NTA juniors make final push for Masters
Namibia’s junior tennis players made their final push for places at the season-ending Namibia Tennis Association (NTA) Masters Championship during the recently concluded ninth junior tennis tournament in Windhoek.
More than 60 players from across the country competed at the Central Tennis Courts and Sport Klub Windhoek last weekend, with valuable ranking points at stake as they chased places among the top eight in their respective sections.
Tournament director Jandre Bezuidenhout said the penultimate event of the season allowed players to improve their positions before the Masters.
“This was the last chance to get ranking points to be included in the Masters Tournament, which is our final tournament of the year,” he said.
“In terms of the skill and level of play, the players were putting it all out there. It is a fight to be in the top eight in the country.”
Titles on the line
In the U25 men’s section, Tadiwa Mombeyarara topped the round robin after winning all three of his matches, including a 6-1, 6-3 victory over runner-up Stephan Koen. Steven Gathuru finished third.
Leandre Louw was similarly unbeaten in the U25 women’s section, defeating Ann-Joone Steenkamp 6-1, 6-0 and Simoné Steenkamp 6-0, 6-0 to finish top of the standings. Ann-Joone finished second, while Simoné took third place.
Secilia Nghitewapo swept all three of her matches to win the U16 girls’ section, ahead of runner-up Janice Bezuidenhout and third-placed Azalia Nauises.
At U14 level, Joshua Diergaardt was crowned boys’ champion after defeating Pameni Paulus 6-4, 6-1 in the final.
Shafiishuna Shimali secured bronze after overcoming Zéphan van der Westhuizen 6-4, 6-0 in the third-place playoff.
In the girls’ section, Emelia Coetzee came from a set down to defeat Madison Hoff 1-6, 6-3, 6-1 for the title. Albertina Johannes claimed bronze after defeating Hailey Kloppers 6-2, 6-2 in the third-place playoff.
Marcel Diehl came through a tighter contest in the U12 boys’ final, battling past Adriaan Tromp 6-4, 2-6, [12-10] in a deciding match tiebreak.
Joshua Cowley secured third place after Pwoove Paulus retired from their playoff with Cowley leading 6-2.
Johané Steenkamp went unbeaten in the U12 girls’ round robin, winning both of her matches to finish ahead of Tonata Shikololo, while Tijana Boshoff placed third.
In the U10 boys’ section, Faan Vermaak defeated GJ Visser 8-3 in the final, while Andre Olivier claimed third place after beating Oliver Hofert 8-0.
Adele Buys beat Abigail Kapenda 8-3 to claim the U10 girls’ title, with Aishwarya Radhakrishnan taking bronze after defeating Lijana Boshoff 8-3.
Double success
Several singles winners also added doubles honours to their weekend. Louw completed her title double alongside Nghitewapo, with the pair defeating Janice Bezuidenhout and Azalia Nauises 6-1, 6-1 in the U25 women’s doubles.
Diergaardt teamed up with Van der Westhuizen to defeat Paulus and Shimali 6-1, 6-2 in the U16 boys’ doubles final. Diehl partnered Joshua Cowley to claim the U12 boys’ doubles title after Daniël Kuschke and Tromp retired with the score at 6-2, 3-2.
Growing reach
Beyond the results, Bezuidenhout said the season has shown encouraging signs of tennis reaching more parts of the country.
He highlighted the participation of players from outside Windhoek and youngsters from the BNC development programme in Katutura.
“For the first time this year, we had players from Oshakati, and we have consistent participation from the Rundu Tennis Club,” Bezuidenhout said.
He called on sports officers in towns where tennis is still developing to assist players, particularly with challenges such as transport and accommodation.
Bezuidenhout said the wider participation is helping change the perception of tennis as a sport reserved for the wealthy.
“We are slowly moving away from the idea that tennis is an elite or rich sport. We now have participation from across Namibia, so in terms of growth, I think we are doing very well,” he said.
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