Young Mbombela tennis ace continues to make history
At only 11 years old, Joshua Hoffman seems to be making history whenever he steps out onto the tennis court, most recently becoming the youngest player ever to win the Lowveld Closed A division.
Laerskool Laeveld learner Joshua Hoffman is fast becoming a champion on the tennis court, rewriting the history books everywhere he goes.
Only 11 years old, Joshua has tennis running through his veins. He picked up on the sport at a very early age, starting at only six years old, and by 10 he started taking it seriously and practising hard with his current coach, Schalk Schutte, at All4Tennis.
Now, two years on, he is reaping the rewards of the hard work he had put in earlier. Joshua has participated in eight boys U12 tournaments so far this year, in six of which he has ended up in the final. He’s won three of these finals, finishing the runner-up on three occasions.
Joshua is number one in the Mpumalanga boys’ U13 team that will take part in the SA championships in Pretoria in August. Furthermore, he is ranked 14th in the country in the boys’ U12 age group.
Arguably his most notable accomplishment has come on home turf in the Lowveld Closed #4 tournament that took place on May 17 and 18. A total of 76 players from across Mpumalanga took part, and Joshua participated in the A division, which is generally solely made up of high school children.
But this didn’t stop the young star as he went on to win the A division at the tournament, making him the youngest player ever to win the Lowveld Closed A division. While he is well aware of the fact that he keeps making history, this is not something he sets out to do.
“It’s not my goal at all. I have much larger goals I’m aiming for than just the Lowveld tournaments,” Joshua said. One of these is to be victorious at the SA championships later this year.
Joshua’s coach was full of praise for him. “He is very passionate, energetic, he always gives back in training, and he is a very hard worker, too,” Schutte said.
He said he believes it is that hard work that Joshua puts in that sets him aside from most other children his age. “Where he’s come from to where he is now, comes down to the hours he’s put in, and he’s a very coachable kid, too. All of these things have helped him to keep making history.”
