What's in store for Botic van de Zandschulp?

On August 30, 2024, Botic van de Zandschulp briefly made headlines around the world. The Dutchman had defeated the great Carlos Alcaraz . Van de Zandschulp was far too strong for the Spaniard, who had won both Roland Garros and Wimbledon in the preceding weeks and captured silver at the Olympic Games . That day, however, was different: Van de Zandschulp played brilliantly, defeating Alcaraz 6-1, 7-5, 6-4 in three sets. It was a magnificent performance and a welcome boost for our compatriot, who had been struggling after having climbed the ATP Rankings so impressively in previous years . Sjeng Sports offers a glimpse into Van de Zandschulp's career. 

Name: Botic van de Zandschulp
Nationality: Dutch
Born on: October 4, 1995
Tennis hand: Right
Current ATP Ranking: 67 

Botic van de Zandschulp grew up in Veenendaal, where it quickly became clear that his passion lay in tennis. At the age of four, he first picked up a racket, and not long after, he was eligible for national team training. However, it took a while before Van de Zandschulp actually made it onto the professional circuit. He was twenty when he played his first Futures tournament in June 2016, and that same year, he also achieved his first success at the Dutch National Championship. The Veenendaal native won the Dutch title in both the singles (in the final against Robin Haase) and the doubles (partnering Sidney de Boer). 

First titles and participations in major tournaments 

After that, things went relatively quiet around Van de Zandschulp for a while, but in 2019, he began his ascent. He won ITF tournaments in Nussloch and Bolton and also lifted the trophy at a Challenger tournament in Hamburg. All these titles were won on hard courts, and thanks in part to these achievements, Van de Zandschulp stormed into the world's top 200. This led to an increasing number of top-level tournaments, and in 2021, he played all four Grand Slam tournaments for the first time: the Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and the US Open. The latter proved particularly successful: as a qualifying player, Van de Zandschulp fought his way to the quarterfinals, where Daniil Medvedev ultimately proved too strong. During this tournament, Van de Zandschulp defeated players including Casper Ruud and Diego Schwartzman. 

It gave the Dutchman a new boost in his career, whose impressive performances in 2021 propelled him into the world's top 50. His crowning achievement seemed to arrive at the Munich ATP tournament in April 2022. Van de Zandschulp played a strong tournament on the German clay court and reached the final against Dane Holger Rune, but breathing problems disrupted his plans, forcing the Veenendaal native to retire at 4-3. Nevertheless, he managed to reach the world number 22 in August of that year . Strong performances at Roland Garros (third round), Queens (fourth round), and Wimbledon (fourth round) contributed to this. 

Hard blow for Van de Zandschulp in Munich 

2023 started off reasonably well for Van de Zandschulp, who continued to win matches and reached the final of the Munich ATP tournament again this year. The Dutchman faced Rune again in this final, took a 5-2 lead in the deciding set and held several match points on his own serve. However, it was Rune who completely reversed the set (7-6) and thus captured the title again in Munich. It proved to be a hard blow for Van de Zandschulp, who completely lost his composure and was eliminated in the first round of each of the five subsequent tournaments. 

The declining form continued, and the Veenendaal native slowly but surely slipped down the world rankings. Until July arrived. Van de Zandschulp decided to play Challenger tournaments to regain confidence, and he succeeded, reaching the finals in both Braunschweig and Luedenscheid. As a result, he had a positive outlook again at the US Open, where he defeated both Denis Shapovalov and Alcaraz. Van de Zandschulp has since climbed back to 67th in the world rankings, and who knows what else he has in store for the coming period. 

Good performance in the Davis Cup 

Incidentally, Van de Zandschulp has also been a consistent singles specialist for the Dutch Davis Cup team in recent years, and he performs exceptionally well at times. He has defeated Cameron Norrie (Great Britain), Alexander Bublik (Kazakhstan), Matteo Arnaldi (Italy), Taylor Fritz (United States), and Tommy Paul (United States), among others. He was also recently a key player in the doubles event, when the Netherlands secured qualification for the Davis Cup Final 8 for the third consecutive year.