Du Toit in SA team off to world masters champs
An avid tennis player from Komani will hit the ground running as part of the South African seniors team set to play at the ITF World Tennis Masters Tour World Championships on the red clay of Portugal.
Paul du Toit, who is ranked three for singles and four for doubles in the 35-39 age group, will attend the opening ceremony tomorrow.
“I just want to have fun and enjoy the experience because it will be the first time I will compete on red clay.
“I want to qualify for the next world championships in Turkey,” he said.
The ITF World Tennis Masters Tour championship is held annually in different venues around the world, where, according to Du Toit, at least 35 countries participate.
Du Toit started playing tennis at the age of eight, but took a 10-year break between the ages of 18-28.
However, his passion for the sport was later reignited and he has never looked back.
Du Toit attributes his strength and tactics for the game to patience.
“I am very patient on the court and vary my game according to the other player’s weaknesses and exploit them,” he said.
For any player to stand a good chance of succeeding in tennis he said: “You need to be patient. Being always willing to try improves all aspects of your game; take positives from losses and learn from mistakes.”
He particularly admires Spain’s Rafael Nadal for his fighting spirit on the court.
Du Toit’s most recent achievements in ranking tournaments include winning the Eastern Cape open seniors’ singles and doubles in 2021 and the doubles in 2022.
He also won the Mpumalanga seniors’ singles and doubles in 2022 and the South Coast seniors’ singles and doubles in 2021.
He also represented the Eastern Cape team at the Interpro this year.
Du Toit believes tennis is not that popular in SA due to it being an individual sport as opposed to a team sport.
“It is also quite expensive because to learn you need a good amount of coaching and that comes at a cost,” he said.
“Many [youths] also do not have an opportunity to be on tennis courts because there are not too many facilities and schools lock the courts for safety reasons and many pupils are excluded.”