had when you first came to his clinic 10 years ago.”
