Tennis teams tackle tough continental tasks
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday November 2, 2018 13:36
The senior team is preparing to welcome players from 16 African countries for the Africa Tennis Nations Cup, which will be played at the Notwane Courts from next week Monday to Saturday.
The Africa Cup has attracted players from Botswana, Zimbabwe, Kenya, South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Mozambique, Burundi, Rwanda, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Swaziland, Mauritius, Madagascar, Malawi and Angola.
The six-day tournament is divided into individual and teams competitions. The senior team captain, Aobakwe Lekang said they are ready after a month of training.
“The girls team has been having evening sessions while the boys came in the morning.
We decided to divide them into two groups because of their commitments such as school,” he said.
Lekang said unfortunately the team did not have an opportunity to train outside the country. He said the mood is high in camp and each player has set own targets.
“Everyone knows what they want to achieve. We know the players that are coming because they played together at the Davis Cup, All Africa Games and the junior circuit. We know their strengths and weaknesses,” he said.
Lekang said the Africa Cup would assist players in improving their CAT and national rankings. One of the players, Emmanuel Mabechu said preparations for the Africa Cup went well. He said it was unfortunate that they did not play any tournament to gauge their readiness.
“I hope that would not affect our performance. We have a good number of players who stand a chance of winning this cup.
Mind you, there are top ranked Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) players coming,” he said.
Mabechu said the important thing is to qualify for the team events because 11 teams are coming and only the top four can play in the team event.
Lekang, Mabechu, Lefa Sibanda (men), Leungo Monnayoo, Thato Madikwe and Anele Maplanka (women) will represent Botswana.
As soon as the African Nations Cup ends, the International Tennis Federation/Confederation of African Tennis African Junior Circuit 2018 will start in Mauritius. Mark Nawa, Arnold Bleskit, Sibusiso Qame, Ekua Refilwe Youri, Atlang Chongwe, Lilly Poely and Chelsea Chakanyuka are representing Botswana.
Botswana Tennis Association vice president, Oatsi Thipe told Mmegi Sport that they hope Youri wins the tournament so that she improves her CAT rankings.
“2019 should be a breakout year for her. The plan is to take her to Nadal Academy in Spain. We also wish Nawa could qualify for the ITF Training Centre in Kenya. He has already been invited for a training camp in Mauritius,” Thipe said.