What is set to be the biggest annual tennis tournament in Africa, Africa Cares Tennis Challenge will see South Africa’s very own youngest tennis star Khololwam Montsi on the same stage as international tennis players including Ons Jabeur and Martina Hingis.
The tennis exhibition will be taking place on the December 3 and 4 at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
The two-day tennis tournament will see both international and local tennis sensations showcase their talents on South African soil, playing against each other.
“It is really an honour and privilege to be a part of Africa Cares Tennis Challenge, which aims to promote the cause against gender-based violence [GBV] in South Africa,” said Montsi.
Born and raised in Eastern Cape, and a former top 12 world junior player, Montsi, at the age of seven, got interested in tennis by watching his older brother play the phenomenal sport.
Montsi was later spotted as part of a 12-and-under talent identification camp organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in 2012. The ITF brought together a selection of the most promising talent from each zone in Africa.
The champion-minded South African rising star, at only 19 years old currently, has a career-high 600 ATP ranking and South Africa singles number two, as of August 2022.
This will not be the first time Montsi is on the international front, the 19-year-old represented South Africa at the ATP Cup in Australia, as well as the French Open Junior Tennis Championship at Ronald Garros in Paris.
In 2019, Montsi had a breakthrough when he embarked upon a 28-match winning streak that contributed to him finishing the year as the junior world number 19.
Joining Montsi in the Africa Cares Tennis Challenge will be other remarkable tennis players including Jabeur, who is the first female from the African continent to make a grand-slam final, and number two in the world after Iga Swiatek. Alongside Jabeur will be Hingis and Sloane Stephens.
Montsi hopes to educate the youth through this campaign about GBV, as he already is part of his brother’s foundation.
The foundation, based in Fourways in Johannesburg, is dedicated to helping young tennis athletes from disadvantaged backgrounds by providing them opportunities through training and educational support from primary to secondary level.
“Through this initiative, I’m hopeful that both young and old South Africans will be inspired to not only play tennis but to further grow the game of tennis and continue the fight against gender-based violence,” said Montsi.
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