Kristel Sanders moves from Netherlands, finds family through teammates

In order to pursue her dream of playing collegiate tennis in the United States, Netherlands native Kristel Sanders only needed to post a YouTube video.

Though not viral, Sanders’ highlight video was enough to gain attention from tennis coaches in America.

“I got help to make a YouTube video, showing off some of my tennis skills,” she said, wearing a Ball State tennis jacket after practice. “After that, I received some phone calls from coaches asking me to play on their team.”

Nearing the end of her four-year career at Ball State, she said she wouldn’t be here if not for the YouTube video.

One of the coaches that called Sanders was Ball State’s head coach at the time, Christine Bader.

“I immediately hit it off with her after we talked and was a big reason I chose Ball State,” Sanders said.

Family away from home

Her hometown of Veldhoven sits in the south part of the Netherlands, about 78 miles south of Amsterdam and 53 miles east of Antwerp, Belgium.

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Sanders was troubled by a lack of collegiate tennis programs in the Netherlands. While attending a tennis tournament in her country, Sanders saw a presentation about college sports in America.

The possibility of being able to continue playing tennis at a collegiate level drew her interest and pushed her to create the YouTube video.

Sanders also wanted to study at Ball State in order to become fluent in English, as Dutch is her native language.

Once moving to the U.S. became a legitimate possibility, Sanders realized she wouldn’t get to see her family much. But Sanders said it wasn’t too hard adjusting once she got here.

“I haven’t had any difficulties to living here,” she said. “I mean, someone will point out I do something that seems odd to them, but it wasn’t a very hard transition since they are both Western countries.”

Another reason for the easy transition was her “second family” she gained through a teammate.

“Kristel has become like a member of my family,” junior Courtney Wild said. “My mom calls Kristel her ‘Dutch daughter.’ And on her Senior Day, my parents are going be standing in as her parents.”

Sanders also celebrates holidays with them when she can’t go home.

While Sanders left her life back in the Netherlands for the sport, tennis hasn’t been a lifelong dream.

“I originally wanted to play soccer when I was a kid,” she said. “My dad didn’t want me to play because he didn’t think it was a sport for girls, so I picked tennis.”

Becoming a captain

Sanders’ transition to American life has been as smooth as her play on the court. Sanders has increased her win total each season at Ball State.

Her improvement over three years earned her the role of team captain this year. Teammates said the title has noticeably changed Sanders’ role with the team.

“I met her during my recruiting trip, and she was very shy,” junior Ashlyn Rang, who now lives with Sanders, said. “Which was understandable, since she was a freshman and she was away from home. Now, she is so much more confident in her game and as a leader.”

With six matches remaining on the season’s schedule, Sanders has surpassed her freshman win total. She currently has 14 overall wins in singles and 18 overall wins in doubles.

The improvement and promotion to captain means more responsibility, but Wild said teammates look up to her.

“She has definitely matured over the years.” Wild said about Sanders. “She has become a role model on the team and really fights hard on the courts.”

Winning in the MAC

The Mid-American Conference began with a big victory over Northern Illinois and a close loss against Miami.

Sanders has been at her best in MAC matches. Her biggest career victory came in a match against Miami last year.

In the match, she was down in the third set.

“I was able to come back and win 7-5 and clinch the match for us,” she said. “It was the first time in a long time that we beat Miami.”

When her senior year ends, Sanders will return home to the Netherlands and begin a job at PwC, an accounting firm, while also pursuing a master’s degree.

Rang said she will miss how Sanders could always make her laugh, like when they would sing together on the courts.

“I’ll miss being here a lot,” Sanders said. “Especially when I won’t see my teammates every day, that will be weird. I’ll miss them the most.”