Tennis South Africa launch development centre in Atteridgeville
Tennis South Africa (TSA) opened their third development centre in Atteridgeville, Pretoria, last week.
The Tennis South Africa (TSA) development programme is on a roll and last week its latest Growthpoint Development Centre was launched in Atteridgeville.
The local facility is the third of five TSA Growthpoint Development Centres to be launched in the next few months. The first development centre was launched in Cape Town late last year, followed by the second centre in Soweto earlier this year.
The decision to base the centre at the Atteridgeville tennis facility in Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, was made following a tender process run by TSA, in co-operation with the City of Tshwane and Gauteng North Tennis.
Atteridgeville has a strong tennis culture, with a vibrant club also operating at the facility. The club was formed in 1994 when three different clubs – Ditshepe, Broadway and Sumer Pride, which all belonged to the Atteridgeville Saulsville Tennis Association (ASTA) – joined together at one venue.
The club grew from strength to strength, keeping the game alive in the Atteridgeville and Saulsville communities. The club has produced seasoned players, three of whom have received ministerial bursaries through Sports and Recreation South Africa.
Atteridgeville Tennis Club presently has six coaches and 12 tennis technical officials – with one official, Mpho Makhoba, becoming the first female in Africa to be recognised as an ITF Silver Badge official.
“Atteridgeville has proven to be a successful breeding ground of tennis players, officials and administrators and ASTA has over the years contributed enormously to the development of the game in the community. The awarding of this Growthpoint Development Centre to Atteridgeville is well-deserved and will assist the talented pool of players around the community to reach their dreams,” Richard Glover, CEO of TSA, at the launch.
The new Atteridgeville centre has both a grassroots and a junior high-performance focus with the emphasis on three important aspects.
Firstly, to integrate with and provide support to existing tennis development initiatives in Tshwane. Secondly, to grow the sport in target schools in the surrounding area and in the third place to act as a platform for junior talent identification and junior talent development.
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