NK squashFor Tessa ter Sluis of Sint Willebrord, she awaits a golden opportunity to win her second national title this weekend. The 27-year-old is one of the candidates in the Netherlands Squash Championships. Competition or not, she’s also trying to take the pressure off her a bit.
Ter Sluis was once the best in every age group in the Netherlands. Youth champion titles at age 11, 13, 15, 17 and 19 are in the cup locker. Even though she is only 27 years old, she has been in the top Netherlands for quite some time now. She actually made her debut in the Eredivisie at the age of eleven, on behalf of Rotterdam Victoria. She won matches in the World Cup and this year won the bronze medal at the European Championships in Eindhoven with the Netherlands.
She won the Dutch National Championship, succeeding in 2017. Perhaps her best moment was on the squash court. Unexpectedly, she beat Veldhovense Milou van der Heijden. , It was my first final in a Dutch championship, actually there were no expectations at all,” Ter Slice looks back. I didn’t win a match from Milo at the time. Then I won all of a sudden, totally unexpected… Of course it was bronze The last European Championship with Holland was great too, but you managed to win a Dutch championship by yourself.”
be on my way
The list of NK titles would have been much longer for Ter Sluis, had it not been for the fact that Van der Heijden has proven to be a hitch in the last battle in recent years. Ter Sluis has lost three Dutch National Championships finals to her teammate from Brabant. This weekend, Willebrord’s Ter Sluis – who is second behind Van der Heijden – will get another chance.
Once I didn’t make it to the final, I found it very difficult. I’m a little more relaxed now
Dutch national championships are important, especially for a relatively small sport such as squash. It is the biggest tournament in the Netherlands. Not many big games anymore. Moreover, this is important for the national team. You have to play the Dutch national championships to enter the selection.” Let’s add after a short silence: And who wouldn’t want to be the best in Holland? That’s a very beautiful thing.”
The task in Amsterdam, where she will play her first quarter-final match on Friday, is clear. Ter Sluis wants to fight for her second national title: I won’t come to the Dutch National Championship to lose the final. Winning, that’s my goal. But I try not to put too much pressure on myself. Once I didn’t make it to the final, I found it very difficult. I’m a little more comfortable about that now. If you’re going to punish yourself if something doesn’t work out, you don’t play squash any better.”
Championships in the United States and Canada
Ter Sluis, who participates in her sport full time, has not kept her ambitions a secret. She wants to reach the top twenty world rankings within five years. This year, tournaments have already been played in the United States, Canada, France and England. “When you’re in the sport full-time, you lose everything to be in the championship. Take the championship in America, for example, I heard just a couple of days ago that I was allowed to participate. And even if you’re not at your best, you’re going anyway. Expecting a tour PSA Global the same from you if you are on the booking list.”
In this regard, NK is much more practical: “I take the car from The Hague (where you live, editor) and I’m in Amsterdam in forty minutes.” And who knows, maybe a new National title will be back in the box on Sunday.
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