Kelly treasures her net gains

WHILE her role model and 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams is in action at the Australian Open, local tennis ace Kelly Arends will be over the moon with her start to the season.

The 15-year-old bagged two silver medals at the Southern African Junior Zonal Championships in Namibia earlier this week.

She helped South Africa to 10 medals that included five gold, four silver and one bronze in the 10-nation competition.

Also, the girls’ under-14 and boys’ U16 teams qualified for the African Junior Team Championship in July after they won gold in their team events.

It was an easy road to the final for Kelly after she beat her opponents in straight sets. However, the teenager could not repeat her performances in the final, going down 6-4 and 6-3 to Zimbabwean Rufaro Magarira in the girls’ under-16 individual event.

It was the same result for her in the doubles event after she and her partner Iné Lamprecht both went down to Madagascar opposition.

Kelly is ranked number one in her age group in SA.

“I gave a strong performance but there’s always room for improvement. As the tournament progressed the competition became tougher but to beat the number one seed Narinda Ranaivo from Madagascar in the semi-final was special,” said Kelly, who represented the country on two occasions in 2017.

Kelly’s father, Karl Arends, played the sport as a youngster and coaches her along with Anthony Harris. While her brother Robbie, 17, is no stranger to making headlines after he walked away with three gold and one silver, at the African Union Sport Council (AUSC) Region 5 under-20 Games in Botswana, last month.

“Robbie has always been an inspiration since I was a young girl watching him courtside while my father has a deep love for the game and passion for teaching it,” said Kelly

Her mother Juanita Arends said she was proud of what her daughter had achieved. “She has fought her way out of her brother’s shadow and has become Kelly. Watching her play fills me with so much pride. At home, she is like any other teenager who enjoys Netflix and music but often amuses me,” she said.

Kelly Arends won two silver medals at the Southern African Junior Zonal Championships in Namibia, earlier this week.

Kelly Arends pictured in action

SA teammates Heike Janse van Rensburg, Iné Lamprecht and Kelly Arends who took part at the Southern African Junior Zonal Championships in Namibia, earlier this week.