Youri stuns Spanish tennis
Local star expected to be listed in the country’s top 100 players
At just 16 years old, tennis protégé Ekua Youri is promising to be one of the biggest tennis talents to ever come out of Botswana. The young talent is currently based at the Barcelona Tennis Academy in Spain. She recently won a major tennis tournament in the European state and left some highly rated rivals reeling in her wake.
The teenage sensation is benefitting from all the advantages of living and playing in the same country that groomed Rafael Nadal, one of the greatest singles male players in tennis history. Youri is part of a contingent of emerging young tennis players that promise to put Botswana on the international tennis map. Some of the up and coming local tennis stars include Naledi Raguin (15), Denzel Seetso (16) and Mark Nawa (15).
Gifted with the required physical attributes to succeed in the sport and a mean hand on the tennis racquet, Youri recently stunned her rivals at Open of the Catalan Tennis Federation, one of the highest level tournaments at national level in the European state. The rising star,who is now accustomed to winning on the tennis court caused a major upset against a Spanish national rival who is ranked 40th on her way to winning the event. The final match saw Youri beating rival, Cloe Clements Sort at
Barcelona with a final score of 7-5, 6-2.
The teenager currently plays tennis at a high performance level in Spain, having raised the racquet for the first time at the age of 3. Youri’s early career saw her making progress through the years and eventually reaching the top 20 National ranking in the 12U age group in the UK. Even though she is at the start of her career, Youri has already won numerous tournaments and has been awarded sportsmanship award at a number of tournaments for her fair play, exemplary attitude and professionalism.
The player represents Botswana on a regular basis at ITF tournaments. In an interview this week, BTA president Oaitse Thipe said Youri’s astounding win this past Friday means she is likely to break into the top 100 in the Spanish national rankings. “This is a huge achievement as Spain is a tough environment when it comes to tennis. The country hosts a tennis tournament almost every week,” he said.
The tournament director Rafael Mora at the tennis Open event is said to have showered Youri with praises and acknowledged that she did well in winning a major tournament. Furthermore, Thipe said the star player is expected to play her next game at the African Junior Championship this April. “She will be expected to be part of a national team that is scheduled to play in Lithuania later this year.”