January 22, 2007
By Ndaba Dlamini
THE Arthur Ashe Tennis Stadium, which is still being built, has already been booked for its first tournament.
The stadium will hold the Soweto Open at the beginning of April. Part of the mixed-use sporting precinct in Jabavu, Soweto, it will be finished by the end of February and will be ready to host Soweto's premier tennis championship, according to Sylvester Zungu, the chairman of the Soweto Tennis Association.
The Soweto Open will be held under the auspices of the Gauteng Central Tennis Association, an organisation that administers and promotes tennis in Johannesburg. The Open was first staged at the Moletsane Sports Complex in Soweto in 2005 but because of financial problems it could not be staged in 2006.
"This year's event is definitely going to take place," Zungu says. "We hope to send out entry forms at the beginning of February and we are expecting a good response from people. However, we haven't finalised the exact dates of the tournament."
Work under way at the Arthur Ashe complex
He believes it will revive tennis in Soweto. The sport has been neglected in the past and Zungu's vision is to see the Soweto Open becoming one of Soweto's – and the country's – premier sporting events.
However, the main challenge is securing sponsorship. "At the moment we are looking for people or companies willing to sponsor this year's tournament … Dunlop came on board to sponsor the 2005 Soweto Open. Winners of that tournament [got] tennis racquets, tennis balls and tennis wear."
Zungu says sponsorship will also raise the morale of players and encourage young people in the township take up the sport. The 2007 Soweto Open will have two categories – the juniors and the seniors – playing at the stadium's eight tennis courts. If all goes well and there is a good response from sponsors, a veteran category will be added, he says.
The junior category will include under 11, under 14, under 16 and under 18 tournaments for girls and boys. The senior category will be reserved for women and men over 19.
At present most tennis players in Soweto are trained for free at courts in Moletsane, Diepkloof, Protea Glen, Mzimhlophe, Meadowlands and Mapetla, thanks to coaches from the Soweto Tennis Association.
"There are a number of promising young players from Soweto who will be taking part in the tournament. Unfortunately, there are no well-known senior players in the township but tournaments such as these will help bring out the best tennis players from Soweto."
Zungu would love to see players from regional countries like Lesotho, Botswana and Swaziland participating in the tournament. He would also like to see local television stations flighting more international tennis matches. "This will help our tennis players judge themselves against players from outside and help them develop their game."
Tennis's growth in Soweto has been hampered by a lack of adequate facilities and the general neglect of the game. According to Zungu, most of the existing tennis facilities have been vandalised and are not well maintained.
"There is also the problem of equipment. Some of our members do not have money to buy racquets, which are expensive. However, the Gauteng Central Tennis Association sometimes comes to our help. Last year the association donated tennis racquets and balls to clubs in Mzimhlophe, Protea Glen and Meadowlands."
For more information about the Soweto Open, contact Sylvester Zungu on 082 412 4724.
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