So my last post was about the Williams sisters and what they’ve done for women’s tennis. I also asked if anyone knew who the next Venus or Serena might be? And within days there was a knock at the door. This girl is young, hard hitting, extremely determined with something to prove allover again.
Her name is Rhonda de Lang, she was born in the Ivory Coast, and carries a Liberian and Dutch passport. Her current city is Nieuwegein, Netherlands. She finished #8 in girls 12 & under and recently entered girls 14′s with a lots of promise and eyes watching! She credits the Williams sisters as role models and relates to them on everything from appearance, to playing style. The girls typically start as young as 4 but Rhonda actually started at age 8 and aggressively advanced in no time! Her skin color in her community hasn’t always been so kind towards her, and so she’s relied on determination, 6 days a week of intense training, 3 different trainers & fighting just a little bit harder to prove she has every right to play on court 1. She’s landed a sponsorship with Wilson & hangs out with professional tennis players. She speaks softly and in short sentences with a warm & kind demeanor that changes when it’s time to play her very favorite thing in the world…Tennis!
The media has grown to love her at home & so will you. This interview is clearly in Dutch (no translation) but my interview with her sums up all you need to know.
Costagirl: Rhonda, do you have a nickname?
Rhonda : NO
Costagirl: What is the best part of playing tennis for you at your age?
Rhonda : Playing the game itself, it is such a nice sport. People that do not know this game do not really know what they’re missing. Another thing I love is meeting the professional tennis players. Meeting people and learning new tactics but my favorite is winning – leaving the court with a very big smile on my face and a huge trophy.
Costagirl: For such a young girl you keep such an intense training schedule. Where do you get the discipline from?
Rhonda: My father and trainers but especially my father (Ronald de Lang).
Costagirl: How many hours a day do you train? Do you take any time off?
Rhonda: I am only free on Sundays if I don’t have a tournament. I train 16 hours a week.
Costagirl: What is your favorite thing to do when your not playing tennis?
Rhonda: Chatting with friends, dancing, listening to music.
Costagirl: Clearly Nick Bollettieri’s represents the best competitive playground in the world to experience & further develop your talent. Are you ready for it? How do you feel about coming all the way to the USA to train?
Rhonda: Most definitely! I have been ready for it since I heard of him, that is one of the best things that could ever happen to me! It would be a dream 
An opportunity that only a few young tennis players get to have. To get the training they need to develop their tennis talent and everything that has to do with their sport and career.
Costagirl: Are all your friends competitors from the junior circuit or do you have others you enjoy outside of tennis?
Rhonda: Most are from tennis with a few outside of the sport.
Costagirl: Venus & Serena are your role models. This is understandable from playing style, humble beginnings & physical appearance. Does your dark complexion in a dominant white sport drive you differently?
Rhonda: Yes!!! It makes me want to give all that I have. It drives me to play 200%.
Costagirl: You mentioned understanding the Williams sisters revenge not playing Indian Wells after one of them was booed off the court. Do you relate, play & train with the same feelings?
Rhonda: As a twelve year old I can understand exactly what it’s like to be booed at. It makes you so angry that you wouldn’t want to loose that match and after you have won…wouldn’t want to play there again. Unless you are respected for being a pro and who you are — Not because you are colored.
Rhonda signs with Wilson
Thank you Rhonda!!! Great name by the way…..You are a Really special girl…and I will see you on court 1.
Nick…if your reading…you found a new sweet spot:)
* http://www.rhondasaad.com
Venus in training
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translating of the video of rhonda de lang
female reporter: this is rhonda de lang a real sporttalent.
…on 11 year she sign already a contract with a known sports brand.
its the same sponsor from famous tennis stars like roger federerer and the sister serena and venus
williams. rhonda is here age group the number 8 of holland.
every day you can find her in the gym.
trainer denny: how is it,yes nice
male reporter: what is your dream of happyness?
rhonda: to play wimbledon.and to get to the top of the world.
male reporter: who is your hero or who are your hero’s?
rhonda: the sisters williams.because both they have a dark skin color just like me.
and because they play good.
male reporter: they are verry high on the world ranking?
rhonda: serena is the number one and venus i think in the top six.
they both playing verry well,and yes they always fight.
venus is also long and me too.
and ………. yes, my backhand is already change, but we always had the same backhand.
that we start at the bottom.
male reporter: so the technic is also similary?
rhonda: yes
trainer in the background.
female reporter: rhonda has won a full trophy case with tennis.
rhonda:i won them verry easy.
in the final i had to play against a girl and i play a lot against her,
its always a battle between us,i won that match with 6-1 6-3.
male reporter: and there you get those two trophy’s for?
rhonda: yes this is a challenge cup,and here is my name to stand for 2010.
and the other one i may keep.
female reporter: born in ivory coast,rhonda comes to the netherlands at the age of 2.
the family counts 2 children,rhonda has also a younger brother from 6 years,ian who also play tennis.
rhonda was 8 years when she started to play with this sport.
at the age of 9 her tennisteacher discover that she has talent.
on his advise she is only busy with tennis.
if everything goes well she can play within 3 years for young
holland,professional tennis on national niveau.
trainer denny: very passionate girl,who want to work hard,and want to do
anything to get good,and where she has talents. talents,special physical and
the way she hits the ball.its very hard work for her but we will see where it ends.
ronald:she always want to win,even at home when we play a game she always wants to win and thats not always possible.
amina:she still must learn a lot,because me personal i will not accept second or third place.
i always goes for the first place.thats the way i try to educate my kids.i always goes for the first
place.
ronald:i hope she can break through.and that she is gonna play international.
but that you don’t know,we must wait.
amina:in life you must, like we say in english sacriffice,you must when you wants to reach a goal you must give a bit of yourself.it’s not to much,it has not an affected on her and it has no affected on me.
so i think it’s fine.it’s not too much.
trainer denny:important is ofcourse that there are expectoration created for her.
because when there are expectations she get pressure and she will perform less,when she perform less then she develope less.
so it’s important that we bring her gradually to a certain niveau.
and there we must coach the child but also the parents.
amina:if i must compare rhonda with children of her agegroup,she is a little more develope in her thoughts.she is not play so much with barbies,but she can be a child,she is still a child.
male reporter:what do you like about your friends?
rhonda:yes … they accept the way i am,and they are nice.
male reporter:they accept the way you are? have you ever been teased?
rhonda: yes
male reporter:what wat you teased about?
rhonda:they teased me for 5 years on school.and they call me pig and asked if i layed in the mud to have such color.
yeah i let it go,i didn’t say anything.but one time i get angry and i fight with a girl after that they stopped.
when i say something then they stop,otherwise they continu with teasing.
male reporter: what will be your worst dissappoint?
rhonda: ummmm don’t reach the top of the world.
yes i really want the reach the top,thatswhy i gonna train and work hard for everything to reach the top.
Thank you Ronald!
Stay in touch
I love this one!!! Great interview, Costagirl, and excited to see new talent and faces!
thanks for the interview i will keep in toch costa…… for the people who like the interview i have translate hopefully in my best englisch because words from dutch to englisch is not easy. she had in july an interview for the dutch magazine called the tennismagazine. i hope people like it and leave an comment here and on her website http://www.rhondasaad.com in het guestbook.
Rhonda de Lang, an unusual appearance.
Venus in the suburbs.
She was born in Ivory Coast but has a Liberian and Dutch passport.
Although she began playing tennis late, she is already in the national top-10.
She sleeps two half nights a week in the cabin of her father’s truck was,ballgirl of a nice
Monfils and an angry De Bakker.
Preferably She has three coaches(trainers),and a sponsorcontract from wilson.
and she look like Venus Williams.
Thats the story of the 11 year old Rhonda Bright de lang from nieuwegein.
because Ivory Coast has better medical care than neighboring Liberia, Rhonda was born there on 12
September in Abidjan.
Two years later The missile flew to her ears in Liberia rhonda and her mother amina decided to fleed the war.
a sister living in the Netherlands, so Den Hague become there first home.
Ballet was the first sport of Rhonda, “but I found boring.” She chose for tennis. “No idea why.”
It soon became clear that she has talent, a lot of talent. So much, that her father, who trained
A junior football club named by DOVO after a year and a half years have been swept away.
“I also play tabletennis,Rhonda made and could only surprise with those short balls behind the net.
“That is exactly the battle where Rhonda now work hard on.
She has an offensive style, hard to turn back and try opponents by surprise by the sledgehammer blows to exchange
short balls. You see little in women’s tennis.
Drawn for
A dark appearance on the tennis court is not usual.
However, Rhonda little trouble with her color encountered.
However, there was initially blind she quickly got better than her at agegenotes at TV Vreeswijk (in its first years, she was club champion to 12 years).
Parents of other girls suspects Rhonda them to be drawn.
Her opponents were further encouraged by the loud adults along the track.
“I’d rather not play on track 1″Rhonda says now. “Then people look at me.”
On advice of her coach Edi Igaz Rhonda reported themselves to in the union.
After training sessions once knew the coaches enough.
They flowed directly into the second year A status girls.
Three times a week she traveled from then houten and Renkum to the federal training.
When Federal moved to Papendal she stopped, because the work from her father was no longer combine with the travel.
Best boss of Wilson
Edi, Denny van den Berg and Petra de Jong of the Balance Tennis Academy are now her trainers.
Rhonda wants to finish her school and then later work with Nick Bollettieri in Florida.
With coach Edi, a Serb born,Rhonda flew to Serbia last year for her first international competitions.
She played two tournaments and came twice to the quarterfinals. “The best girls there were better than those here.
“Then by Rhonda union was asked what her goal, she replied: “I become the number one in the world.
“Now the answer is:get “Better.”
Against people who they first she meets she is verry shy. She speaks softly in short sentences. “I ‘m quiet, but sometimes very busy.
At school camp for example. ”
She can also be nice brutally. Rhonda wrote a letter to Wilson with the question if they want to sponsor her.
She started with the request Best boss of Wilson.
First, get in the top-10 of your age group, was the answer.
Not much later Rhonda stood seventh.
Wilson delivers clothing, rackets and a bag and will soon be a contract with her.
Sleeping in a truck
Rhonda is undemanding, never whines and sleeps anywhere easy.
Even in the cab of her fathers truck’s.
Twice a week she waked up at three hours at night.
Her father Ronald work as a driver of the Technical Union and starts his truck at four hours at night everyday.
As he loads and unloads rhonda sleeps a few hours in his car.
Sometimes he makes her awake at five hours for a cup of hot chocolate.
Else she sleeps up to seven hours.
Warehouse manager roy and chief Jaap ensure that on those days ronald first may load.
so that rhonda can be on time for the training what starts at 7.30 in the morning.
Ronald de Lang has also build a site about his daughter.
Then include see more pictures of her with Novak Djokovic, Robin Söderling, Robin Haase and Raemon Sluiter.
These toppers she meet during the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, where she was ball girl.
Best double of the world Daniel Nestor / Nenad Zimonjic meet Rhonda one years earlier in Rotterdam edi introduce them to rhonda before his Serbian compatriots.
when Thiemo de Bakker during abn tournament 2010 threw away his racket in anger on center court, Rhonda asked a linesman what to do and picked up the racket and gave it back.
The commentator at the match found it “very sweet”. Nikolay Davydenko was not. “he did not give any a signature.”
Gael Monfils however said thank you in English when Rhonda gave him the ball.
Sparring with Venus and Serena
Two other colored tennis players are the favorites of Rhonda.
It is her dream and wish to hitting a ball with Venus and Serena Williams.
In the book of Serena that Rhonda is currently reading, she finds it particularly Remarkably, the two never join Indians Wells.
As one of the sisters there once was booed.Rhonda understands the revenge though.
Not only through her skin and her long legs is Rhonda often compared to Venus Williams.
Also her game. She hits hard and flat, sometimes a little too wild. And even her backhand similar to that of Venus.
Besides playing with the sisters Rhonda has an ultimate dream.
“When my uncle died recently at his 42th, I made a promise, written on a tennis ball and put it in his coffin.
“Venus won Wimbledon five times. So far is Rhonda not yet.
But she plays with her eleven years in a league between boys and girls until seventeen years and was district champion.
And she has a special story.
Am so proud of u Rhonda, You are our celebrity. Am sure your will be an inspiration for teen-age girls…. Your interview was great and i can see that u are more mature in your thoughts….. Bravo and keep it up to the fullest!!!!
You are lovely and thank you for your kind comments
Keep em coming
)))