Tennis championships off to perfect start

Tennis South Africa (TSA) anticipates yet another great South African Tennis Junior Championships in Bloemfontein this year, building on the past successes of the tournament in the City of Roses.

Close to 600 teenage tennis professionals from across the country are currently competing at the prestigious event which commenced on Wednesday at the various tennis courts within the Free State capital, particularly the Free State Stadium tennis courts, the tennis courts at Eunice High School and Grey College, as well as at the University of the Free State tennis courts.

Leon Freimond, TSA’s manager of high performance schools and coaching, is confident that the on-going tournament is bound to be a success. In an interview with The Weekly, he said there are better controls to ensure that the tournament runs smoothly, while stating that the players have been afforded adequate time to prepare.

“We are providing more officiating so there is more control over the matches.

“We also started off at a slightly reduced speed than normal, which gave everybody a chance to warm up and practice,” he said.

The Free State is well-represented at the championships, with leading youngsters such as Phillip Henning, Hubert Badenhorst, Margo Landman and twins Huibre-Marie and Louise-Marie Botes, flying the provinces flag high at the tournament.

“The Free State is particularly strong in the under-14 age groups. In the boys category there is Phillip Henning, Joubert Klopper as the two stand outs and in the girls under-14 we have a number of girls that have come in as first years like Carmen Fichardt and Linge Steenkamp. It is a group that was mostly born in 2000 and 2001. In the under-18s you have Jan-Paul Barry who over the years has featured well in the (South African) top eight,” Freimond said

“So the Free State does have a strong presence,” he added.
Last week TSA CEO Gavin Crookes endorsed Bloemfontein as the ideal city to host SA championships tournament, lauding its premium facilities and friendly atmosphere. Freimond echoed Crookes’ sentiments this week, adding that the city’s compact state makes it an ideal host venue for top tennis tournament tournaments.

Bloemfontein will also host the Free State Dunlop Series directly after the national junior championships.
“It has always been in Bloemfontein, probably for the last 15 years I think,” said Freimond.

He added: “Another reason it is in Bloemfontein is because of the nice facilities. You have more courts in a 5 kilometre radius than any other place in South Africa; it has got accommodation and it is also centrally situated. So there is a lot of things going on for Bloemfontein and it is also perceived to be a relatively safe place.

Freimond further praised the surrounding medical facilities and also made mention of the spinoffs the city enjoys from hosting the tournament.
“I think Bloemfontein appreciates the injection (of money) or turnover the tournament provides, because the 596 players are probably on average supported by two adults, so the guest houses and hotels do well out of this tournament; your restaurants and especially the sport shops do well because of the racquet stringing and players tend to fall short of all sorts of tennis related things.”

The SA Championships will run until April 6, with the subsequent Dunlop Series set to run from April 7 to 11.