Singles success for tennis ace Ian

South Coast tennis players Ian Ackerman and Raj Naganna, both members of Umtentweni Tennis Club, are in line to play in the World Championships (Masters) in Croatia in October this year.

Ian travelled upcountry last week to play in the Gauteng East Masters tournament, which formed part of the series of tournaments in South Africa used to determine the ranking list of all Masters (Seniors) players from 30-85 years old.

It was held over the past two weekends, January 24-26 and February 1-2, at the Benoni Lake Club.

There are numerous such tournaments held annually, plus the Interprovincial, which count for ranking points.

Ian flew up both weekends and took part in the men’s 75+ section.

The highlight of his trip was beating the South African number two in his age group, John Coetzee, in the singles final, 6-4, 5-7, 6-1.

With this win, Ian moved up to number one, shared with Hein de Ridder, in the rankings on 500 points.

In the first set against John, he was 4-1 down and raced through to win 6-4.

At one stage in the second set, Ian was 5-2 and 30-love up on his serve and somehow managed to lose it 7-5 before getting his act together again and dominating the third set.

“It just shows you never give up and never lose focus,” he said.

Ian shares the ranking with Hein, who he grew up with in Beaufort West, where they learnt to play rugby, cricket, tennis, athletics and swimming together.

This puts Ian in line to qualify to represent SA again – he did so in 2016 in Croatia and 2024 in Turkey – and simultaneously enter the World Individual Championships in Croatia in October 2025.

Raj, meanwhile, is currently in fourth spot. Unfortunately, he sustained a hamstring injury during the recent Ugu Masters.

He is on the mend but not yet quite at full speed and stretch.

However, he has a chance, as four players are normally selected.

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