1955: That’s right. Earlier today Dutch wheelchair tennis star
Esther Vergeer won her
466th consecutive match, this time against Japan's Kanako Domori in the heats.
CNN’s Duarte Mendonca gives us an insight into her stellar career:
‘Living legend,’ is a term that gets bandied around a lot in sport. But when it comes to
Dutch woman Esther Vergeer, there’s simply no other way to describe her.
The
31-year old current World Number One wheelchair tennis player has won every Grand Slam there is to win -
a total of 42 under her belt. To put that into perspective just take a look at World Number One able-bodied player Roger Federer’s record. He holds a ‘meagre’ 17 Grand Slams in comparison.
Adding to her impressive list of titles,
Vergeer has won every single Paralympics gold since her debut in Sydney 2000 – claiming a total of five in both singles and doubles competitions.
Today she continued her winning streak
with a record of 466 consecutive wins. 466! She’s undefeated since 2003. Unbelievable.
But before she was a tennis player,
Vergeer actually started out as a wheelchair basketballer. Vergeer became a paraplegic when she was eight-years-old following surgery intended to correct defective blood vessels around her spinal cord. She started ‘shooting hoops’ as part of her recovery, later winning a European championship for her country in 1997.
Meanwhile, Vergeer also began taking up tennis, competing in international competitions in 1998.
Will she continue her winning streak and
win two more gold in London? You’ll have to follow
CNN’s live Paralympics blog to find out.