Mees Röttgering: The Future Is Bright For Likeable Dutch Teenager

Mees Röttgering
Mees Röttgering (photo: ATP Tour video)

ROTTERDAM/WASHINGTON, February 5, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

What a difference a year can make. Twelve months ago, Mees Röttgering was a spectator inside the Rotterdam Ahoy Arena watching his favorite players compete in the ATP 500 ABN Amro Open in Rotterdam, a major port city in the Dutch province of South Holland that’s also the second-largest city in the Netherlands.

Now, an up-and-coming talent, the 17-year-old Dutch lefty – who just happens to be the top junior boys’ player in the world – made his ATP Tour debut Monday night on Centre Court against 98th-ranked Italian qualifier Mattia Bellucci. While it didn’t go quite as he had hoped, there’s plenty to be excited about this likeable Dutch teenager, who earned his first ranking point at age 15 and is currently ranked No. 839 on the PIF ATP Rankings after reaching a high of 800 last August.

“It’s super cool to be able to play an evening match right away,” Röttgering said, quoted by the tournament’s website. “My opponent already has two games under his belt and is used to the balls. On the other hand, playing on Centre Court is also quite different.”

Indeed, Bellucci, who reached the second round of last week’s ATP 250 Open Occitanie in Montpellier, France, had already eliminated a pair of Dutch players, unranked wild card Thijs Boogaard and 196th-ranked wild card Gijs Brouwer, over the weekend in qualifying without losing a set.

By the end of their one-hour, 42-minute tussle, which ended at a quarter past midnight, Bellucci had bested the wild card Röttgering, 6-3, 6-2, by capitalizing on 10 aces and hitting 22 winners overall. He won 79 percent of his first-serve points, converted four of nine break-points against the Dutch youngster and outpointed him 74-55. To his credit, Röttgering hit 14 winners and broke the left-handed Bellucci once in six attempts but also made 38 unforced errors.

While the 5-foot-11, 176-pound Röttgering showed plenty of fight until the end, following in the footsteps of Rafael Nadal, his idol growing up, he also left Centre Court visibly limping.

“It’s the first time for me to get cramps on the court,” Röttgering said, quoted by the tournament website. He required treatment at the start of the second set. “That’s largely due to the tension. Things weren’t going well in my first service game, which I lost straight away. The tension gradually decreased, but he hardly missed anything.”

Despite the loss in his ATP Tour debut, it was a good experience for the young pro. Röttgering performed at a decent level – and his playing style was very reminiscent of a young Nadal, accented with his quick left-handed forehand strokes and two-handed backhand.

“His strength is in his hits,” said his coach, Joachim Mol, quoted in a 2024 ITF-produced video that focused on a day in the life of Röttgering. “When he hits his forehand and backhand, he can hit easier than a lot of other guys. He plays close to the baseline and he can hit really clean shots with his forehand and his backhand. Also, he can follow the power of the shots. It’s easier for him, so his preparation is really fast.”

Throughout his ATP Tour debut, Röttgering received plenty of encouragement from the Dutch fans in attendance at Rotterdam Ahoy. Undoubtedly, there will be better days ahead for him. Certainly, he’s one to keep an eye on in the future.

Röttgering: A natural at an early age

Röttgering took up tennis at age 6 by playing at his local club in Wanssum, located in the Venray region of the Dutch province of Limburg, and worked his way through various training camps and school. Since 2014, Röttgering has been coached by Mol in Eindhoven. Recently, he started working former Dutch pro Sjeng Schalken, too. Monday evening, Dutch Davis Cup team captain Paul Haarhuis was court side encouraging Röttgering, helping to keep things positive.

The Dutch teenager has been on a fast track to the pros the past two years. By age 16, Röttgering reached the semifinals of the 2023 senior Dutch championships, where he lost to Brouwer. By February 2024, he was a semifinalist in the boys’ singles of the Australian Open and a futures finalist in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, becoming the only 16-year-old ranked in the ATP Top 1000. In doing so, he became the youngest Dutch male to reach a singles final on the ITF World Tennis Tour.

Last summer, Röttgering reached the final of the boys’ singles at Wimbledon, defeating top seed and junior French Open champion Kaylan Bigun of the United States in the quarterfinals and Theo Papamalmis of France in the semifinals. He lost the title match to Nicolas Budkov Kjaer of Norway in straight sets. Then, in October, Röttgering won the ITF Junior Finals in Chengdu, China, by defeating Rafael Jordar of Spain in the title match.

Röttgering’s remarkable year culminated in his being invited by Haarhuis and the Netherlands Davis Cup team to November’s Davis Cup Final 8 in Malaga as a hitting partner. It gave him an opportunity to see the level of other Dutch players like Tallon Griekspoor, Botic van de Zandschulp, Jesper de Jong and Wesley Koolhof up close and personal.

“My goal [for 2025] is to win more 15 and 25Ks and rise in the ATP rankings,” Röttgering said near the end of his ITF video.

Mol added: “Our goal is to become a Top 100 player and maybe higher in the rankings – but we will see this for later. So, first, he has to focus on his own improvement. That’s important.”

 

 

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