TSA withdraws support for Africa Cares   Tennis South Africa (TSA) has withdrawn its support of this weekend's Africa Cares Women's Tennis Challenge, which is scheduled to take place on the 3rd and 4th of December 2022 at DP World Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg (NB: DP World Wanderers is the venue and not event organizer). The federation has confirmed it will no longer recognise, sanction, or assist with the tennis exhibition tournament due to the risk of reputational damage caused by the organisers (' last-minute planning and poor execution of key...

Ramphadi and Helen Frans win Limpopo awards 5Dec   Donald Ramphadi, South Africa's leading quad wheelchair tennis player, was named Sportsman of the Year with a Disability at the 2021/22 Limpopo Sport & Recreation Awards on Sunday at The Ranch Hotel in Polokwane. Ramphadi won six titles during the period under review, rising from No.21 in 2021 to No.5 in 2022 ITF world rankings. Helen Frans Special School was named School Team of the Year. In 2021 and 2022, the team won the Limpopo leg of the Rising Star Tennis tournament to qualify for the national final,...

eThekwini Growthpoint Centre Activation 15Dec   Over 150 children have been given more space to thrive at the Westridge Park Tennis Centre, which continues to be the home of the Growthpoint Centre of Excellence, which offers regular tennis coaching and competitive player development. The centre support is made possible by Growthpoint Properties. The Growthpoint Centre of Excellence provides opportunities for players from historically disadvantaged communities to play tennis, work hard, develop, and possibly one day compete on the world's biggest stages. Today, we...

Growthpoint Cape Town Super 8 Congratulations to the winners and runners-up of this past week's Growthpoint Cape Town Super 8, a Tennis South Africa junior and open ranking tournament.   Here are the Champions: Girls Open: Sari Stegmann (WC) Under-16: Donna Le Roux (FS) Under-14: Alicia Taylor (WC) Under-12: Megan van Vuuren (WC)   Boys Open: Willem de Waal (WC) Under-16: Pieter Kotzé (WC) Under-14: Ethan Pieber (WC) Under-12: Fourie Delport (WC)   Congrats; you have earned it through hard work and dedication!

Team SA at ITF/CAT Zonals Champs - Harare   South Africa has a 12-member squad competing in the Under-14 and U-16 ITF/CAT Southern African Junior Championships in Harare, Zimbabwe. The competition will begin with an individual event from 7-10 January 2023, followed by a team competition from 11-15 January 2023. Over 100 players from 11 countries including Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Madagascar, Mauritius, Namibia, Malawi, and hosts Zimbabwe are among the countries represented. Team South Africa in no specific order: Girls U16 Donna le Roux...

Top-flight ITF women's events return to SA 10Jan   Local women's tennis has been boosted by the news that two major international tournaments will return to South Africa in March as part of Tennis South Africa's (TSA) pledge to host more women's events. The two back-to-back International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis Tour events will take place at TuksTennis, the University of Pretoria’s tennis centre during the weeks commencing the 5th and 12th March 2023. The first tournament, a $25,000 ITF prize-money event named after former...

Lloyd Harris back in action! 10Jan   South Africa's former world number 31 Lloyd Harris is back in action after a seven-month layoff to recover from wrist surgery. The 25-year-old is competing in his second tournament this week at the Nonthaburi Challenger II (ATP Challenger 75) in Thailand.   Harris got his campaign off to a winning start with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Kasidit Samrej of Thailand. He will face Germany's Mats Moraing in the second round.   Harris announced last June that he will miss the rest of the 2022 season due to a right wrist...

Harris stuns Musetti at Australian Open 16Jan   South African tennis star Lloyd Harris stunned Italian world No.19 Lorenzo Musetti in the first round of the Australian Open on Monday. Harris won a thrilling five-set match in three hours and 48 minutes, 6-4, 6-1, 6-7 (0/7), 2-6, 7-6 (10/4). This is a significant victory for Harris, who has struggled recently after missing the second half of the 2022 season due to a wrist injury. Prior to the Australian Open, the former world No 31 was ranked No 186 in the world, and he entered the event on a protected ranking due to...

Zonals Wrap: SA win three gold medals 17Jan   Congratulations to our boys under-14 and under-16 teams, as well as our girls under-14 team, who won gold in their respective team competitions at the 2023 ITF/CAT Southern African Junior Championships, which concluded on Sunday in Harare. The under-16 girls team took silver after losing in the final to Madagascar. South Africa will represent the Southern African region in three categories, namely boys under-14 and under-16, as well as girls under-14, at the Africa Junior Team Championship later this year, thanks to...

Harris singles campaign ends at Aussie Open   Lloyd Harris' promising return to the court was cut short on Wednesday when he lost in the second round of the Australian Open singles competition to Márton Fucsovics.   Harris went down to the experienced Hungarian player 2-6 3-6 7-5 4-6.   On Thursday, Harris will compete in the doubles division with compatriot Raven Klaasen.   The 25-year-old Harris missed the second half of 2022 due to a right wrist injury, but has made a welcome return to the court in recent weeks.

Harris, Klaasen advance at Aussie Open 19Jan   Lloyd Harris and Raven Klaasen get off to a winning start at the Australian Open, defeating Pedro Martinez of Spain and Thiago Monteiro of Brazil 7-6 (5), 7-6 (9) to advance to the men's doubles second round in Melbourne on Thursday.   Apart from the Davis Cup, it was the first time the two players had played in a doubles tournament together.   The South Africans will face the winner of the match between Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini of Italy and Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul of France in the next...

KG, Donald bow out at Melbourne Open 20Jan   South African wheelchair tennis stars Kgothatso 'KG' Montjane and Donald Ramphadi both exited the Melbourne Open after losing in straight sets in the singles quarterfinal and doubles semifinal rounds, in their respective divisions. Montjane, South Africa's world No.6 women's player, was eliminated in the last eight stages 6-2, 6-3 by Dutch top seed Diede de Groot. Montjane and her Japanese partner Manami Tanaka were eliminated in the semifinals of the doubles competition by top seeds De Groot and Aniek van...

Klaasen & Harris out of Australian Open 23Jan   Raven Klaasen and Lloyd Harris' run at the Australian Open has come to an end after the South African pair were defeated in straight sets 6-1, 7-6(4) by eighth-seeded duo Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina in the third round.   Both players put in a great effort! Now on to the next one.

Australian Open wheelchair tennis draw   South Africa's players, Kgothatso Montjane and Donald Ramphadi, will compete on Day 1 of the 2022 Australian Open Wheelchair Championships on Tuesday at Melbourne Park in Australia. The unseeded Montjane will face the top-seeded Dutch Diede de Groot in a showpiece women's first-round match on Kia Arena court. Montjane, a former Australian Open doubles finalist, is ranked sixth in the world and hasn't beaten the Dutchwoman since 2015. De Groot has a 22-2 advantage in their head-to-head series, with Montjane winning only...

Van Rensburg names Davis Cup team 24Jan   South African Davis Cup captain Christo van Rensburg announced his team on Tuesday, led by world-renowned doubles specialist Raven Klaasen, to play against Luxembourg next month. Luxembourg will host South Africa in a World Group II playoff tie on February 4 and 5, 2023 in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg. Klaasen, the country’s highest-ranked doubles player at number 56 in the world, will lead a squad which includes emerging South African tennis stars Kris van Wyk (26 years old), Alec Beckley (21) and Devin Badenhorst...

#AusOpen: Donald secures semifinal spot 24Jan   South African wheelchair tennis star Donald Rampahdi overcomes Canada's Robert Shaw in three sets to reach the quads semi-final round at the Australian Open Wheelchair Championships on Tuesday. The world No 5 had to dig deep to beat Shaw 7-6(7), 3-6, 6-1 to advance. Ramphadi will next compete for a place in the final against Dutch top seed Niels Vink. With Kgothatso Montjane out of the singles draw, Ramphadi is South Africa's best hope for success at the Australian Open. Montjane suffered a first round defeat...

Donald reaches maiden Grand Slam final 25Jan   South African wheelchair tennis star Donald Ramphadi reached his first Grand Slam final at the Australian Open Wheelchair Championships at Melbourne Park on Wednesday. Ramphadi and his Brazilian partner, Ymanitu Silva, upset second seeds Andy Lapthorne of the United Kingdom and American David Wagner in straight sets (7-5, 6-3) in the first round of the four-pair doubles draw to reach the final. It was sweet revenge for Ramphadi who lost to Lapthorne and Wagner in the 2022 Australian Open doubles semi-final....

Day 3: Australian Open wheelchair update 26Jan   Donald Ramphadi put his heart on the line in his Australian Open semifinal against Niels Vink but the South Africa’s singles run ended with defeat by the Dutch top seed in straight sets 6-3, 6-0. It is not yet over for Ramphadi, the 29-year-old will compete in the doubles championship final alongside his Brazilian partner Ymanitu Silva against top seeds Niels Vink and Sam Schroder from the Netherlands on Friday. In the women’s event, South Africa’s leading women’s player Kgothatso Montjane's campaign in Melbourne...

Ramphadi claims runner-up doubles finish   South Africa's Donald Ramphadi and his Brazilian partner Ymanitu Silva finished as runners-up at the Australian Open after losing to Dutch pair Niels Vink and Sam Schroder in the quad doubles final on Friday.   The top seeded pair Vink and Schroder posted a 6-1, 6-3 win over Ramphadi and Silva, to secure the championship trophy.   Nonetheless, Ramaphadi had a successful run, reaching his first Grand Slam final. What a fantastic effort!

Davis Cup: SA ready for Luxembourg clash   South Africa are set for a humdinger battle this weekend when they face Luxembourg in what is expected to be a hard-fought Davis Cup World Group II playoff in Esch-sur-Alzette on Saturday and Sunday. At the draw on Friday, it was confirmed that the SA team's No 2 player, Alec Beckley, would face Luxembourg's top-ranked player Alex Knaff in the opening singles rubber on Saturday. In the second singles match, SA No 1 Kris van Wyk was drawn against Luxembourg's No 2 Chris Rodesch. While all players contesting the singles...