Tennis

After a lean spell on the international tennis circuit over the past year, Namibian tennis ace Jurgens Strydom went back to his roots and teamed up with his former Namibian coach Johan Theron.
The change has done wonders as Strydomâ??s game has improved dramatically, to the extent that he qualified for the main draw of some Futures events in the United States for the first time.

Grant Ive of South Africa won the Boys Under 18 singles title at the ITF Junior Circuit Tournament in Windhoek on Friday after beating Zimbabweâ??s Mbonisi Ndimande 6-2, 6-1 in the final.
The top seeded Ive was just too strong for the 10th seeded Ndimande and wore him down with powerful serves and groundstrokes.

Grant Ive of South Africa and Mbonisi Ndimande of Zimbabwe will contest the boys Under 18 singles final of the ITF Junior Circuit tournament after winning their semifinal matches on Thursday, August 9.

South Africa and Zimbabwe are the only countries remaining that will be represented in the singles semifinals of the ITF Junior Circuit Championships in Windhoek.
In the quarterfinals on Wednesday, August 8, four South Africans advanced to the semifinals in the girlsâ?? singles competition, while two South African and two Zimbabweans advanced to the semifinals of the boysâ?? singles competition.

Namibiaâ??s women fared better than their male compatriots on the opening day of the ITF Junior Under 18 Tennis Championships in Windhoek on Monday, August 6.
Three of Namibiaâ??s four female contestants won their opening round matches, with only Imke Jagau losing her encounter. Jagau lost 6-1, 6-4 to the top seed, Bianca Swanepoel from South Africa.

Suiderhof Primary School made history when they become the first school ever to beat either Ruimte or JTL Beukes Primary Schools of Rehoboth in the ten-year history of the Under/10â??s STI mini-tournament that took place in Windhoek on July 28.

Since 1997, when the Namibiaâ??s Tennis Association started the School Tennis Initiative (STI) mini-tennis program, First National Bank has been the financial backbone behind tennis development in the country. Ten years later, and still with the support of First National Bank, the tennis season has started brilliantly for schools participating in the Junior Tennis Initiative (JTI) programme for children under 10 years of age who compete in the School Tennis Initiative (STI) programme and for players over 10 who compete in the Performance Tennis Initiative (PTI) programme.

A new street name in honour of the deceased Davin sisters Suzelle and Janine was inaugurated close to the entrance of the Namibia Tennis Stadium in Olympia, Windhoek on Saturday.
In an emotional ceremony the president of the NTA Bob Mould led the tributes for the sisters who were two of Namibiaâ??s top young sportswomen. Suzelle was ranked third in Africa as an Under 18 junior tennis player, while Janine represented Namibia at both tennis and hockey.

South Africa emerged as the leading nation at the Southern African Zonal Junior Championships in Windhoek on January 17, winning seven of the eight titles on offer.
In the Boys Under 16 singles final the fourth seeded Jason Blakey Milner of South Africa beat the second seeded Grant Ivy of South Africa 6-3, 6-4.

South Africa dominated during the semifinals of the Southern African Junior Tennis Championships in Windhoek on Tuesday, January 16 and will be represented in all the singles final matches on January 17.