Shortly after the defeat, the grumpiness is even greater than the powerful feeling of being allowed to stand at Wimbledon. Because for Abel Forger (17), the junior tournament on the hallowed grass of the All England Club is just an intermediate step on the way to a career as a professional. “I played a good game in itself, but to win against this boy I just have to play even better,” says Forger after his loss against the Chinese Yi Zhou.
Just before that, Forger hit his parents and his two brothers on the side of lane 10. He throws a Wimbledon towel at them as a kind of souvenir and says little else. That is not necessary. Father Freddy (48), mother Sonja (49), his eldest brother Jonas (19) and Tijl (15) suffered with Abel Forger on the wooden benches. Just like Kevin Schimmel (33), who as a coach on the other side also had to conclude that the third-placed Chinese had been just a little too good. “Nevertheless, I see sufficient starting points with which we can continue to build,” says Schimmel.
The adventure is not over for Forger at Wimbledon. He is still in the boys’ doubles with the top talent Thijs Boogaart (15). Together with Mees Rottgering (16), the three teenagers form the hope for the future of Dutch tennis. And they each go their own way. Although they have been living like young pros for years, the income is still virtually zero. “A lot of money is still needed in the coming years,” says Freddy Forger. “Those who cannot get enough support often drop out. That is the reality in contemporary Dutch tennis.”
Both Freddy and Sonja were deserving regional tennis players themselves, and they always took their sons to LTC Soestdijk. “From the moment they could walk, I would throw balls at them. That is how they came into contact with the sport in a playful way,” says Sonja Huizinga in de player lounge from Wimbledon. “When Abel was about nine years old, we realized that he had real talent. We first let him play tournaments in the area. The more he won, the further we went. Up to the national youth championships.”
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For Abel Forger, tennis is no longer an optional game, but a sport that he wants to turn into a profession. At the age of eleven he joined the tennis school of former Davis Cup captain Tjerk Bogtstra in Doorn. There he trains four times a week and continues his advance. Freddy Forger: „In 2019 I lost to Abel for the first time, when he was fourteen. After that I never went near him again.”
Coach on duty
When Abel is sixteen years old, his parents take him out to dinner to make him a proposal. What would he think if they hired his coach Kevin Schimmel? The young talent agrees and has been traveling the world with the 33-year-old tennis trainer for two years now. If all costs are added up, it costs about a ton per year. They assume that Abel will need another four to six years to make real money. “I don’t think you can necessarily call it a good investment,” says Freddy Forger with a smile. “Then you should see a few million of it later. You don’t just turn a quarter into a euro. Carlos Alcaraz will be fine. That is of course uncertain with Abel. The dual role of father and investor is not ideal, of course.”
According to Forger senior, who owns an asset management company with a partner, financial issues are a structural problem. The basic costs are often higher in tennis than in many other sports. “A very great talent like Thijs Boogaart is quickly picked up by managers and sponsors. And there is no investment in boys who are not good enough. But talents who fall in between, like Abel, really need the support of a union,” says Freddy Forger. “When a plan from the union to support talents centrally was scrapped, we were forced to fill in a trajectory ourselves. It has to happen now for Abel, he cannot wait years.”
Freddy and Sonja emphasize that they have never pushed their son, and that in their eyes there should be no financial pressure on him. Freddy Forger: „If he wants to stop, he can. Whenever he wants. Then he had a fantastic experience as a top athlete. Because who plays at Wimbledon? But he is so driven. I have to slow down Abel sooner.”
Kevin Schimmel agrees. “Abel is not a boy you have to get out of the pub here,” says the coach, who works with him almost 52 weeks a year. That is an almost unique construction in the Netherlands for someone of seventeen years old. Schimmel: “Abel finished his havo last year. Since then we have been on a special journey. A journey of years. Fortunately, we don’t have to measure ourselves against world class players such as Carlos Alcaraz or Holger Rune, who very quickly broke through to the real top. Those are exceptions. Our journey will probably take longer.”
Prestige in white
Schimmel is aware that he has a special relationship with Abel as a coach. They see each other from breakfast to dinner. And in an emergency they even share a room. “We really only do that in exceptional cases. For example, if we have to go to the airport very early or something,” explains Schimmel, who also knows the stories of coaches who have abused young tennis players. “I find it very difficult that coaches display such behavior.”
Father Freddy and mother Sonja have every confidence in Schimmel. “He is the boss when it comes to tennis,” says Sonja Huizinga. “We are not involved in that.” Freddy Forger nods and says: “As parents, we want to distance ourselves more and more from our son. That’s why we try to put the good people in front of him, who sometimes treat him with a hard hand and sometimes with a soft hand. Because what matters is that he does it all himself.”
Abel Forger is now facing the step from junior tennis to the professional circuit. Wimbledon is the icing on the cake of his education for him. There is no money for him to earn at the All England Club. Well prestige. In preparation for the tournament, he played on Roehampton’s turf. Without his parents and his brothers, he only met them at Wimbledon. Sonja Huizinga: “When I saw him walking around the corner in his white clothing, I got a little angry.”
When Abel Forger enters lane 10 between the rain showers on Saturday afternoon, his parents and brothers sit proudly by the side. They see him go down fighting against Yi Zhou. The Defeat is not the end of the world for the Forger family. Freddy Forger: „No, hopefully this is a wonderful stopover on a journey to something even more beautiful. In the meantime, we enjoy every moment to the fullest, together with Abel.”
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