Women in Sport: Dusty Nomzamo might produce SA’s very own Serena

When she first picked up a tennis racket in her youth, Sinazo Solani didn’t even know the rules of the sport.

Now, more than a decade later, she hopes to launch a professional career and ultimately provide similar opportunities to youngsters in disadvantaged communities as those she received herself.

Born and raised in Nomzamo township in Cape Town, Solani’s mother received a couple of rackets from her employer when she was a child, which were passed on to her daughters.

“We had two rackets and I used to play on the street with my sister,” she says, recalling her introduction to the code.

“Strand Tennis Club has a development programme, so they go around to schools in the location and they pick kids to come and play, and in 2007 I was one of the people selected at my school because I was familiar with hitting a ball.”

Though she admits it took some time for her to grasp all the rules of the sport, Solani showed enough talent in her youth to earn significant support from administrators at her club.

“I didn’t understand the sport because there was no-one where I’m from who played tennis, so it took a while to get into it and learn everything about it,” she says.

“But I fell in love with the sport and when I finished grade seven they found a scholarship for me at Rhenish Girls’ High in Stellenbosch, so that’s where I started taking the sport seriously.”

After receiving a bursary at Stellenbosch University, she is now studying for a bachelor of arts in international studies.

“A lot of the girls who went to primary school with me did not finish school, and maybe I would have not finished either if I hadn’t started playing tennis,” says the 21-year-old prospect.

“It really has opened doors for me.”

Solani has secured her place in the national women’s Fed Cup squad, and while she is currently utilised purely as a hitting partner, it seems only a matter of time before she is included in the team and represents her country at senior level.

She also has no International Tennis Federation (ITF) ranking, due to a lack of financial resources restricting her from competing on the domestic circuit, but she hopes to rectify that omission by competing in local ITF tournaments next year.

Though she still has many ambitions in attempting to climb the elite ladder, however, it is the value which tennis has offered her away from the court which has been most beneficial to her life.

Solani is currently considering the possibility of furthering her studies with a post graduate degree after she receives her BA next year.

“It requires a lot of commitment and self discipline to juggle the tennis and my studies, but it has made a very big difference.

“I feel like if I didn’t start playing tennis I would be someone else today. It played a huge role in my life.”

While she hopes to turn professional, if that goal does not materialise, Solani is eager to play a role in tennis development as a coach and mentor.

“I really don’t think there’s enough development programmes, so I do think more can be done,” she says.

“Sometimes it’s not even about the programmes. It’s important to teach people about the sport because some people really don’t understand it, so they get bored watching tennis.

“We need to get people more familiar with the sport.”

With tennis having provided her with opportunities she may never have considered possible, she wants to pay it forward by giving the youth a chance, starting in Nomzamo where she first knocked a ball around with her sister.

“When you come from a disadvantaged area you tend to feel helpless at times,” Solani says.

“I feel like I have inspired some people and the interest has been growing, so it would be great to get more kids playing.”

“I just want people to know there are a lot of opportunities out there and sport can open doors for people, as it did for me.”

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