GILLE Sander

General
FOCUSING ON DOUBLES
He began focusing on doubles after tearing a ligament in his elbow in 2018. "Three years ago [speaking in 2021] I tore a ligament in my elbow while serving during a match. That took me out for five months, I just rested and hoped it would go away quickly. I was playing singles and doubles at that time and my body was worn down. When I came back I was trying to combine singles and doubles again. I felt my elbow could not handle it anymore, so that is when I decided to go fully for doubles. Serving every four games instead of two games makes a difference on the body. The elbow injury started to get me to think about it. I also knew that I was not going to make the top 100 [in singles]. At the time, I was ranked around 570 in the world in singles. I think the decision had to come at some point anyway, but the injury made it easier to decide." (thetennisprevision.com, 01 Feb 2021)

DOUBLES PARTNER
He began teaming with doubles partner Joran Vliegen in 2013. "We played together for the first time in 2013 and have started playing together in almost every tournament since 2015. Joran is two years younger than me. Two years is a big gap depending on the age so we were not friends then but got along well. We knew each other before we went off to college. We do not tend to hang out off the court especially when we are home. We are together all of the time and get along well. I think what we are doing is very special but when we get home it is nice to have a little break. Seeing each other reminds us of tennis so when we go home we reset. We will be in contact when we are home though. We are together 45 weeks a year so it makes sense. It is a mix of being good friends and business professionals. You have to find a balance. Whenever I am home I enjoy the rest and the family time." (thetennisprevision.com, 01 Feb 2021)

TURNING PRO
He turned professional at age 21 and used crowdfunding to raise money to compete on the tour for the following three years. "I went full-time on tour at 21 and spent so much on travelling whereas in college everything is paid for. I was also spending my savings from birthday gifts and holidays to live on tour. It took me a long time to get my first ATP points too. The money you are spending is the biggest issue. Unless you come from a rich family it is going to be tough, you have to perform to get something back. I never had support from my federation because I was not the best in the country. I could not get any sponsors. In 2014, I started getting crowdfunding through the end of 2016. I was fortunate enough to have some people around me at the local tennis club who wanted to support me. I am so thankful and happy that they did. They helped me make my dream come true and helped give me breathing room to perform. We never reached the goal we had set for but we managed to receive quite some money. Once I hit the challenger tour I started breaking even. The crowdfunding project got me through the futures tour." (thetennisprevision.com, 01 Feb 2021)

MOVE TO USA
He moved to the United States of America at age 17 to study at the East Tennessee State University. "I chose to go to college in the United States when I was 17 because there were no college athletics in Belgium. My very first college tournament was at the University of Virginia and I believe they were ranked top three at the time. I was 17 and never played internationally before. I had no clue what to expect about the level. I was put into Flight C and did not even know what that meant. I just went out to the court and I was told to go and win the tournament. So I was super happy and after a few weeks, I understood it was just a C flight draw. It gave me confidence by starting with a tournament win." (thetennisprevision.com, 01 Feb 2021)