LISTEN: Anderson’s success the rocket-fuel for tennis in SA

The CEO of Tennis South Africa, Richard Glover, has extended his congratulations to Joburg born and bred Kevin Anderson for reaching the final of the US Open.

“We believe that Kevin’s heroics in New York will inspire a generation of young South Africans from all communities to play tennis,” said Glover.

“It shows that through courage, determination and hard work, a player from the southern tip of Africa can make it on the global tennis stage. Personally, I don’t think Kevin has received the credit he deserves in South Africa [excluding the last few days of course].”

Glover added that Anderson was a great ambassador for the sport, and was an intelligent and thoughtful man, a person of class, quality and character, who cared about the country of his birth.”I think these attributes have shone through in both his on-court interview, as well as the press conference that took place immediately after the final.”

Anderson, who attended St Stithians College, often returns to Sandton to visit his parents who live in Hurlingham. In his post-match interview, he said he was determined to achieve more and hoped that he had inspired children by preaching a message that hard work pays off.

Glover said Anderson’s performance had also placed tennis in South Africa in the spotlight in a way that hasn’t been experienced for many years.

He believes that Anderson’s family have made huge sacrifices to get him to where he is today and his performance at the US Open is their triumph, not the tennis association’s. He said the association was learning from the past to ensure that the next generation of Kevin Anderson’s, and their female equivalents, were provided with the necessary support structures to get into the game, grow in the game and stay in the game for life.

LISTEN: Kevin Anderson is interviewed after the US Open

The association had secured five new sponsorships to begin investing in support structures and had an eight-year plan to grow tennis in the country. They will do this by rolling out a monthly financial support package to the Davis Cup team. In October, the association will announce national age group squads for children from U12 to U18, where players will be given the platform to grow and develop as players. Towards the end of October, the association will also launch its first development centre in the Western Cape and thereafter in the Eastern Cape and Gauteng.

These centres will be centrally funded, working to increase participation at targeted schools, support coaching initiatives in historically under-funded communities, and identify promising young black athletes who will be brought into junior high-performance structures to compete on a level playing field.

“Kevin’s success at the US Open could prove to be the rocket-fuel for our sport… it is now up to [the association] to finish rebuilding that rocket.”

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