Namibian tennis reaches new heights

Namibian tennis will reach new heights when it hosts the Billie Jean King Cup Africa Group III tournament at the Central Tennis Club in Olympia, Windhoek, from 4 to 9 August.

More than 50 players from 12 countries will compete in the tournament, which is the premier international team competition in women’s tennis and is equivalent to the Davis Cup for men.

The Billie Jean King Cup was originally known as the Federation Cup, but was changed in 2020 in honour of one of the world’s greatest woman players, who won 39 Grand Slam titles and dedicated her life to fighting injustice and discrimination, while she was a trailblazer for gender equality in sport.

The vice president of the Namibia Tennis Association, Vekondja Kuzee, says it will be a historic occasion for Namibian tennis.

“The Billie Jean King Cup is huge and it will be the first time we will be hosting an event of this magnitude.

“We hosted the Davis Cup earlier this year, but that was just against one team, but now we will have 12 teams in action, so that’s a first for Namibian tennis,” he says.

“I hope it will boost the game in Namibia so we can get more players and more investment into the sport. We only received an ITF grant to host the tournament, while Pupkewitz Haval are the official vehicle sponsors,” he says.

The 12 competing countries are Algeria, Botswana, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Zimbabwe and the hosts, Namibia.

The countries will compete in three groups of four teams each from 4 to 6 August, with the three group winners qualifying for a second round-robin competition from 7 to 9 August.

The overall winning team will gain promotion to the Europe/Africa Group II, which currently only includes two African countries in Egypt and South Africa, for next year’s Billie Jean King Cup tournament.

The countries that finish bottom of the three pools will also play each other in a round-robin tournament, with the team finishing bottom of that pool then being relegated to Africa Group IV next year.

The Namibia Tennis Association, meanwhile, announced a six-member team that will represent Namibia at the tournament. The experienced Lesedi Jacobs will captain the team that includes Kerstin Gressmann, Linique Theron, Lisa Yssel, Mari van Schalkwyk and Joanivia Bezuidenhout.

Jacobs is based in the United States where she previously played on the college circuit and now coaches tennis, while Gressmann is based in Paris where she competes.

The rest are local-based players, with Linique Theron having won the HMKV Invitational for the past two years, while Van Schalkwyk and Bezuidenhout are two of Namibia’s young rising stars.

Both are 16 years old, but are currently ranked number one and two among the seniors on the local circuit.

The draw for the tournament must still be made, while Namibia’s line-up and order of play must still be decided, according to Kuzee.

“The players were selected according to their ability and experience. Sedi was the number-one ranked player at last year’s Billie Jean King Cup tournament, so it [the top seed ranking] will probably be between her and Kerstin, who is playing at a competitive level in France,” he says.

Kuzee says the standard will be very high, but backs Namibia to do well.

“There are some serious teams coming, but we will have home ground advantage and if we can get good home support, I think we can do well,” he says.

Tickets are N$50 per person and are available at webtickets.com.na and Model outlets. 

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