Milestone Davis Cup debut on home soil

Tennis
The men's teams of Namibia and Hong Kong will fight for every point, to determine the crucial best-out-of-five tie.
Brian Munango
  • 8 Hours Ago
The “World Cup” of men’s tennis comes to Namibian soil for the first time ever as the national team takes on heavily favoured Hong Kong in a Davis Cup World Group II play-off on February 1 and 2 in Windhoek.

Namibia’s determined players booked their promotion from Africa Group III in remarkable fashion when they won last year’s tournament in Nigeria, outpointing the host nation as well as Zimbabwe, Benin, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire.

Dipping their toes for the first time into World Group II, the crucial tie against Hong Kong is hosted by the Namibia Tennis Association (NTA) at Central Tennis Club in Olympia.

Namibia’s young and talented player squad, managed by team captain Gerrie Dippenaar, includes top-ranked players Connor van Schalkwyk (20), older brother Codie van Schalkwyk (22), veteran Jean Erasmus (33), Steyn Dippenaar (21) and 16-year-old rising star Ruben Yssel.

The Van Schalkwyk brothers arrived in Windhoek this week after flying in from the USA, where they are college students.



Much at stake

Winning nations in the Davis Cup World Group II Play-offs this weekend will progress to play another World Group II tie in September.

This weekend’s losing nations will move down to compete in their respective regional Group III events later this year.



Excitement and determination

Coach Gerrie Dippenaar is confident in his team’s ability to rise to any challenge and has launched a fervent appeal on tennis fans to stand behind the team as they fight for every point.

“This is a young squad, and I urge fellow Namibians to come and watch the action live. The boys will give it their all. I’m excited for what the future holds because in the next three years, we’ll see fireworks,” he said.

Connor van Schalkwyk, Namibia’s top player who has 14 Davis Cup singles wins and only two losses, expressed his pride in the team’s journey.

“We started this journey four years ago, and it’s great to be here. This appearance means a lot for Namibian tennis; it shows that we can compete at this level. We’re ready to play!”

At just 16, Ruben Yssel is embracing the moment. “I feel great and am ready both mentally and physically. It’s a privilege to represent my country at this age, and we’ve put in the work, so we’re going to give it our all.”



Tourists highly ranked

Hong Kong’s team, captained by Hiu-Tung Yu, features star player Coleman Wong, alongside Jack Cheng, Ki Lung Ng, Chun Hun Wong, and Tza Fu Wong.

Coleman Wong’s record in Davis Cup singles matches since 2019 stands at 11 wins and three losses. The 20-year-old currently holds an ATP singles ranking of 165th in the world.

“We’ve been here for a few days and have adapted to the altitude. Everyone is ready to compete,” Yu said yesterday.

Hong Kong has competed in the Davis Cup since 1970 and is competing in the World Group three times before, without winning a tie yet. Their current world ranking is 59th, against Namibia’s 72nd placing.



Where to watch

Every match will be broadcast live on NTV (on DStv and GoTV) and streamed on https://oneuptwo.com.

Coverage starts at 10:00 on Saturday. Saturday’s program sees two singles ties (each country’s nr 1 vs 2). On Sunday morning the doubles tie could be crucial, followed by two singles ties (each country’s nr 1 vs 1). The overall result is determined best-out-of-five from these ties.



Get tickets

Match tickets are N$100 per day for adults and N$50 for children under 18 years, and can be bought through Webtickets (https://q.my.na/09IC).