Sjoerd Valkering, a colorful tennis friend, has left us.
Sunday, December 7, 2025
Many knew Sjoerd Valkering as a very active tennis player at DDV. Particularly within the international Social Tennis group, he was one of the most active players. He always tried to get new players to join in order to keep the concept of Social Tennis alive and gave substance to the social aspect in his own unique way during the drinks after our training sessions.
A few years ago, a major problem loomed for our tennis enthusiast: because his right shoulder dislocated almost permanently during play, he might have to give up his love for the sport. However, that is when Sjoerd showed his determination: in a surprisingly short time, Sjoerd taught himself to serve left-handed. Since then, he has often managed to wrong-foot his opponents by producing both strong left-handed and right-handed shots on the court.
Off the court, too, he was fanatically dedicated to the sport of tennis every day. By studying countless YouTube videos of great tennis players, he attempted to copy the “Ben Shelton serve.” Given the results on the court, we cannot rule out the possibility that he succeeded, at least in part, in incorporating some Shelton elements into his serve.
It is almost incomprehensible that we will never see Sjoerd with his dog Fred at DDV again. His passing comes far too soon and unexpectedly. We will also greatly miss his jokes and antics on the court and in the various app groups. A colorful tennis friend has passed away. We will miss you dearly!
Sjoerd Valkering, a colorful tennis friend has left us
Many knew Sjoerd Valkering as a very active tennis player at DDV. Especially within the international Social Tennis group, he was among the most active participants. He always tried to bring new players on board to keep the Social Tennis concept alive, and in his own unique way, he contributed to the social aspect during the drinks after our training sessions.
A few years ago, a major problem threatened our tennis enthusiast: because his right shoulder would almost permanently dislocate during play, he might have had to give up his love for the sport. But that was when Sjoerd showed his determination: in a surprisingly short period of time, he taught himself to serve left-handed. Since then, he often wrong-footed his opponents by producing strong left-handed as well as right-handed strokes on the court.
Just off the court, he was engaged with tennis every day in a passionate way. By studying countless YouTube videos of famous tennis players, he tried to copy the “Ben Shelton serve”. Judging by his results on the court, we cannot rule out that he at least partly succeeded in incorporating some Shelton elements into his serve.
It is almost impossible to comprehend that we will never again see Sjoerd with his dog Fred at DDV. His passing is far too early and unexpected. We will also greatly miss his jokes and antics on the court and in the various app groups. A colorful tennis friend has left us. We will miss you dearly!