Future tennis stars to head to China
The South African leg of WTA Future Stars was hosted at the 2021 Growthpoint Junior Nationals, which concluded on May 3 in Mangaung.
The girl’s u-14 and u-16 singles winners at the premier junior event earned the right to represent South Africa at the WTA Future Stars global final in Shenzhen, China – all expenses paid.
Donna le Roux, the second seed from Mangaung, emerged the victor of the u-14 tournament with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over third seed Rune van Wyk at the Free State Tennis Stadium.
“This week was very tough, and I had to put up a fight to reach the final. It’s never easy, so I had to do my best,” said Le Roux following her match.
“I am super excited to be going to represent South Africa in the u-14 event at the WTA Future Stars in China. I will work very hard and bring my A-game there,” said Le Roux.
In the u-16 event, Gauteng Central Lilitha Ndungane, who seeded third, needed just over an hour to claim the girl’s under-16 singles title, after a 6-1, 6-1 win over fourth seed Kaitlyn Ramduth.
“I really played a tough match today against Kaitlyn. I think she was a tough opponent, but I managed to outdo her and played my best,” said Ndungane.
“I am very proud that I get to represent South Africa at the WTA Future Stars in China. I will make the best of the opportunity.”
WTA Future Stars is a singles competition for girls in the u-14 and u-16 age categories that culminate in a global final held in the lead-up to the Shiseido WTA Finals Shenzhen, the WTA’s season finale, which will be held in China in November of this year.
WTA Future Stars was established in 2014 and includes participating countries such as Australia, Canada, China, Great Britain, India and the USA.
This year, players from more than 25 countries and regions will make the trip of a lifetime to Shenzhen, where they will pit their skills against their peers and benefit from a diverse off-court programme including development seminars and mentoring by some of the greats of the game.
In 2019, the WTA Future Stars finalists had the chance to attend meet-and-greets with WTA legends and WTA players like Martina Hingis, Mary Pierce, Simona Halep and Bianca Andreescu, receive mentorship from Zheng Jie, Alicia Molik and Casey Dellacqua, and attend clinics hosted by WTA Finals Community ambassador Judy Murray.
