Off the wire
• Paraguay's Libertad ready for Copa Libertadores clash against Barcelona  • Ajax win at PSV, but title hopes remain low  • Real Madrid draws 1-1 against Villarreal in Spain's La Liga  • Spanish Nadal wins first title of 2015 at Argentina Open  • Interview: BYD aims to revolutionize Brazil's urban transport  • Organ donations dragged down by low family consent rates in Australia: report  • Myanmar upgrades six major airports  • Roundup: S. Korea posts current account surplus for 35 months  • Australian property values rise 0.3 percent in February: report  • Dairy prices hold down New Zealand's terms of trade  
You are here: 　 Home

S. Africa qualifies for Wheelchair Tennis World Team Cup

Xinhua, March 2, 2015 Adjust font size:

South Africa will represent Africa in both the men's and women's categories at the BNP Paribas Wheelchair Tennis World Team Cup Championship scheduled for May in Turkey.

Both the South African teams beat their Moroccan rivals 2-0 each in the finals held on Sunday at Nairobi Club to book a place as Africa's representatives to the global event.

Suzie Dyrbus, International Tennis Federation (ITF) Director of Wheelchair Tennis, said wheelchair tennis in Africa is growing greatly as more nations start to take part in the sport.

"Two new teams, Morocco and Mauritius, took part in the tournament for the first time. Each year the standards of the game are getting better and all the players are definitely training hard to lift the level of the game in Africa," Dyrbus told Xinhua on the sidelines of tournament.

"The levels are improving greatly and players are showing a higher level of play. In Kenya, more players are playing the game compared to four years ago, with programs in Nairobi and Mombasa," the director said.

She said the World Team Cup event is the wheelchair tennis equivalent of the Davis Cup (men) and Fed Cup (women) where countries play against each other for the world title.

The tournament featured two world ranked wheelchair tennis players: Kgothatso Montjane who is ranked 9th globally in the women's category, and Evans Monpa who is ranked number 15 in the men's division. Other teams that took part in the tournament are hosts Kenya, Ghana, Mauritius and Tanzania.

During the 2014 event, Keny women's team emerged first overall and qualified to represent Africa in the World Team Cup which was held in the Netherlands where they were honored with the Best Sportsmanship Award. Endi