Vriesekoop started playing table tennis in 1972, and between 1977 and 2002 played at top level in Europe. She won the European Championship twice and was a Dutch Champion fourteen times in the singles and sixteen times in the doubles. Until 1989 she worked with coach Gerard Bakker,^[3] and then worked with Jan Vlieg.

Biography

Vriesekoop was the youngest of nine siblings in a farmers family. Her father died of cancer when she was nine years old.^[3] In 1995 she appeared on the cover of Playboy Europe, and the issue contained an unprecedented 12-page interview with her. The money she received from Playboy helped her solve financial problems.^[5] She retired from competition in 1997,^[6] and in 1999 gave birth to a son, but her husband died shortly before that. While training in China she became interested in the culture and then studied Chinese language and philosophy in Leiden. Between 2006 and 2009 she worked in Beijing as a freelance correspondent for several Dutch newspapers including NRC Handelsblad.^[5] She was selected as the "Dutch Table Tennis Player of the Century" in 2000 and as the Dutch Sportsman of the year in 1981 and 1985.

Career highlights

Summer Olympic Games

1988, Seoul, women's singles, 7th

1988, Seoul, women's doubles, 7th

1992, Barcelona, women's singles, last 16

1992, Barcelona, women's doubles, quarter final

1996, Atlanta, women's singles, 1st round

1996, Atlanta, women's doubles, 1st round

World Championships

1979, Pyongyang, women's singles, last 16

1979, Pyongyang, women's doubles, last 16

1979, Pyongyang, mixed doubles, last 16

1981, Novi Sad, women's singles, last 16

1983, Tokyo, women's singles, last 16

1983, Tokyo, women's doubles, last 16

1983, Tokyo, mixed doubles, quarter final

1983, Tokyo, team competition, 8th

1985, Gothenburg, women's singles, last 16

1985, Gothenburg, women's doubles, last 16

1985, Gothenburg, team competition, 4th

1987, New Delhi, team competition, 4th

1995, Tianjin, women's doubles, last 16

World Doubles Cup:

1992, Las Vegas, women's singles, quarter final

World Team Cup:

1994, Nîmes, 3rd {{Brca}}

//Pro Tour Grand Finals">Pro Tour Grand Finals:

1996, Tianjin, women's singles, last 16

Pro Tour Meetings

1996, Kettering, women's singles, quarter final

1996, Kitaku-Shu, women's singles, quarter final

1996, Kitaku-Shu, women's doubles, quarter final

1998, Beirut, women's doubles, quarter final

European Championships

1980, Bern, women's singles, semi final

1982, Budapest, women's singles, winner {{goca}}

1982, Budapest, women's doubles, runner-up {{sica}}

1982, Budapest, mixed doubles, winner {{goca}}

1984, Moscow, women's singles, quarter final

1984, Moscow, women's doubles, semi final

1984, Moscow, mixed doubles, semi final

1986, Prague, women's singles, quarter final

1986, Prague, women's doubles, runner-up {{sica}}

1988, Paris, mixed doubles, runner-up {{sica}}

1990, Gothenburg, women's doubles, quarter final

1992, Stuttgart, women's singles, winner {{goca}}

1992, Stuttgart, women's doubles, semi final

1992, Stuttgart, team competition, 2nd {{sica}}

1996, Bratislava, women's doubles, runner-up {{sica}}

1998, Eindhoven, women's singels, quarter final

European Youth Championships

1977, Vichy, women's singles, winner {{goca}} (juniors)

1978, Barcelona, women's singles, semi final (juniors)

1979, Rome, women's singles, winner {{goca}} (juniors)

European Top-12 Championships

1978, Prague, 2nd {{sica}}

1979, Kristianstad, 8th

1980, Munich, 2nd {{sica}}

1981, Miskolc, 2nd {{sica}}

1982, Nantes, 1st {{goca}}

1983, Cleveland, 3rd, {{Brca}}

1984, Bratislava, 2nd {{sica}}

1985, Barcelona, 1st {{goca}}

1986, Södertälje, 5th

1987, Basel, 4th

1988, Ljubljana, 2nd {{sica}}

1991, Den Bosch, 3rd {{Brca}}

1992, Vienna, 9th

1993, Copenhagen, 5th

1994, Arezzo, 7th

1995, Dijon, 5th

1996, Charleroi, 3rd {{Brca}}

1997, Eindhoven, 5th

1999, Split, 11th

Books

• {{cite book|author1=Bettine Vriesekoop|author2=弗里斯科普|title=想念北京|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c17jPgAACAAJ|year=2008|publisher=安徽教育出版社|isbn=978-7-5336-5092-6}}
• {{cite book|author=Bettine Vriesekoop|title=Het Jaar van de Rat|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vUt1AAAAQBAJ|year= 2009|publisher=Bezige Bij b.v., Uitgeverij De|isbn=978-90-6005-889-3}}
• {{cite book|author=Bettine Vriesekoop|title=Bij de Chinees|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wVV2AAAAQBAJ|year=2009|publisher=Bezige Bij b.v., Uitgeverij De|isbn=978-90-6005-969-2}}
• {{cite book|author=Bettine Vriesekoop|title=Duizend dagen in China|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9fJyAAAAQBAJ|year=2011|publisher=Nijgh & Van Ditmar, Uitgeverij|isbn=978-90-388-9399-0}}
• {{cite book|author=Bettine Vriesekoop|title=Heimwee naar Peking|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YWt1AAAAQBAJ|year= 2013|publisher=Nijgh & Van Ditmar, Uitgeverij|isbn=978-90-388-9670-0}}
• {{cite book|author=Bettine Vriesekoop|title=Dochters van Mulan, Hoe Vrouwen China Veranderen |url=https://www.bruna.nl/boeken/dochters-van-mulan-9789492037008|year= 2015|publisher=Brandt, Uitgeverij|isbn=9789492037008}}

References