After playing his first ATP Tour match on home soil in ‘s-Hertogenbosch just one month ago, the 25-year old is now on the cusp of the top 100 in the rankings.

After turning pro in 2015, Van Rijthoven played primarily Futures and Challenger events, and slowly worked his way up the ranking. In 2022, he started the season ranked #261. Now, fast forward six months, and he is at a career-high ranking of No. 101 after winning the Libema Open in ‘s-Hertogenbosch just one month ago.

The Dutchman’s confidence grew and grew as he racked up match after match. After defeating the number 3 seed and World No. 14 Taylor Fritz in an epic three set match, his level only started to get better and better. In the semi-finals and finals, he defeated two top 10 players in Felix Auger-Aliassime and World No.1 Daniil Medvedev to secure the title.

And as if that wasn’t enough, he backed his title run up with an impressive run to the fourth round at Wimbledon, where he ultimately fell short to eventual champion Novak Djokovic in a closely contested four set match.

And, let’s not forget that Van Rijthoven’s success has had a big impact on the rise of Dutch tennis, which is growing at an alarming rate. Last year, Botic van de Zandschulp rose onto the scene after reaching the US Open quarter-finals, and continued his success by reaching a maiden ATP final and securing a career-high ranking inside the top 25 of the ATP ranking. Tallon Griekspoor, another Dutchman, sits at a career-best ranking of 47 in the world, and captured a record 8 Challenger titles in 2021. In 2022, he has captured yet another Challenger title, and has reached the second round at every Slam held so far.

This comes to say, any region or country of the world is capable of producing world-class athletes, no matter the circustamces. Novak Djokovic endured the challenges of his war-torn country as a young child and grew up to become arguably the greatest player ever. And while the Netherlands might no be ripped apart by war or blessed with loads of wealth and opportunity, a new group of tennis stars have risen to greatness in tennis today.