The 2022 Namibia Tennis Association (NTA) season kicked off in Windhoek on Friday with the first T0122 Junior Tournament taking place at the Central Tennis Courts (CTC) in Windhoek.
The juniors competed from under-10s to under-25s in both singles and doubles by the boys and girls, with players earning International Tennis Federation (ITF) points.
Speaking to Nampa on the sidelines of the tournament on Saturday, tournament director Ndumiso Moyo said the points earned at the tournament will qualify the players to participate at Junior Masters tournaments worldwide or take part in any international tournaments.
Over 62 juniors participated in the tournament which was supposed to have taken place in Swakopmund.
“The tournament did not have any sponsors. This tournament is run by the NTA, and I know they are working hard to attract that. Everything went smoothly because we had enough manpower to help run the tournament,” he explained.
He praised the parents of the children for the role they play in nurturing the talent of their children, saying this encourages the kids to fully explore their talents.
Moyo also revealed that there will be a Confederation of African Tennis (CAT) ITF tournament scheduled for April and May where at least 32 countries are expected to send participants.
Meanwhile, in the men’s under-25 age group, Elias Shikongo emerged as champion after beating Sarel Janse van Rensburg via a 6-3, 6-1 straight-set victory.
The third and fourth place was taken by Lorenzo Danster and Oliver Leicher.
In the women’s under-25, Vimbayi Musavengana lost to Hendrina Apollus 0-6, 2-6. They were the two participants in the category.
In the men’s doubles section, Shikongo and Danster teamed up to beat Van Rensburg and Dian Calitz to finish as the winners, while there were no participants in the women’s section.
The under-16 boys’ singles title went to Joel Hiveluah who accounted for Stephan Koen 6-3, 6-4.
The girls under-16 title belonged to Raica Coelho who beat Riamarie Visagie after a 6-0, 6-0 victory.
The next tournament will take place in Swakopmund on 04 March 2022.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
