Tattered Jeans
From Wimbledon to River Oaks: Teaching tennis remains Mariaan De Swardt's bigpassion
Feb 26, 2012 | 12:38 pm
Mariaan De SwardtPhoto by Katie Oxford
“This is my favorite ring,” says Mariaan De Swardt of her James Avery “Love,Faith, Hope" ringPhoto by Katie Oxford
Mariaan De Swardt and her ringPhoto by Katie Oxford
At age 40, Mariaan De Swardt has her head on straight. She’s a tennis coach at the River Oaks Country Club. She brings to the court her tennis skills, a heart of gold and greenish-blue eyes that seem to see everything.
Playing mixed doubles with David Adams, she won the Australian Open in 1999, ending the grand slam run of Serena Williams and Max Mirnyi, and the French Open in 2000. In 1999, she and Elena Tatarkova reached the womens doubles finals at Wimbledon. They lost the match but Mariaan had achieved her life’s goal: Playing at Wimbledon.
In early 2000, she teamed with tennis legend Martina Navratilova, who decided to come back to the tour and play doubles. They reached the Wimbledon quarter-finals, losing to the Williams sisters in three sets.
But if you ask her what she considers her greatest achievement, she won’t mention any of this. In fact, there was the sense that if I hadn’t pressed, she wouldn’t have mentioned them period.
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, she and her family lived on a farm a few miles away. “I cannot remember being inside the house,” Mariaan said. She seldom wore shoes and her school didn’t require them.
“I was a busy little girl,” Mariaan laughed. “I was climbing trees with my brothers, digging holes. We were outside all the time.” When she wasn’t doing this, she was hitting tennis balls. “I would hit balls against the wall for hours,” she said.
King told her that if she wanted to be a tennis player, she’d have to practice both on and off the court. “She asked me to keep a diary,” Mariaan said. “Like how did I practice today, what did I eat.”
Tennis was a family affair. Her parents played and Mariaan, along with her three siblings, shared in competitive battles. Her older brothers used to tease her a lot. That is, until Mariaan started beating them.
At age 5, she and her father watched the Wimbledon tennis finals on television. The match, between Margaret Court and Billie Jean King, was one that Mariaan remembers well. “I was fascinated watching these two women playing tennis on GRASS,” she said. “After that, I was obsessed with playing tennis.” She told her father then, “I’m going to play at Wimbledon.”
By the time Mariaan was 7, apartheid was well underway. She and her family moved from their farm to the city of Pretoria where Mariaan attended a school that emphasized outdoor activities. The following sports were a requirement: gymnastics, basketball, swimming, squash, tennis, track & field, and marching. “When you turned 12,” Mariaan explained, “then you could choose.”
No brainer for Mariaan. Tennis.
First encounter with Billie Jean
In 1978, a tennis exhibition was held inside a domed stadium in Johannesburg. Mariaan attended it with her parents, carrying an autograph book. “I was an autograph hound,” Mariaan laughed. Chrissie Everett, Hana Mandlikova, Rosie Casals and Tracy Austin were some of the participants, many of whom had signed her book, but there was one more she had to get. She sat in a seat close behind Billie Jean King’s, waiting for the match to be over, determined to get her signature. When she didn’t, she cried so loudly that her parents had to take her from the stadium.
At age 13, she moved from a public school to a private school that focused more on academics. Additionally, it offered extra courses like physiology, criminology, ethnology, all of which Mariaan found interesting, but tennis remained her passion.
One day a week she took private lessons and three days a week she played group tennis. Mariaan worked with one instructor for several years and a second one after that. “I had great teachers,” she said. “Not just in tennis but teachers in life. I got lucky.”
She was about to get luckier.
At age 15, Mariaan traveled to Johannesburg and attended a clinic hosted by Billie Jean King. This time, she was too shy to ask for King’s autograph. Instead, she approached her after the clinic and thanked King for coming. King had seen Mariaan’s talent. She looked at the teenager and said, “Mariaan, I’m going to try and work with you again.”
King was true to her word. One year later, Mariaan’s parents received a phone call from a friend in Johannesburg. “I just got a fax from Billie Jean King,” the friend reported, “inviting Mariaan to play world team tennis.” Additionally, King had offered to work with Mariaan for a month in preparation. Mariaan was thrilled.
For the next year, via fax, she and King corresponded directly and made a plan. King told her that if she wanted to be a tennis player, she’d have to practice both on and off the court. “She asked me to keep a diary,” Mariaan said. “Like how did I practice today, what did I eat.”
When she completed high school (doing four years of work in two), Mariaan was ready to take the next step toward a tennis career. Scared but ecstatic, she got on a plane and flew to Miami, Fla., where later that day she met up with her new coach, Billie Jean King. Mariaan described going from her first instructor to now her third with a big smile on her face. “I went from great to great to greatest!”
After a few days of practicing with her new coach, Mariaan forgot that she was working with a tennis star. “She became my coach, my friend,” Mariaan explained. “She cared about my well being.”
At age 19, Mariaan qualified for Wimbledon. She remembers walking into the gate, seeing the clock, the grass and feeling like she’d died and gone to heaven.
At age 17, Mariaan was traveling the world, playing professional tennis on the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) Tour, founded in 1973 by Billie Jean and still going strong today. Mariaan also played on the WTT (World Team Tennis) Tour held annually in July. “I loved the team thing,” Mariaan said. “It’s a great support system. Win or lose, your team is there with you to celebrate or support.”
At age 19, Mariaan qualified for Wimbledon. She remembers walking into the gate, seeing the clock, the grass and feeling like she’d died and gone to heaven. “I came from a farm,” she said. “A kid who walked to school barefoot, and there I was, walking through the pearly gates of Wimbledon!”
As great as her accomplishments are, what Mariaan values most is the education that tennis provided her. She claims that everything she learned in life, she learned on the court. “Tennis is a package deal,” she believes. “It’s a sport that teaches you who you are, mentally and physically.”
Her greatest accomplishment
Mariaan also has other passions. She loves to read and to write. In fact, she told me, “I’ve wanted to write for a very long time.”
Teaching tennis, though, will always be her passion. “If I can make a difference to one kid,” she said, “that’s my greatest accomplishment. A look, a touch, making a kid think you can do this, I believe in you.”
She’s sharing her own knowledge plus that of Billie Jean’s. “All she asked of me,” Mariaan said, “was to take what I learned from her and give it back to others.”
When Mariaan was 22, her treasured autograph book was completed.
“Finally, after 15 years, the long awaited autograph! Go for it! Love, Billie Jean.”
