Diana van den Born: “GLTA Women’s Tournaments Make the Women Shine”
There is a new tournament, The Dutch Lesbian* Open, on GLTA calendar in the beginning of 2023, January 6-8. This is a wonderful opportunity for all the GLTA women to start the year on an active note and to meet up in Amstelveen, the Netherlands.
We asked a few questions from the Tournament Director Diana van den Born about the upcoming tournament and what can participants expect from it.
Since when have you played tennis and how long have you participated at GLTA tournaments?
I started to play tennis in May 2015 and 3 months later I played my first GLTA Tournament. This was at the EuroGames Stockholm, where I won silver in WD D! I am trying to play at least 2 GLTA tournaments a year.
Which GLTA Tournament is your favourite and why?
Oh, this is really a difficult question. Every tournament I have played so far brings back special memories.
What is your favourite thing about GLTA/GLTA Tournaments?
The nice mix of tennis and socializing. Since I’ve started to play GLTA tournaments I made a lot of new friends. It is always so nice to see each other again, and it feels like yesterday every time. Tennis brings different people together. Beside sharing the same passion for the game, we also share being part of the LGBTI family (or their allies). You can be open about who you love, without hesitation. No funny looks when people of the same sex hold hands or kiss 😉
You have introduced a new tournament to the GLTA tournament calendar. How did you come up with the idea?
I noticed there are only very few tournaments in the wintertime in Europe. This probably has to do with the weather circumstances you can´t be sure of, in most parts of the continent. This means tournaments can best be played indoors in the wintertime.
Sadly enough, there is only 1 European tournament that offers women draws on the GLTA- calendar between 1 October 2022 and May 2023!
Why did you decide to have a woman only tournament and why do you think women only tournaments are important?
I was already thinking for quite a while about organising a GLTA-tournament in the winter period. When I dropped my idea at some of the GLTA-women, they were all very enthusiastic. I checked if they wanted to have a mixed or a woman only tournament and they were very convincing it had to be a women only tournament. This is how the Dutch Lesbian* Open was founded.
I noticed that the women are always a minority at every GLTA tournament. Most of the tournaments do not have women’s draws.
I think it is very important, that there are also women only tournaments beside the men only tournaments. The very few that have been organised for women only, were very successful and you can see the women shine. Empowerment, visibility and recognition of LBTI-women is still needed! By organising the first edition of the Dutch Lesbian* Open this will all be achieved!
At the moment we already have registrations from more than 10 different nationalities!
Tell us about the venue where the tournament will be held?
The tournament will be played at the Dutch National Tennis Centre in Amstelveen (NL).
The NTC has 14 outdoor (12 clay courts and 2 US Open Hardcourts) and 14 indoor courts (10 Australian Open Hardcourt and 4 carpet courts). The venue is the home base of the Dutch Tennis Association KNLTB, where all the Dutch professional tennis players (to be) are training. Botic van de Zandschulp, Tim van Rijthoven and Tallon Griekspoor, but also Golden Slam Winners in Wheelchair tennis Diede de Groot en Aniek van Koot. The NTC is equipped with all facilities the pro-players need. The KNLTB’s physiotherapists and team doctor are also based at the NTC, as well as a player’s lounge, and a tennis focused fitness area.
In the summertime the NTC is also the home base of Tennisclub De Kegel, a club with about 800 members.
At the NTC it also possible to play padel (outdoor), badminton and judo.
All this together makes it a centre with a very nice mix of professional and recreational sports.
The flag store of TennisDirect is also located at the NTC. This tennis shop offers a wide range of tennis equipment, clothes, shoes etc and has a stringing service on site. The shop is open 7 days a week.
The NTC can be reached easily by public transport and has its own free car park, with the possibility to charge e-cars. There is a direct bus from Amsterdam Schiphol Airport that stops in front of the venue. Also, the city centre of Amsterdam can be reached with a direct bus connection.
Ideal about the NTC, is that it is located next to the player’s hotel the 4* Grand Hotel Amstelveen, so participants can walk from the hotel to the NTC. The hotel offers rooms with special rates for participants of the Dutch Lesbian* Open as of only €65 per night, including breakfast and welcome drink.
There is also a bowling centre, where you can also play pool billiards, next to the venue, so whenever participant feels like doing something else, there are several possibilities!
What can the participants expect from the tournament?
The Dutch Lesbian* Open is one of the cheapest tournaments on the GLTA-Tour! The fact the entry fees for most GLTA tournaments are quite high, are also one of the reasons why most women can only afford playing 1 or 2 GLTA tournaments per year.
As I am lucky enough to work at the NTC, the court rental is very low for the Dutch Lesbian* Open, what makes we can keep the fees low.
On Thursday, 5 January 2023 the Dutch Lesbian* Open kicks off with a Meet&Greet at the NTC. On Friday it will be tennis, socialize, tennis, socialize, tennis, and more socialize and tennis. In the evening NTC will serve a very nice Italian Pasta Buffet and we have Game Night (prepare to play Twister, Uno, Monopoly, Cards and the famous Dutch Sjoelen). On Saturday it will be tennis, socialize, tennis, socialize again, and we finish the day with a lovely 3 course player’s dinner, followed by a party with DJ Miss T. We finish on Sunday with tennis, socialize, tennis, socialize and the price ceremony of course! And for those who do not have to travel back on Sunday, we will organise a social event in the evening.
During the tournament the NTC will have a special tournament menu for food and cocktails!
Which GLTA tournaments are you planning to play in 2022/2023?
At the moment I am planning to play the BrilliANT Games Antwerp, Dutch Lesbian* Open Amstelveen, GLTA Masters Canary Islands (if I get an invite), PinksterTournament Amsterdam, Paris Summer Cup, Zurich Rainbow Open and BrilliANT Games Antwerp again.
Do you have a favourite doubles partner? What do you value in your double’s partners?
No not really. I played basketball and softball in the past, so I am used to play in teams. For me most important is to have fun on and off court. Always be respectful to your doubles partner and your opponents! We all have good and bad days on court, once your partner has a good day, give compliments, once your partner has a bad day, cheer them up.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself
My official name is not Diana, but Boudina. However, my nickname is Nigel 😉 (named after the koala from the movie The Wild).
