Young tennis player, Muhammed Arabi has achieved his goal of becoming the best in the Lowveld.

This was recently announced by the Lowveld Junior Tennis (LJT).

The 17-year-old said hard work, determination and advice from his two coaches are what got him to where he is.
Muhammed said Tombie Pappas and Henk Haymans helped him to reach his full potential.

“They took my tennis skills to another level and I am happy to finally get to know how it feels to be the top player,” he said.He is a grade 11 pupil at Hoërskool Bergvlam.

To get the title he had to compete in weekly tournaments which are played on Fridays and Saturdays.

“I managed to win two of the five tournaments I played. The LJT then takes the points from the two best games that I played in and with those I qualified to be in the Lowveld team. After qualifying we had more tournaments and the points I got were calculated, the association then released the results and I was the top player,” Muhammed explained.

He joined the Lowveld junior tennis team when he was 11 years old. He started playing tennis when he was seven.
“My interest started when I saw Pappas at the tennis court; I approached her. After telling her what I wanted she hugged me and since that day I have never looked back,” he said.
The young player said his training programme helps him to stay fit and he makes sure that he follows everything exactly as it is, without making any mistakes.

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“I practise on Tuesday with Pappas at Penryn College from 14:00 until around 18:00. On Fridays I have my training session with Haymans at Uplands from 15:00 to 16:00. I also have an exercise routine which I do alone and I also have a diet plan.

My mom helps me with preparing the food I need to eat.

In the morning when I wake up I do cardio for 30 minutes to tone my muscles. I also jog three kilometres every day,” Muhammed said.

When asked what he likes to do for fun when not playing tennis, just like any young person he said he likes hanging out with his friends and listening to music.

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His future plans include playing in a tournament in Egypt.
“I want to conquer Africa. I am not where I want to be and I will keep improving so that I can play better tennis,” said Muhammed.