Two Hilton Head tennis legends are honored in International Tennis Hall of Fame ceremony
A legendary Hilton Head Island tennis player was posthumously inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame, along with the Original 9 — a group comprising nine revolutionary women fighting for gender equality in tennis over the last 50 years.
The 10 acclaimed tennis pros joined 257 athletes already inducted in the hall of fame on July 17.
Dennis Van der Meer, who died in 2019, founded Van der Meer Tennis University and Van der Meer Tennis Center, where he taught and coached players of all levels.
Kerry Melville Reid, a member of the Original 9 who retired from tennis in 1992 and now lives in Long Cove Club on Hilton Head, signed a $1 contract in 1970 with World Tennis Magazine to create new opportunities for women in the sport. Reid’s action, and that of the other eight women who signed with her, spearheaded a movement in gender equality in tennis. This made room for the Virginia Slims Circuit and the Women’s Tennis Association two years before Title IX, a civil rights law that prevents discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal funding, was passed in the United States.
“We wanted any girl in the world, if she was good enough, to have a place to compete to be recognized for her accomplishments, not only her looks,” Billie Jean King, renowned tennis player and member of the Original 9, said in her speech at the ceremony. “And most importantly, to be able to make a living playing professional tennis. And today’s women’s professional tennis players on the WTA Tour are living our dream. Women’s tennis is the leader in women’s sports.”
Members of the Original 9 include: Kerry Melville Reid, Peaches Bartkowicz, Rosie Casals, Julie Heldman, Billie Jean King, Kristy Pigeon, Valerie Ziegenfuss, Judy Tegart Dalton and Nancy Richey.
Dennis Van der Meer, who lived on Hilton Head with his wife before his death in 2019, first discovered his love for the sport as a 6-year-old playing with his mother in the desert in Windhoek, Namibia. In his long career as a tennis player, Van der Meer founded the Van der Meer Tennis University and the Professional Tennis Registry, the first-ever international tennis teaching organization. He served as Billie Jean King’s coach in her famed “Battle of the Sexes” tournament against Bobby Riggs that got worldwide attention and inspired a movie of the same name in 2017. In 1979, he opened the Van der Meer Tennis Center based in Hilton Head.
His wife, Pat Van der Meer, accepted the award on her husband’s behalf, and his friend and former president of the United States Tennis Association, Lucy Garvin, gave a speech.
“Dennis dedicated his life to serving tennis,” Garvin said in her speech at the induction ceremony. “His love of the sport was apparent in everything he did every day. Dennis recognized how important it was to ensure tennis was accessible to all ages, all genders, and all economic backgrounds. His love for people was very obvious. And people loved Dennis.”
