Tennis is their ace card

If you are a tennis enthusiast, you will most probably be familiar with the name Byron Black, former touring professional and Davis Cup player for Zimbabwe.

In 1995 Black was a US Open quarter-finalist and in 2000 he reached the same round at Wimbledon. His career high in singles ranking was world no 22, which he achieved in June 1996.

An accomplished doubles player, Black became world number one in doubles in February 1994. He won the 1994 French Open partnering Jonathan Stark. Black was a doubles finalist in three other majors, the 1994 and 2001 Australian Open and 1996 Wimbledon. Black is one of the few professionals to have played a double-handed forehand. He formed the core of the Zimbabwean Davis Cup team with his brother Wayne.

His dad, Donald, lived out his love of the game through his children and saw all three go on to play professional tennis overseas. Byron’s sister, Cara, was ranked number one junior in the world singles and won junior Wimbledon in 1997. She’s currently ranked number 14 in the world doubles. His brother, Wayne, followed in Byron’s wake and racked up his own impressive string of wins, including dominating the Davis Cup championships.

This 45-year-old tennis phenomenon is no longer active on the tennis courts but is still as determined to stay fit and live healthily.

He lives in White River, on an estate he developed. One of the reasons they chose White River, was because of the wonderful tennis reputation that Uplands College has, in order to raise his kids to follow in his footsteps.

In his free time a nice on his mountain-biking to keep in shape. He also loves to spend some time on the soccer field, on a pitch he’s currently building on his property.

“I had my fair share of tennis, but it’s much nicer to spend some time with my family,” Black says.

Following in his successful footsteps and wishing to build on his dad’s legacy, is his son Sam, who is now in grade six at Uplands, where he is ranked number one. His biggest inspiration comes from his father and aunt Cara, whose success has motivated him to be the best.

He follows his dad’s advice to work hard every day and be 100 per cent focused, even when he’s not competing.

Sam does a lot of sport, but tennis is his favourite. His motto is “the more you practise, the better you will get”, and that is why he gets up early every morning to get to the tennis courts.

He tries always to be honest and portray good sportsmanship, just as his dad taught him. “I will always be humble, unlike Andy Murray,” Sam says.