Don't miss historic Hong Kong Davis Cup tie

Tennis
Brian Munango
  • 2 Days Ago 29 January 2025
Namibia’s national men’s tennis team eagerly awaits a historic moment as it hosts Hong Kong in the Davis Cup World Group II play-off tie on Saturday and Sunday, February 1 and 2.

For the first time, the team will compete in the prestigious World Group stage of the sport’s biggest international team competition.

Namibia reached the play-offs after winning the Africa Group III tournament in Nigeria last year, outpointing Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Benin, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, to become only the second Namibian team to achieve this feat since 2018.

Now ranked 72nd globally and sixth in Africa, Namibia faces the challenge of defeating Hong Kong, ranked 59th and led by their top player, Coleman Wong, ranked 170th in the world.

Despite being the underdogs, Namibian captain and coach Gerrie Dippenaar remains optimistic.

“Hong Kong is ranked higher than us, but we’ve been in such positions many times before. With passion and grit, we’ve managed to pull through. Although the odds are against us, it’s not impossible to pull off a surprise,” he said.

The vice-president of the Namibia Tennis Association, Vekondja Kuzee, reiterated the importance of the event: “These are very exciting times for Namibian tennis. Hosting an event of this caliber which would be a first for us, shows our intent in making Namibia a prime tennis nation and destination.

“With the Davis Cup tie against Hong Kong we expect a high level of tennis so the fans are in for a treat. We urge all patriotic Namibians to come out and get behind our boys as they look to continue making history.”

The tie will be broadcast live by the NTV production team on DStv channel 285, GoTV channel 25, and online at https://oneuptwo.com, with further details to follow.

With home support at the National Tennis Stadium in Olympia and the determination of the nation’s players, Namibia ready to rise to the Davis Cup challenge.