Young tennis players on fire
On Saturday July 30, tennis courts across the Lowveld were besieged by primary school players from all over, as 160 children from 11 schools participated in the 2022 BNP Paribas Rising Star tournament for the Ehlanzeni district.
Catering for primary school, high school and wheelchair tennis players this year, the BNP Paribas RCS Rising Star Tennis series is targeting more schools as it continues to grow the sport through grassroots development, taking the game to the youth around the country, including disadvantaged communities.
The Lowveld edition of the competition was split into division A and B due to the high number of entries. The division A boys event was played at Curro Nelspruit, with Laerskool Nelspruit defeating Laerskool Laeveld to take the title.
In division A girls, played at Panorama Tennis Club, Laerskool Nelspruit prevailed once again, this time defeating Curro Nelspruit. The tournament was played in a team format, where each tie consisted of two singles matches and one doubles match. The winners of division A will now represent the Lowveld against the winning teams from Highveld and West Mpumalanga at the Provincial Rising Star event here in Mbombela on August 20.
In division B girls, Laerskool Laeveld prevailed over Tentaleni Primary School in the final, and Curro Nelspruit defeated Nelspruit Primary in the division B boys final. The division B girls event was held at Nelspruit Tennis Club and the boys event at Uplands Prep.
“On behalf of Lowveld Junior Tennis, I would like to thank our Lowveld Primary Schools representative, Susan van der Linde, for her tireless efforts in making this event possible, especially for the many players from disadvantaged communities who participated on the day.
A huge thanks as well to the Lowveld Junior organisers on the day, and the teachers from all participating schools for their commitment to their learners and our wonderful sport,” said Japie Janson, chairperson of Lowveld Junior Tennis.