Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
US Open doubles tennis champ eyes a singles title and an Olympic medal
SHOULD Kgothatso Montjane be regarded as one of South Africa’s greatest tennis players?
Having won two doubles Grand Slam titles this year, the consensus would be that she should be.
But Montjane doesn’t think so. Not yet.
“I still have a lot in me. I want to win a singles Grand Slam first then we can talk.”
The star wheelchair tennis player arrived back in South Africa this week to a rapturous reception at OR Tambo International, returning as a US Open champion after claiming the wheelchair women’s doubles title with her partner Yui Kamiji.
The two snatched the title after a walkover when one of their opponents in the final couldn’t play due to illness.
The pair were meant to play topseeded Dutch pair Diede de Groot and Jiske Griffioen, who withdrew from the match.
Montjane’s title win means that within the space of a few months, she has won two Grand Slam titles, having won the Roland Garros women’s wheelchair doubles with Kamiji earlier this year.
She has now won two Grand Slam titles with Kamiji, who she rates as the best double’spartner she’s ever had.
Despite being in such great form, Montjane still insists she is not playing her best tennis yet.
“Things have aligned and are going my way, but I feel that I can do better, especially in the singles. Physically I’m in my best form, it’s just mentally I need to be stronger.”
“There have been a lot of highs but some frustrating lows. With Covid-19 I was not able to travel and did not play competitive tennis.
“Thereafter an elbow injury and slow recovery kept me back from playing at my best. Now, fully recovered and reaching three Grand Slam finals in one year is probably the most successful year to date.”
While Montjane says she is receiving the necessary support to succeed as a wheelchair tennis player, she has urged South Africa to show more support to wheelchair athletes.
“Personally, I am happy to be getting the necessary support.”
Montjane says she is aiming for more Grand Slam titles.
This time she is hoping to win a singles Grand Slam title.
“I will keep at it until I make it. can feel it, it’s so close.”
She also expects to be playing tennis for a good few years more.
“Wheelchair tennis is different in terms of career span. For example, Stephan Houdet, who won the (men’s) doubles at the US Open, is 52. I feel I have a few years left in me. I am looking forward to the Paralympics in France next year. An Olympic medal is a target for me.”
Her rise in tennis has made Montjane an inspirational figure in South Africa.
“It is so rewarding to me that I can inspire people,” she said.
“The fact that people are in awe of what I have achieved, of my independence and of my resilience, really pushes me to do even better.”
While Montjane won’t rest on her laurels, she says she plans to enjoy her Grand Slam win, something she never imagined ever doing as a young girl.
“I only picked up a racket for the first time at the age of 19. The last place I thought I would be is on the international circuit travelling all over the world. The change in my life is quite surreal.”