Local tennis stars in flying start
Calistus Kolantsho | Tuesday January 13, 2026 09:55
It brought together junior players from across the region, both team and individual events for boys and girls in the 14 and Under and 16 and Under categories. Botswana is represented by a team of 12 boys and girls across both age categories.
One of the upsets of the tournament saw one of the favourites, Malak Macheng eliminated by rising star, Reene Sebego in the quarter final on day two of the tournament.
Sebego sailed to the semi-final 4-6, 7-5 (10-7). Malak is a former ITF/CAT 14 champion, becoming the first girl from Botswana to win a singles title in the tournament. She also lifted the doubles title alongside Angel Chakanyuka.
Speaking to Sport Monitor, Sebego said she did not expect to pick a win against Macheng because she is a former champion. She also said she had trained for match and also studied her opponent’s style of play.
“I did not expect to win but I believed that if I focused, a win was possible,” she said.
Another local player, Tinashe Phatshwane sailed to the semi-final after beating Mapalo Mulenga of Zambia, 6-0, 6-0. Other players who reached the quarter finals were Lebone Tlape, Kgotso Kejakang and Chakanyuka.
Meanwhile, Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) vice president-technical, Nonofo Othusitse told Sport Monitor that there has been a lot of action since the tournament started on Friday.
He said the 11 countries at the tournament have fielded players in all age categories and day two of the competition was particularly rewarding for local players.
“It is a good event for our players, it gives them an opportunity to start the year competing. So far, they are playing well, there has been a lot of improvements and upsets on the court.
“We want to see our players being ranked in international rankings being ITF Under-18 or CAT Under-14.
“The Under-14 category of this tournament contributes towards the CAT Under 14 rankings. Now we are getting a lot of our players reaching quarter finals, semi finals and hopefully some will go all the way to reach the finals,” he said.
Othusitse noted that the progress of local players in the competition means the rankings that were recently released where some made it into the top 10 in Africa will improve.
Players who were not ranked will get a ranking opportunity.
He said they also want some players to be included in the Under-18 rankings. Othusitse said the biggest goal at junior level is to play in the Junior Grand Slam and that is what BTA is pushing for.
He said parents are playing a very important role in supporting their children and even assisting the association to send players to international competitions.
Othusitse said although sponsorship remains a challenge, some companies continue to support tennis.