The Yeoville Tennis Club is still finding it difficult to keep its doors open.
Members of the club, situated on Kenmere Street in Yeoville, are hoping for a miracle. The EXPRESS has previously reported about the tennis courts at the club being in a shambles. Not much has changed since then.
The clubhouse had been vandalised and vagrants broke in and stole whatever they could lay their hands on. A lack of sporting facilities in the area has also led to other sporting codes sharing the tennis courts.
“Recently there have been boxers using the clubhouse for their practice sessions and the two older courts are used by soccer players,” said Mr Petros Abraham, the development officer at the club.
This is a problem for the players who have a coaching session and practice every afternoon. On Saturdays, the older players attend practice at the Waverly Tennis Club, where there are more courts for them to practice on. There are only two usable courts at the Yeoville Tennis Club.
“My aim is to get the top players into tournaments and I have already managed to get them sponsorship from the Wanderers Tennis Club,” said Mr Abraham.
He is now part of the Gauteng Tennis Association as a member of the executiv
e and plans to approach the National Lottery and government for funding. The bathrooms at the clubhouse are a health-hazard, the walls are broken and the windows are shattered.
“The club is in a shambles, it cannot be improved and it needs to be rebuilt from scratch. The club needs to be dedicated to the sport as there is a lot of talent being wasted,” said Mr Abraham.
Coach Nkosi, who spends a lot of time practicing with the players, says he welcomes any efforts to improve the state of tennis in Yeoville.
“The children deserve better conditions and more support,” said Mr Nkosi.
