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From Ermelo to the World stage
John-Laffnie de Jager: South Africa’s Tennis Maverick on The Sias du Plessis Show
John-Laffnie de Jager: South Africa’s Tennis Maverick on The Sias du Plessis Show
Former ATP doubles star John‑Laffnie de Jager recently guided Team World to victory in the inaugural World Tennis Continental Cup in Shenzhen, China. In an interview with BizNews, he reflects on the resilience he built overcoming his disability and the rest of his inspiring journey. And he’s far from done. De Jager is now partnering with
Former ATP doubles star John‑Laffnie de Jager recently guided Team World to victory in the inaugural World Tennis Continental Cup in Shenzhen, China. In an interview with BizNews, he reflects on the resilience he built overcoming his disability and the rest of his inspiring journey. And he’s far from done. De Jager is now partnering with Stellenbosch University to build a state‑of‑the‑art tennis facility to nurture emerging talent across Africa and revive the South African Open. He has also launched a new leadership venture, Beyond the Baseline, translating tennis‑honed grit, resilience, and mental conditioning into powerful tools for business leaders, teams, and high performers.
John-Laffnie de Jager: South Africa’s Tennis Maverick on The Sias du Plessis Show
John-Laffnie de Jager: South Africa’s Tennis Maverick on The Sias du Plessis Show
John-Laffnie de Jager: South Africa’s Tennis Maverick on The Sias du Plessis Show
Few South African have made as colourful a mark on tennis as John-Laffnie de Jager.
The former doubles star and Davis Cup captain reflects on his career, locker-room stories, and his passion for mentoring future players on The Sias du Plessis Show.
John-Laffnie de Jager: From Professional Player to Visionary Tennis Coach
John-Laffnie de Jager: South Africa’s Tennis Maverick on The Sias du Plessis Show
John-Laffnie de Jager: From Professional Player to Visionary Tennis Coach
John-Laffnie de Jager, a former South African tennis professional, has left an indelible mark on the tennis world as both a player and coach. Born in 1973 in Johannesburg, de Jager was primarily a doubles specialist, achieving a career-high ATP doubles ranking of World No. 11 in 2000. He won 7 ATP Tour doubles titles and reached the semifinals in Grand Slam tournaments on multiple occasions.
New generation athletes
Navigating modern sports coaching: embracing challenges and adaptations with John-Laffnie de Jager's resilience mentality.
John-Laffnie de Jager: From Professional Player to Visionary Tennis Coach
John-Laffnie de Jager’s life story reads like something straight out of D.H. Lawrence’s poem about “never seeing a wild thing feel sorry for itself”.
“When I was born, my heart stopped,” the former SA tennis player begins. “Doctors tried to revive me, and when they gave me an injection to revive me, it hit my main nerve going down the side of my right leg, and damaged it.
Navigating modern sports coaching: embracing challenges and adaptations with John-Laffnie de Jager's resilience mentality.
Navigating modern sports coaching: embracing challenges and adaptations with John-Laffnie de Jager's resilience mentality.
Navigating modern sports coaching: embracing challenges and adaptations with John-Laffnie de Jager's resilience mentality.
John-Laffnie de Jager's journey from a challenging birth to a successful tennis career and high-performance coaching embodies resilience and determination. Despite being born with physical limitations, he defied the odds to become a Davis Cup player and ATP Tour doubles standout. Now, as a coach, De Jager imparts his old-school tough-love approach to a new generation of athletes.
Mental coach, John-Laffnie de Jager, believes in embracing challenges especially during the current pandemic
Navigating modern sports coaching: embracing challenges and adaptations with John-Laffnie de Jager's resilience mentality.
Navigating modern sports coaching: embracing challenges and adaptations with John-Laffnie de Jager's resilience mentality.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the FNB Varsity Cup tournament.
"COVID-19 is real, but the biggest mistake anyone can make is to continuously worry about how it might impact your life. Negativity is never good. The challenge I have put to the players is to see the glass as half full rather than half empty," said John-Laffnie de Jager, TuksRugby Mental Coach.