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Esther Mary Vergeer is a retired Dutch wheelchair tennis player. Combining singles and doubles, she has won 42 Grand Slam tournaments, 22 year-end championships and 7 Paralympics titles. Vergeer has been the world number one wheelchair tennis player since 1999. In singles matches, she has been undefeated since January 2003 and ended her career on a winning streak of 470 matches. She is often mentioned as the most dominant player in professional sports.
Over the course of her career Vergeer won 700 matches and lost just 25. Vergeer won 148 singles titles including four Paralympic Singles Gold medals, 21 Grand Slam titles and 14 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters. Vergeer spent 668 weeks as the World Number One, first claiming the position on 6 April 1999, regaining it on the 2 October 2000, and relinquishing it on 21 January 2013. Vergeer was the ITF World Champion for 13 years in a row. In doubles competitions Vergeer won 136 titles, 23 of which were won at the Grand Slams. Vergeer also has three Paralympic gold medals for the doubles and has been part of the winning World Team Cup side on 12 occasions.
Vergeer had been undefeated in women's singles matches for ten years, having lost on 30 January 2003 to Daniela di Toro. Over the next 10 years, Vergeer won 120 tournaments, 470 matches, beat 73 different opponents and did not lose a game on 95 occasions. Additionally, during the streak she lost only 18 sets and was taken to match point only once; against Korie Homan in the final of the 2008 Paralympic Games. Vergeer retired in February 2013.
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