Yarona Morule (16) was only briefly disappointed after the postponement of the African Tennis Championships, where he was supposed to represent South Africa in its U16 team.
The Bloubosrand resident was to travel to Togo in mid-April for the tournament before the coronavirus saw it’s postponement. This setback has not dampened his spirits. “I was selected for the South African U16 team and it would have been the first time I played for my country,” Yarona said with pride. No date has been set yet for the rescheduling of the event, but instead of feeling down, Yarona has stayed positive and active throughout the lockdown.
His tennis academy, Next Generation Tennis, gave the players exercises to do at home for the first few months of lockdown, and now the academy has returned to training in Parkmore. “It [the championships] will probably be held at the end of the year or early next year, so we do not turn a year older before it.” Yarona said he was still positive he would be selected for the SA U16 team, and there is only one thing he wants out of the tournament. “We are going there to win it, that’s all.”
His coach, Ndu Ncube believes it will be four to six weeks before Tennis South Africa has competitions and leagues running again. Yarona will be more than ready when this happens.
