• Tennis

Theron secures seven trophies, leaps to Africa's top 10

• 20 Hours Ago

Namibian tennis prodigy Johan Theron (12) impressed at the recently concluded under-14 International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Confederation of African Tennis (CAT) events, scooping seven trophies across all competitions.

The achievements significantly boosted his ranking, propelling him from 34th in Africa before the tournament to 10th in the under-14 category after the ITF/CAT events.

Theron, the son of former national tennis player and veteran coach Johan Theron, returned over the weekend after concluding his final competitions in Maputo, Mozambique, following earlier matches in Botswana's Gaborone.



Almost perfect winning streaks

Theron’s first event in Gaborone was from 15 to 19 November. He finished second in his first singles competition after a near-perfect winning streak saw him bend the knee in the finals to second-seeded Joel Badza from Zimbabwe, in a 10-3 sudden-death tiebreaker following a thrilling 6-7, 6-1 scoreline.

Theron first dominated Botswana’s Tendai Nawa (6-0, 6-0) and went on to defeat top-seeded M. Manzungu from Zimbabwe 6-3, 6-1 in the singles semi-finals.

In the doubles, he teamed up with Kenyan Vihaan Bulsara, thrashing through their opponents - the team of Batswana Ilhan Khilji and Ivan Pribil - with a 6-1, 7-6 score and semi-finalists - Zimbabweans, Badza and Unathi Sithole (6-1, 6-0).

They were defeated in the doubles final in a sudden-death tiebreak (1-6, 6-2, 10-5) by Manzungu and Tinashe Phatshwane from Zimbabwe.

Gaborone’s second-leg singles from 19 to 23 November saw Theron reign supreme to the finals again, where he was bested by second-seeded, Zimbabwe’s Badza (6-1, 6-1).

Here, he first beat Botswana’s Oliver Camer (6-1, 6-0) and his compatriot Phatshwane (2-6, 6-0), as well as top-seeded Mazungu 6-4, 6-3 in the semi-finals.



Clean sweep

Theron’s redemption came at Mozambique’s Maputo events from 24 to 30 November, where he was top-seeded and managed a clean sweep of the singles and doubles overall titles.

In the first competition from 24 to 27 November, he bested second-seeded Lezeley Jemusse, 6-2, 6-1 in the singles finals. He advanced to the final to contend for the overall title after a dominant 6-0, 6-0 victory over Mozambique's Ayken Nguenha and a hard-fought semi-final win against compatriot Amin Rosa, prevailing 10-8 in a sudden-death tiebreak following a thrilling 6-2, 2-6 match.

Theron went on to dominate the doubles round-robin format alongside Mozambican Rosa, clinching the overall title after a comfortable win over the team of Ozie Auze and Nguenha (6-1, 6-1). They first beat Mozambican Marvin Ewadaba and Zimbabwean Sithole (6-0, 6-0), and Mozambican Pedro Alberty, with compatriot Jamusse (6-0, 6-4) in the semi-finals.

In Maputo’s second Leg from 28 to 30 November, Theron clinched the overall title after besting Jemusse 6-1, 6-3 in the finals. He first reigned supreme against Alberty (6-3, 6-0) and Rosa (10-4) in a sudden-death tiebreak after a 4-6, 7-5 scoreline in the semi-final match.

He then teamed up with Rosa in the doubles, besting Alberty and Jemusse (10–2) in a sudden-death tiebreak, following a 7-5, 4-6 scoreline. They got a walkover of the first game, being the top-seeded team, and went on to beat the pair of Sithole and USA’s Jonas Troger (6-1, 6-0) in the semi-finals.



Don’t give up!

Reflecting on his achievements, Theron expressed delight. “Winning feels amazing and I am super excited to clinch all the overall trophies in Mozambique, as all my hard work is paying off,” said Theron, who trains three times daily.

Underscoring take-away points from the invaluable experience in Botswana, he said the challenges taught him not to give up.

“Even if you don’t win the first time, you should try harder and do better next time. Just because you don’t win everything at once doesn’t mean you can’t come back stronger,” he said.

Theron, who will leave for South Africa to participate in Cape Town’s Super 8 CAT tournament from 12 to 22 December, with seven other players from Johan Theron Tennis School in the under-10 to under-17 categories, feels confident about participating.

“The recent competitions have boosted my confidence. I hope to do well in South Africa and keep winning. I know it will be tough, but I’ll give my best. I am going in with a positive attitude,” he assured. - [email protected]