Former tennis player Richard Krajicek has undergone heart surgery. His wife, Daphne Deckers, announced this on Instagram on Tuesday.
Deckers shared a photo of Krajicek with a large “get well soon” balloon. “I want to give you an update on behalf of Richard: he has had heart surgery,” she wrote.
“A PEARS operation to be precise, in which his dilated aorta is supported from the outside by a custom-made mesh prosthesis. It was a major procedure, but it all went well. So we are happy and relieved.”
Krajicek has since left the hospital. “We are now focusing on his recovery,” writes Deckers, who thanks the team at Amsterdam UMC for the good care.
Krajicek is considered one of the best Dutch tennis players of all time. He won seventeen ATP titles in singles during his career, including Wimbledon in 1996. His highest position in the world rankings was fourth place, which he reached in 1999.
Nowadays, the 53-year-old Krajicek is the tournament director of the ABN AMRO Open, the largest tennis tournament in the Netherlands. That tournament is played in his hometown of Rotterdam.
