South Africa celebrates wheelchair tennis at Ability Challenge

The Ability Challenge, sponsored by Airports Company of South Africa (ACSA) and hosted by Wheelchair Tennis South Africa (WTSA), was staged on April 8, at the iThembelihle Lsen School, in Primrose, Germiston.

The iThembelihle Lsen School is one of the development schools earmarked by Wheelchair Tennis South Africa to introduce and develop the game.

The much anticipated Ability Challenge, in which top players and celebrities pitted themselves against South Africa’s wheelchair superstars, like Lucas Sithole (South African number one and world number two quad player), KG Montjane (South Africa’s top female wheelchair player), and Evans Maripa (the top-ranked South African male player), was a great success.

This event also served as a pre-launch for the upcoming South African Open, that is scheduled to take place at Ellis Park from April 29 to May 3.

The SA Open follows the ACSA Gauteng Open, that will take place from April 23 to 27, at the Gauteng East Tennis Centre, Benoni Lake.

TV and radio anchor Robert Marawa hosted the day as MC, and a festive vibe of music, dance and top class tennis entertained the large crowd, which included former First Lady Zanele Mbeki.

Four teams, namely Expresso Brews, e-Flava, Power of 5 and Ten-Spiration battled for title honours in the challenge.

Each team consisted of a celebrity, a wheelchair tennis player, and two able-bodied players.

The winning team was Ten-Spiration, the SABC Morning Live team, who featured anchor Vaylen Kirtley, wheelchair tennis star Leon Els, Danie Visser (former world number one doubles player) and tennis professional Michelle Sammons.

Ten-Spiration beat the team of Expresso Brews (Adrian Hogan – presenter, Holger Losch – professional coach, Evans Maripa and professional player Madrie Le Roux) 4-3 in the thrilling final.

Morning Live presenter Vaylen Kirtley said she was happy to have won the title with her team and was honoured to be part of the event.

“What a great initiative and hats off to Airports Company South Africa and Wheelchair Tennis South Africa for putting the challenge together,” she said.

“This sets the tone for the forthcoming Gauteng and SA Open events, which are sure to be a great success.”

This was the third Ability Challenge, historically linked to Disability Day but now associated with the upcoming Airports Company South Africa wheelchair tennis series of tournaments, the Gauteng Open and SA Open.

Both tournaments have attracted a top international and local entry and are part of the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Tour.

South African Davis Cup captain John-Laffnie de Jager, part of the Power of 5 team, said he felt honoured to be part of such a special day.

“Wheelchair tennis in our country is a shining example of what a sporting code needs to do to encourage interest and participation,” he added.

“The atmosphere was unbelievable and what great fun was had by all; I’ll be back if I’m invited again.”

DJ Milkshake, also from the Power of 5 team, said he had a total blast.

“That was really wicked, what a cool day, and I am really blessed to be part of it, it’s just a pity my team didn’t smack it,” he commented.

According to former ATP professional and Davis Cup player Jeff Coetzee, a member of the e Flava team, he was inspired by the challenge.

“Tennis is such a fun loving sport, the game of a lifetime and the game of love,” he said.

“Today we had tons of fun, saw players and fans of all ages, and everyone just loved the day. ”

“This is so good for the game; what tennis needs is more Ability Challenges.”

Members of South Africa’s Fed Cup, Natalie Grandin, Madrie le Roux, Natasha Fourouclas and Michelle Sammons, also participated in the challenge.

“Disabled sport is globally becoming more recognised and Airports Company South Africa have earmarked wheelchair tennis as the disability code they are committed to supporting,” said Airports Company South Africa’s Unathi Batyashe.

“We were excited and delighted to have exposed more people to wheelchair tennis and to our top wheelchair players at the Ability Challenge.

“We believe that, through the event,more people appreciated the skills and performances of these players by watching them in action at iThembelihle Lsen School.”