Drive to revive tennis
HAS ANYONE else noticed that tennis isn’t one of those sports that gets a lot of attention or exposure to the limelight in South Africa?
In fact, not many people even speak about the sport, come to think of it, so you don't hear much about it or the tennis competitions that take place in the province.
Usually, the only spectators during one of these less popular sporting events are the parents standing close to the field to watch the event and cheer on their youngsters.
But there are those for whom tennis is a sport that they play regularly and they have such a passion for it that they actually want to expand interest in the game to others, especially the younger generation.
One such person is Itumeleng Nkopane from the Diamond Aces Tennis Club.
Nkopane, before discovering his love for tennis, was an avid cricketer, representing the Province at Under-16 level. However, in the latter part of his secondary school years his interests turned to tennis.
“I guess my love for tennis runs in my blood,” Nkopane told the DFA. “It comes from my family because I was told that my grandfather used to play tennis and my father played too.
“I grew up seeing lots of photos of my dad at the local tennis courts and some of him at a few tournaments around the province.”
Nkopane said that he almost had no choice in making the switch to tennis from cricket.
“When I started playing tennis, my love for the game started and I left cricket,” he said, adding that it’s not just a part time activity.
“For me, tennis is … you can call it a ‘serious hobby’,” Nkopane said. “Besides playing, I can watch tennis tournaments, all tournaments all day.”
Nkopane told the DFA that he is a big fan of retired players Serena Williams and Roger Federer but added quickly that currently he is a Rafael Nadal fan.
And being such a tennis ‘nut’, he says that he has a dream of helping the youth get involved with the sport.
“I am hoping and I am praying that young ones from my community and from Kimberley could also join me in this beautiful and classy sport. This is my aim.”
Recently Nkopane was involved in the Vaal River Tennis Tournament, an event that was held at the Park Tennis Club grounds off Carrington Road. Nkopane was the host of the provincial tournament where the Northern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, and North West provinces all hosted similar gatherings.
This competition, which each province gets to host once a month, aims to pique young people’s interest in tennis, particularly those from historically disadvantaged communities.
“We want to provide young people with the chance to experience tennis first hand, Nkopane told the DFA.
“We want to demonstrate the game to them, provide them with coaching sessions throughout the day, and ideally they will take an interest in it enough to join a tennis club nearby," he added.
Nkopane also informed the
DFA that there were very few tennis clubs in Galeshewe and that the courts that were present were unsuitable for tennis since they had never been maintained. However, he was hopeful that this situation would turn itself around if enough people were exposed to the game.
“We are hoping that when we invite individuals from Galeshewe, they will take back what they have learned here, and ideally someone in the region can recognise the need for a tennis club and create one,” he said.
“We have now started using the Gardens Courts, which were once owned by the Gardens Tennis Club, which is located across from the Queens Park gardens. We currently use the courts because the majority of the tennis players in Galeshewe have joined the Diamond
Aces Tennis Club.
“So far, we have 28 active members, and we are growing, but our main goal is to get funding to refurbish the courts and bring them back to a respectable standard,” he explained.
Listening to Nkopane and how passionate he was about uplifting the youth with the tools he had at his disposal, this reporter remembered the saying that goes, “A child in sports is a child out of court”.
Let’s hope that Nkopane and the Diamond Aces Tennis Club can build on what they have started and show potential future investors that they are ready, able and willing to push the boundaries and widen the horizons of young people in the city in a positive and enjoyable way.