Shadine van der Merwe

Shadine van der Merwe was born on November 25, 1992, in Pretoria, South Africa. Early in her athletic career, she participated in various sports, including playing for the junior South Africa women’s national softball team and earning a bronze medal in javelin at the 2010 Junior SA Track and Field Championship. Her netball talent was identified by head coach Jenny van Dyk, leading to a scholarship at the University of Pretoria, where she later completed a Masters in Education. Van der Merwe began her professional netball career in South Africa, playing for UP-Tuks in Varsity Netball and Gauteng Jaguars in the Brutal Fruit Netball Cup. She captained both teams to national titles in 2017 and 2017-2018 respectively, demonstrating her leadership capabilities from an early stage.

Van der Merwe’s international club career started with Surrey Storm in the UK Netball Superleague from 2018 to 2019, where she received the Best and Fairest Award in 2019. She then moved to Australia, joining Adelaide Thunderbirds in Suncorp Super Netball from 2019 to 2021, making 36 appearances and becoming a member of the leadership team in 2021. Following her time in Australia, she returned to the Netball Superleague, playing for Manchester Thunder from 2021 to 2024, contributing to their title win in 2022 and a runner-up finish in 2024. In September 2024, she joined Loughborough Lightning for the 2025 Netball Superleague season. Concurrently, van der Merwe has had a significant international career with the South Africa national netball team, making her senior debut in 2015. She has represented her country in multiple major tournaments, including the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games, and the 2019 and 2023 Netball World Cups. She also served as an assistant coach for UP-Tuks in 2024, expanding her involvement in the sport.