The combined South African junior tennis team reclaimed their number one position in Africa when they won the team trophy of the 39th ITF/CAT African Junior Championships, which ended in Pretoria over the weekend.
Defending champions Egypt finished second, with Morocco ending in third place over all.
In a dominant display of top class tennis played at the University of Pretoria, South African junior players in the under 14 and 16 age groups won 3 of the 8 titles up for grabs in the boys and girls competitions.
This performance gave the host nation enough points to end top of the log out of 29 countries participating. South Africa last won the title in 2012.
The lone South African singles title was won by Capetonian Makayla Loubser, who beat Aisha Niyonkuru of Burundi 7-5 6-3 in the Girls under 14.
In the doubles, South Africa won two titles and were a losing finalist in one age group.
“We are extremely proud of our juniors and their coaches and the tournament organisers” said Gavin Crookes, President of Tennis South Africa (TSA).
“It was indeed a honour and privilege for the International Tennis Federation and Confederation of African Tennis to allow South Africa to host such a prestigious event.
“We did ourselves proud and with our juniors taking top honours it was the cherry on the cake,”
Final Results of the African Junior Championships:
Singles:
Girls 14 and Under:
- Makayla Loubser (RSA) bt Aisha Niyonkuru (Bdi) 7-5 6-3
Girls 16 and Under:
- Sada Nahimana (Bdi) bt Diae El Jardi (Mad) 6-0 6-4
Doubles:
Girls 14 and Under:
- 1-Makayla Loubser/Lara van der Merwe (RSA) bt 3-Hania Abouelsaad/Lina Ali (Egy) 6-2 6-3
Girls 16 and Under:
- 1-Oumaima Aziz/Diae El Jardi (Mri) bt 2-Zarah Lennon/Celestine Ella (Mri) 6-4 6-3
Photo 1 caption: Makayla Loubser of South Africa, Cape Town, in the Girls 14 and Under finals on Saturday. Loubser beat Aisha Niyonkuru of Burundi 7-5 6-3 to take the title. Photo: Reg Caldecott
Photo 2 caption: The South African team that took part in the 39th African Junior Championships played in Pretoria last week. The South African junior tennis team reclaimed their number one position in Africa when they won the team trophy of the 39th ITF/CAT African Junior Championships which ended in Pretoria on Saturday. Photo: Reg Caldecott
With editing by gsport
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