Diede de Groot and the Moment Permanence Stops Feeling Permanent
The queen of wheelchair tennis is no longer speaking like someone trying to protect invincibility.
By Glenda Park
Editor-in-Chief, AVEC G Magazine
Editor-in-Chief, AVEC G Magazine
오랫동안 디데 더 흐로트는 휠체어 테니스 세계에서 ‘패배 가능한 선수’라기보다,
하나의 질서처럼 존재해왔다.
수많은 그랜드슬램 타이틀과 패럴림픽 금메달.
그리고 너무 오래 지속되어 오히려 익숙해져 버린 압도적인 지배.
그러나 그녀가 이번 대화에서 이야기한 것은 승리가 아니었다.
오히려 ‘예전과는 다르게 반응하기 시작한 몸’,
그리고 그 몸과 다시 관계를 맺어가는 과정에 가까웠다.
하나의 질서처럼 존재해왔다.
수많은 그랜드슬램 타이틀과 패럴림픽 금메달.
그리고 너무 오래 지속되어 오히려 익숙해져 버린 압도적인 지배.
그러나 그녀가 이번 대화에서 이야기한 것은 승리가 아니었다.
오히려 ‘예전과는 다르게 반응하기 시작한 몸’,
그리고 그 몸과 다시 관계를 맺어가는 과정에 가까웠다.
Athletes can usually recognize each other very quickly.
Especially para-athletes.
We recognize hesitation long before spectators do. We recognize compensation before commentators mention it. We recognize the private negotiation taking place beneath movement itself. To para-athletes, the body is never abstract. Every movement carries consequence, and every subtle physical shift quietly rewrites rhythm long before audiences notice anything visible at all.
Perhaps that is why the most compelling thing about Diede de Groot in 2026 has very little to do with medals themselves.
The medals no longer require explanation.
For years, de Groot moved through wheelchair tennis with the cold consistency of inevitability. Grand Slam titles accumulated until statistics themselves began losing emotional proportion. Paralympic gold medals followed with such regularity that suspense gradually disappeared from the atmosphere surrounding her matches. Opponents entered the court not simply attempting tactical problem-solving, but psychologically preparing themselves for the suffocating experience of confronting permanence. Her dominance rarely looked emotional. Rarely looked chaotic. Rarely even looked difficult.
That was what lingered.
Especially para-athletes.
We recognize hesitation long before spectators do. We recognize compensation before commentators mention it. We recognize the private negotiation taking place beneath movement itself. To para-athletes, the body is never abstract. Every movement carries consequence, and every subtle physical shift quietly rewrites rhythm long before audiences notice anything visible at all.
Perhaps that is why the most compelling thing about Diede de Groot in 2026 has very little to do with medals themselves.
The medals no longer require explanation.
For years, de Groot moved through wheelchair tennis with the cold consistency of inevitability. Grand Slam titles accumulated until statistics themselves began losing emotional proportion. Paralympic gold medals followed with such regularity that suspense gradually disappeared from the atmosphere surrounding her matches. Opponents entered the court not simply attempting tactical problem-solving, but psychologically preparing themselves for the suffocating experience of confronting permanence. Her dominance rarely looked emotional. Rarely looked chaotic. Rarely even looked difficult.
That was what lingered.
Photography © Anne Timmer
“After a break from tennis and a drop in the rankings as a result, I have had to reinvent myself.”
The sentence arrives quietly. Almost too quietly for what it actually means.
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