Local schools take centre stage at Ekurhuleni RCS Rising Star Tennis event
Three schools were crowned national championships, Durbanville Primary dethroning defending champions Umhlali Preparatoty, while Courtrai won the girls'section.
Durbanville Primary and Courtrai Primary shone brightest at the RCS Rising Star Tennis National finals, held at the Gauteng Ekurhuleni Tennis Association (GETA) complex on November 2, clinching the boys’ and girls’ titles respectively.
Helen Franz Special School showcased their class by dominating the wheelchair tennis category, winning both the boys’ and girls’ trophies.
Durbanville won their title 2-1, while Courtrai were a class above the rest in the girls’ section, winning 3-0. Helen Franz clinched their titles with 3-0 and 2-0 victories, respectively.
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The three-day national showpiece, which began on October 31, wrapped up in style with three singles finals on centre court.
Courtrai’s Mienke Troskie and Stirling Primary’s Amy Burrows set the tone for the day, serving up a cracking opener, with Troskie walking away with a 6-4, 6-3 straight sets victory to hand her school the title.
In a pulsating boys’ final, Umhlali Preparatory’s Cameron Kock snatched a consolation win, edging out Durbanville’s Justin Adams 7-6, 7-5 after a seven-point tie-break decided a tense first set.
Kock drew first blood, taking the first game with a deft shot that set the tone for the contest. He surged to a 5-2 lead before Adams mounted a spirited fightback, winning three games in succession – including a gruelling 18-ball rally in the 10th game – to level matters at 5-5.
With momentum swinging back and forth, the set went to a tie-break. Kock stormed ahead 5-1, but Adams refused to back down, clawing his way to 5-4. Showing composure under pressure, Kock rediscovered his rhythm to close out the next two points and the set 7-6.
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The second set was just as enthralling, with momentum shifting from one player to the other. With Adams levelling matters at 5-5 and another tie-break looming, Kock showed exactly why he’s the top seed, holding his nerve to take the next two games and seal the set 7-5 and with it, a hard-fought victory.
In the wheelchair tennis boys’ final, Helen Franz’s Pheeha Machaka came from a set down to beat Open Air School’s Menzi Biyela 4-6, 7-6, 10-3.
Biyela, the top seed, overcame periods of frustration, even hitting the net with his racquet after losing a point, to win the opening set 6-4.
However, a determined Machaka fought bravely in the second set to win 7-6 after a tie-break, before going on to win the 10-point match tie-break 10-3.
Over 800 schools from 41 districts participated in this year’s competition, with a 39% increase in participation from quintile one to three schools.
