TSA commits to beach tennis

Emme McConnell

Richard Glover, chief executive of Tennis South Africa (TSA), announced yesterday a commitment to growing beach tennis in South Africa, featuring a threeyear sponsorship with Kia.

Glover believed the convenience and intuitiveness of the sport would attract new players and fans.

It was just 10 months ago that TSA decided to trial beach tennis. Since then, SA finished 18th in the Beach Tennis World Championships in Moscow this August.

“It demonstrates that it is an easy and accessible sport,” Glover said. “In nine or 10 months, we were in a position to send a team to compete on a credible basis against the best beach tennis players in the world.”

He explained that was just phase one in TSA’s plan to make beach tennis more popular in SA.

Phase two will bring beach tennis to a developmental stage, including university and school-oriented events and a SA national championship.