Youthful Theron makes history 

Johan Theron made history on Sunday when he became possibly the youngest-ever winner of a senior tennis title in Namibia. 

Theron, who is only 14 years old, gave an impressive display to beat Dickson Phiri of Zambia 6-2, 6-2 in the men’s final of the HMKV Windhoek Autumn Open at the Central Tennis Courts. 

Theron, who was seeded sixth in the men’s singles competition, got off to a great start, winning his first three matches in straight sets. He beat Pameni Paulus 6-0, 6-0 and Leandre Louw 6-2, 6-1 to reach the quarterfinals, where he once again won in straight sets, beating Elias Shikongo 6-2, 6-4.

In the semifinals he came up against Namibian Davis Cup player Ruben Yssel and despite losing the first set 6-2, showed great composure to come back and win the next two sets 7-5, 7-5, to win the match 2-1.

In the final he came up against the defending champion and favourite, Phiri, who is also Zambia’s second ranked senior player.

Phiri reached the final after beating the top seed Nguvi Hinda 7-6, 7-5 in the quarterfinals, and the fifth seed Lian Kuhn 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals. 

In the final, Theron took the lead when he broke Phiri’s serve, and although Phiri also broke serve, Theron immediately did so again to take the first set. 

In the second he also broke serve, and gradually took control of the match with his solid and consistent groundstrokes from the backline to run out a comfortable winner in straight sets. 

It was the first time that Theron had won a senior title in Namibia and according to the vice president of the Namiba Tennis Association, Vekondja Kuzee he was a deserved winner. 

“Johan was extremely impressive. He went in as the underdog, nobody thought that he would win the match, but somehow he did it, and actually convincingly too. 

“I’m not sure if that’s a Namibian record for the the youngest ever senior winner in Namibia, but he’s definitely the youngest over the past five years or so,” he said. 

Johan’s father, Johan senior, who also represented Namibia as a player and currently coaches his son, said he thinks he is the youngest ever. 

“I’m not 100 percent sure but I think he is the youngest player to win a senior title in Namibia. Ruben (Yssel) won some titles before but he was older then,” he said. 

“I’m very proud of him – he beat players that he had never beaten before. It’s the first time that he beat Ruben who is the top junior in the country, and it was also the first time that he had beaten Dickson,” he added.

“Against Ruben he was trailing 4-1 in the second set but then made a great comeback to win the match,” he said. 

“He had quite a high percentage of first serves in and his groundstrokes were very solid. His forehand was very strong and he was very solid on the baseline, he made very few unforced errors,” he added.

Johan junior only turns 15 in December, but has already made his mark in international tournaments on the Central African Tennis circuit. Last year he won u14 titles in Mozambique and Botswana, while he was also ranked eighth in Africa in his age group. 

His father, who now runs the Johan Theron Tennis School said his son has already achieved more than him. 

“I think he’s definitely better – I mean I couldnt do what he is doing now. I never won international titles at u14 level, so he has already achieved more than me and Im just very proud of him and I think he is also making the tennis school’s name proud as well,” he said. 

Meanwhile, Johan and Namibia’s other top junior players like Yssel, Israel Dowie, Joanivia Bezuidenhout and Mari van Schalkwyk will be in action at the Central Tennis Courts from next week when Namibia hosts a CAT u18 tournament. 

In an age of information overload, Sunrise is The Namibian’s morning briefing, delivered at 6h00 from Monday to Friday. It offers a curated rundown of the most important stories from the past 24 hours – occasionally with a light, witty touch. It’s an essential way to stay informed. Subscribe and join our newsletter community.