Brighton tennis star serves up winning streak
Brighton Tennis Club's Chad Streak has won a few doubles tournaments and has ranked quite high in South Africa for singles.
“TENNIS has taught be so much about life that I don’t think I would have learnt if I had never stepped on the court.”
This is the epiphany of 18-year-old, Chad Streak, who has found his passion in the active sport. He joined the Brighton Tennis Club through being inspired by Natalie Grandin and Gary Comins, who run most of the local tennis tournaments in Durban. Seeing them in action on the court inspired an undeniable passion in Chad and he has never looked back since. 
“I didn’t have a coach for about two years because I didn’t have financial aid. It was after I met Natalie that I had clear direction. She would often help me out and also introduced me to a way of tennis that didn’t involve money. Today, I’m coached by her. I’m really motivated by her and Gary.”
He fell in love with sport from as young as five-years-old. “I remember one day turning on the TV and I started watching Roger Federer. It was then when I was inspired to take up the sport, where I used to play with a coach at Mitchell Park. I’ve basically been playing ever since. It is a very hard sport to master and I used to get very frustrated on court because I hadn’t grasped the mental aspect of the game. Its almost like a game of chess, but with an added demanding physical element. I believe tennis is such a unique sport and I don’t think it is appreciated enough. But for me, tennis is very entertaining to watch and play, making the hard training worthwhile,” said the driven player.
An ambitious Chad, lives by the saying that ‘practice makes perfect’ as he strives to perfect his game with each practice and competition. He rates his speed as his winning skill on the court. He’s played at nationals several times and marks this as one of his biggest achievements.
“The best in South Africa go there and to be selected as an U18 has been amazing. It’s always a great experience with very tough competition. Elements such as weather and higher altitude also affect how you play,” he said.
He has won a few doubles tournaments and has ranked quite high in South Africa for singles. He’s also made the top 8 for the eThekwini Municipality tennis tournaments in every year he’s participated.
Chad has been part of Brighton Tennis Club for almost two years and is currently in training to be a coach. He looks up to his favourite professional tennis player of all time, Roger Federer, whom he shared sparked his love for the sport.
“Apart from being ranked one of the best in the world, he’s graceful on the court and he’s such a genuine person.”
When he isn’t training, the Yellowwood Park resident is busy with his studies, doing his General Educational Development (GED) which is an international high school credential that is recognised and listed on the South African Qualifications Authority framework (SAQA) as an NQF level 4 matric equivalent. He has an interest in pursuing computer programming as a profession or a career in pharmaceuticals.
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