Gerard Scheurleer was one of the first important Dutch tennis players. He won nine Dutch titles (all in doubles or mixed doubles) between 1908 and 1921, and ranked high in the 1906 Athens Olympics. His active career finished abruptly when he lost a leg in a 1922 motorcycle accident, but he continued to be of influence as a coach and author of tennis books. His most prominent pupils include Henk Timmer and Kea Bouman. The latter became the first Dutch player to win a Grand Slam event, and the two won a bronze medal in the 1924 mixed doubles. Besides tennis books, Scheurleer was also a sports journalist. He also made a mark on Dutch field hockey, where he introduced a new, softer ball to replace the normal hard one. This separated the sport in the Netherlands from international competition until it was abolished with the advent of the 1928 Olympics.
Netherlands