Tennis (W) – Kgothatso Montjane: "I feel like a beacon of hope"
Tennis: Kgothatso Montjane wants Africa to have a bigger presence. The South African is a wheelchair tennis player.
Sport News Africa · Author profile ·
Listen to this story
Audio version in preparation · read aloud by your browser meanwhile
Kgothatso Montjane has a message to get across. The wheelchair tennis player, who became the first Black South African woman to compete at Wimbledon (2018), wants more consideration from the International Tennis Federation (ITF). In her view, Africa is not sufficiently represented on the circuit, and she wonders why. "I don't know if it's a question of money; is it because we are poor? I don't know. I'm looking for the answers, I want to know why," she told the BBC World Service.
That bitterness contrasts with the 37-year-old's 2023 season. She won the women's doubles at Roland-Garros with Japan's Yui Kamiji. The pair then went on to reach the Wimbledon final. The first South African woman to win Roland-Garros since Tanya Harford and Rosalyn Fairbank took the women's doubles title in 1981, Kgothatso Montjane has some regrets. "People tell me you're the first, so it's a bittersweet moment for me (winning Roland-Garros). I want to celebrate it, but at the same time I started late and I may retire soon. Who is the next one from Africa to do it?"
Showing the way
Kgothatso Montjane went on, aware that she can inspire some young people to follow the path she has blazed. "I really wish some of my fellow Africans could have an opportunity because I believe there is talent out there. I feel like a beacon of hope in a way, because I do it in a wheelchair. And when you look around, nobody really does it, apart from the lady from Tunisia (Ons Jabeur). As a Black person, I just hope people will be able to see (what I do) and invest more in Black children, so that we can see many more of us (doing it too)."
Kgothatso Montjane's comments did not go unnoticed at the top. Andrew Moss, head of the ITF World Tour, responded. "There is talent on the continent that can get to the top of the game; elite play can come from anywhere. And so the ITF has invested a lot of money both in development pathways, and also in helping to stage professional tournaments to help make that happen. We have seen significant growth in tournaments across Africa. So that is in a way the main building block. What is important then is that there are opportunities for players after they stop being juniors, once they reach 18, 19." It remains to be seen whether this will lead to action.
Read also: Wimbledon 2023: Ons Jabeur and her loved ones devastated