Women’s tennis team pulls remarkable feat
Mqondisi Dube | Friday July 24, 2026 10:32
However, the narrative is rapidly changing, and tennis is emerging from the shadows with some eye-catching displays. The Davis Cup team, which has seen the likes of Mark Nawa, Denzel Seetso, Batsomi Marobela, and lately, Ntungamili Raguin, has seen an injection of rapid improvement, with Botswana successfully defending its place in the Africa Group III in Kenya earlier this month.
Whilst the men preserved their status in Group III, the women's team managed to secure promotion to the Euro/Africa Group II of the Billie Jean King Cup, held in Gaborone last week. With a vociferous home crowd cheering on, the girls responded with a near-flawless display, only dented by an inconsequential 2-1 defeat to Nigeria on the last day of the competition.
The team finished top of Group A after wins against Cameroon and Zimbabwe, progressed through the playoffs with a win over Tunisia, and narrowly lost to Nigeria in the final match. Both Botswana and Nigeria advanced to Group 2 as a result. Ekua Youri and Chelsea Chakanyuka carried much of the load, playing in all four matches, where they also teamed up in the doubles match. It was only in the first match that they did not feature in the doubles, with cousins Kelebogile and Cheludo Leungo Monnayoo preferred against Cameroon. The country's top-rated player, Youri, was in blinding form as she often had to dig deep in deciding matches against Zimbabwe in the group stages and Tunisia in the promotion play-off. Chakanyuka proved a willing partner as the two dominated the doubles matches, winning all three where they teamed up. Just like in the men's game, Botswana's future looks bright, with Chakanyuka only 20 whilst Youri is a year older. Cheludo is 22 whilst her cousin, Kelebogile, is more seasoned at 27 and is already a certified coach. Botswana Tennis Association president Oaitse Thipe, who has overseen the steady emergence of a strong talent pipeline over the years, is naturally delighted with the sport's current trajectory. 'The performance of the Billie Jean Cup was really unbelievable. The ladies fought and never gave up even when they were down at some point. For instance, against Nigeria they really fought hard and made sure that they won the doubles match. They showed their resilience and determination.' He said the growth of tennis has been phenomenal, reflected by the number of junior players competing across different competitions internationally. 'It is good to see this, as we can now advocate for the development of facilities across the country. We can now dream of having big tennis facilities across the country. It is our vision to see tennis being played in all parts, even the small parts of the country,' Thipe said. He added that as part of spreading the game across the country, they will hold tennis festivals in places outside Gaborone, having done so in Jwaneng last year.