Local duo win SA women’s beach tennis doubles title
Two local women from the TuksTennis Club became the new South African women's doubles champions in beach tennis last week.
Tuks’s women’s beach tennis players, Helga Jeske and Kyla Yelverton seem to have finetuned winning tournaments to a fine art.
Last week they won the women’s doubles title during the South African Beach Tennis Tournament at Badplaas in Mpumalanga.
The two Pretorians won all seven their matches, while not dropping a single set. The previous weekend they won the Gauteng Tournament.
Their next challenge will be their participation at the Arnold Classic Tournament in Johannesburg. They might not have it all their way in this tournament as the indications are that quite a few international players will be competing.
All this action excites the Tuks duo as they are selected to represent South Africa at the ITF Beach Tennis World Team Championships in Moscow Russia early in July this year. If everything goes according to plan, they are also hoping to play a tournament in Kazan, Russia, as part of their preparation.
“The only way we can improve is to compete against international players. Earlier this year I competed in four tournaments in Brazil. It was a great learning experience as I got to play against some of the world’s best players. The standard of play is undoubtedly more intense to what we are used to in South Africa,” explained Jeske.
She and Yelverton both used to be avid tennis players at first, but they got hooked to playing beach tennis the moment they changed racquets.
“To pick up the paddle and play beach tennis is very easy if you come from a tennis background or any other ball sport. The adaption comes in when you start having to win matches, which is only possible with good tactical skills as well as confidence in the more beach tennis related shots like the “windmill,” said Jeske.
According to Yelverton the height of the net is a decisive factor at first.
“As it is higher, you need to make sure you put more spin on your serve, and you only get one serve whereas in tennis you get two serves, which changes the pressure points in beach tennis. It is also essential to get more spin on your smash,” she explained.
Telverton also believes to be competitive in beach tennis, you need to be consistent.
“You cannot expect to win all of your points quickly. You have to be able to think more and play longer rallies on the beach tennis court. You also have to be in sync with your partner. Communication is key to the success of the game,” she concluded.
Beach tennis in South Africa is undoubtedly a growing sport. The numbers of players competing at the national tournament more than doubled from last year.
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