Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal – Dunlop Sport together with KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Tennis Association recently hosted a tournament that saw over 50 tennis players taking part in the boys and girls under 10, 12, 14, 16 and open categories. The uThungulu Tennis Tournament took place from the 27th to the 29th at the Empangeni Country Club, Richards Bay Country Club and at Richards Bay Primary School.
Tournament Director and former South African Fed Cup team member Natalie Grandin said “the uThungulu tournament was a fantastic tournament. Everyone had a wonderful time. Petro Norval does a great job with the kids and is very well respected in the area. Gary Comins and I really enjoyed running the tournament with the help of our team Kim Hayes and Tubby Govender and we hope that the tournament will continue to grow.
We ran a social evening for everyone on the Saturday evening and it went off extremely well. Overall everyone had a good time and that is why we do these events.”
KZN Tennis Association President Leonard Morgas said that KZN Tennis identified that there was a need to grow the competitive aspect of tennis in the province. “We then decided to apply for additional tournaments but in the outlying districts as all the current TSA Sanctioned tournaments are held in Durban. This would not only take ranked tournaments nearer to the players in these areas but also awaken interest in the sport when the locals get to see good tennis first hand. It also contributes towards addressing the transformation in sport that we are all faced with hence the birth of the South Coast Open in UGu, the uThungulu Open in Richards Bay and Empangeni this past weekend and the UMgungundlovu Open due to be played during September.
The final results of the tournament are as follows;
(All players from KZN)
Final Results
Singles
Boys 10
Alex Van Eeden bt Chris Johnson 7-0
Boys 12
Senthen Reddy bt Caden Naicker 6-2 6-0
Boys 14
Calum Jestin bt Shail Chetty 6-0 6-1
Men
CJ Klopper bt Cornel Klopper 6-1 6-3
Girls 12
Kaitlyn Ramduth bt Caitlyn Naicker 6-2 6-3
Women
Calista Muna bt Husna Kathrada 6-1 6-3
Doubles
Boys 10
Chris Johnson/Bryce Johnson bt Alex Van Eeden/Samuel Heath 4-3
Boys 12
Senthen Reddy/Caden Naicker bt Philip Walz/Ricardo Goncalves 6-2 6-0
Men
Cornel Klopper/CJ Klopper bt Antonis Patinios/Quinton Bergover 6-2 6-1
Girls 12
Erin Hill/Kirsten Johnson bt Caitlyn Naicker/Leah Kiratu 4-6 6-4 10-4
Women
Calista Muna/Cassidy Naicker bt Husna Kathrada/Vania Manchev 6-1 6-3
