World’s best junior tennis stars set to play in SA in 2019
A huge breakthrough was made for junior tennis throughout the continent of Africa after a prestigious ITF Junior Grade A tournament was awarded to South Africa to be hosted locally.
In a major boost for African tennis, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has awarded Tennis South Africa (TSA) with the right to host a high profile and prestigious ITF Junior Grade A tournament.
There are currently only five Grade A events played globally and, outside of the Junior Grand Slams, they carry the highest ranking points on the ITF junior circuit. They are hosted in Mexico, Japan, Italy, USA and Brazil, respectively.
The ITF confirmed at a recent board meeting that the new tournament, the only A Grade event on the African continent, has been awarded to TSA. The date and venue for the event is still to be confirmed, but it is set to be played in the second half of 2019.
With valuable ITF junior world ranking points up for grabs, the event promises to attract the world’s top under 18 male and female players,
This will be the first time in 34 years that a Grade A tournament will be staged in Africa. The last time South Africa hosted a junior tournament of this stature was back in 1985.
Junior player Mbali Langa expressed her excitement following the announcement at Arthur Ashe Tennis Complex in Soweto on Monday.
“I’m really excited about the news and the tournament that will be coming here next year. It is a great way to start living my dream and expose myself to the world and most importantly grow in the sport. I look forward to play in this tournament and get more international exposure. I’m extremely excited to be part of these exciting times of tennis in the country,” Langa said.
Richard Glover, CEO of TSA commented said they would like to thank the ITF and the Confederation of African Tennis (CAT) for placing their faith in TSA.
“This is a massive boost for high performance junior tennis on the continent and is also a clear signal of our intent to bring more international events to South Africa. This new Grade A event provides a wonderful platform for some of our rising junior stars to test themselves against the world’s best, without having to travel outside of Africa,” Glover explained.
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