A Common Bond
Lansdorp and Sharapova’s coming to America backstories are quite similar. Born in Semarang, Indonesia in 1938, he spent his early years there. When World War II broke out, his father, who worked for Goodyear, was captured by the Japanese and spent the war years in a concentration camp. His mother, like his father, was Dutch. She was interned and tortured by the occupiers but survived.
After the war ended, he and his family became refugees. The Indonesians set about forcing residents with Dutch backgrounds to leave the country, but the English came to their rescue. Eventually, everyone was sent to Jakarta. Lansdorp was eight at the time. Almost a year later, the Red Cross helped the family get to Holland. They remained for two years. Conditions seemed to have changed in Jakarta so his father, in an effort to revive his company’s business ties, along with the rest of the family, returned. The situation proved to be very challenging. The Dutch were still viewed as “colonists” which made life risky. His father realized the situation was dangerous and sent the entire family back to Holland.
Lansdorp, who was, then, almost 12, enrolled in school and stayed busy playing soccer. When he was 13, he joined a friend, who was taking part in a tennis clinic. That served as his introduction to the “game”.
In 1960, the family immigrated to the US, arriving in San Diego, California. The new country was a bit overwhelming to all of them. Fortunately for Lansdorp, tennis assisted in the transition to his new world. Two years after his arrival, he defeated the top player at Pepperdine University in a regional tournament. The victory brought about needed attention and ultimately resulted in a tennis scholarship offer from the school. (In those days, Pepperdine was in cramped downtown Los Angeles, not at the picturesque location in Malibu, where the school moved in 1970.)
Though he downplays any claim of “having been a competitive standout”, the truth is, he played Davis Cup for Holland in the late 1950’s, and was an All-American at Pepperdine, leading the team to two West Coast Conference championships. Following his intercollegiate career, Lansdorp began teaching tennis at Morley Field in San Diego in the late ‘60s. In 1970, he moved to the Jack Kramer Tennis Club in Rolling Hills Estates, California and earned kudos for making the facility the best training ground for junior players in the country. The growth of his reputation as a coaching savant led to his founding of The West End Tennis & Racquet Club. From there, he moved to the Riviera Country Club, then the South Bay Tennis Club. All these years later, he is still teaching on a limited and select basis on a friend’s private court in Rolling Hills.
The immigrant backgrounds they share gave Sharapova and Lansdorp a common bond. Both had to rely on inner strength that was fueled by hard times, to help make their way in a new country. In the beginning, neither had anything. They had little more than the clothes on their backs. As a result, both are still determined and resilient. Neither knows the word “Quit.” They are competitively tenacious almost to a fault.
Physically, they are also comparable …sort of. Sharapova is a striking 6’2” tall and runway model lean. (In fact, Lansdorp, in their early years together, would hassle her saying that if she didn’t make it as a player she could always become a model and earn millions.) Her height is deceiving. It enables her to literally “fill” a setting. More to the point-She has a distinct presence; really, an aura. Lansdorp does too. Being at least, 6’ 3” tall, with a shock of grey-white hair and the broad-shouldered build of a nightclub bouncer, he has a “don’t mess with me” gravelly voice. Simply put, his appearance is formidable. And his remarks are rarely circumspect.
Having an hour lesson with him requires a Teflon sense of self. In the summer of 1992 hit movie, “A League of Their Own”, Tom Hanks, the film’s star, uttered the unforgettable line – “There’s No Crying in Baseball!” Over the years, Lansdorp has brought more than one player to tears. Included in the cast of students are many who went on to have impressive professional careers. A few have International Tennis Hall of Fame credentials.
