The battle to be Africa’s best university on the tennis court continued well into the dark “shot after shot”, with the players hoping that it would lead to an eventual victory. If ever there was a case of the winner taking it all, that was it.

That is one way to describe the final day of the recent FASU Tennis Slam Championships in Kampala, Uganda. Tuks’s men were victorious, as was the Maties women’s team. The mixed doubles were going to be the big decider.

The problem was that the time was running out. It was getting dark. So, it was decided to play the mixed doubles in a tiebreak format.

“By the time we took to the court, we still could see our opponents at the other side of the net. But once we started to play, the light quickly began to deteriorate. You could hardly see the ball. It was a case of ‘swinging’ your racket, hoping it would connect with the ball. Actually, it boiled down to whoever served won the point,” said Jo-Ané Verhoef from the Tuks team.

In a video taken during the mixed doubles, one of the player-spectators could be heard giggling nervously before saying, “oh my word, it is very chilled but so much depend on the outcome. Just take your ‘serve’ . . . that is it . . .”

Tuks ended up winning the mixed doubles 10-7. The victory meant they won overall by 2.5 points.

“It was amazing to win. For quite a few minutes afterwards, none of us could stop smiling. As Tuks, we had been trying to win big for some time. And we had done it,” said Verhoef.

She and Carli Bruhns won the women’s doubles.

Tuks’s André Snyman was victorious in the men’s singles. According to him, even in daylight, the playing conditions were challenging.

“The surface we played on resembled a dirt road with pebbles on. It often led to an unpredictable bounce. But generally, the ball slowed down. It was sort of like playing on clay. With a lot of ‘slip sliding’ during points. You had to be patient. It suited me. I love playing from the baseline, putting in long rallies to wear an opponent down,” he commented.

Snyman played his teammate and longstanding friend and rival Willie Esterhuizen in the men’s semi-finals. He and Willem Wessels lost in the men’s double semi-finals.

Marine Vos and Simona Georgieva (Tuks) both lost in the women’s singles semi-finals.

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