I recently spent a week at Soweto’s only tennis tournament, the ATP and ITF endorsed Soweto Open hosted by the City of Johannesburg at the Arthur Ashe Tennis Center in Jabavu. It’s sad to see such great events with international players and massive sponsorships not reaching the intended target market, although the crowds grew significantly at this years tourney, it still paints a bleak picture for the future of tennis in this country.
The tournament which is in its third and final year in Soweto is still in negotiations with the City of Jo’burg as its contract with Tennis South Africa comes to an end. The Soweto Open is the second biggest tennis tournament in South Africa after the SA Open which takes place at Monte Casino. In its three year journey in Soweto, the organizers have struggled with getting the crowds to the Arthur Ashe Center, although entrance to the challenger is free. It was good to see school children gracing the stands, watching their heroes live and direct. “This tournament is meant to bring the kids closer to their heroes and to develop the game of tennis at previously disadvantaged areas such as Soweto, where football is a religion.” Said the tournament director.
With a $100 000 purse the tournament attracted some of the best young players in the world. The men’s singles draw was won by Izak Van Der Merwe after an all South Africa Final with Rik De Voest. The women’s singles title was won by 20 year old Valerie Savinykh from Russia beating 2nd seed Petra Cetkovska from the Czech Republic in the final. The doubles draw was cancelled on the final day because of inclement weather which threatened to end the tournament without a result.
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