Junior Masters crown season’s champions

Namibia’s junior tennis season concluded with eight Masters champions crowned after 52 of the country’s leading young players competed at the Masters Championship in Windhoek last weekend.

The Namibia Tennis Association (NTA) invitation-only tournament brought together players who had earned places among the top eight in their respective age groups through ranking points accumulated during the season.

Held at the Central Tennis Courts (CTC), Sport Klub Windhoek (SKW) and NamPol Tennis Club, the competition featured boys’ and girls’ sections from U10 to U16, with players battling for season-finale honours.

Mombeyarara goes unbeaten

Competing in the U16 boys’ singles, second seed Tadiwa Mombeyarara won all three of his round-robin matches without dropping a set to claim the title, outscoring his opponents 36-3 in games.

He opened with a 6-2, 6-0 victory over Steven Gathuru before upsetting top seed Lazarus Kanelombe 6-1, 6-0 and closing his campaign with a double bagel (6-0, 6-0) against Eric Gariseb. Gathuru eventually finished second and Kanelombe third.

In the U16 girls’ section, Emma Zalto was similarly unbeaten, overcoming all four of her opponents to finish at the top of the five-player round robin.

Zalto defeated top seed Secilia Nghitewapo 6-1, 6-2 and second seed Natalia #Ouses 6-1, 6-4, and claimed a double bagel over Alicia Hausiku before overcoming Elrica Nakusera 6-3, 6-2, handing Nakusera her only defeat of the tournament.

Nakusera finished second after winning three of her four matches, while #Ouses placed third.

Other Masters results

U14 boys: 1 Joshua Diergaardt; 2 Pameni Paulus; 3 Shafiishuna Shimali.

U14 girls: 1 Milan de Lange; 2 Emelia Coetzee; 3 Albertina Johannes.

U12 boys: 1 Jasper Coetzee; 2 Nicholas Buys; 3 Peter Gathuru.

U12 girls: 1 Madison Hoff; 2 Janice Bezuidenhout; 3 Tanatswanashe Katsvara.

U10 boys: 1 Faan Vermaak; 2 Andre Olivier; 3 Pwoove Paulus.

U10 girls: 1 Adele Buys; 2 Abigail Kapenda; 3 Klara de Lange.

Senior Masters

The junior showpiece followed the NTA Senior Masters Championship, held at the Central Tennis Courts from 16 to 18 October.

Kendall Swartz claimed the men’s title after battling past top seed Lorenzo Danster 6-3, 3-6, 7-5 in the final.

In the women’s section, top seed Joanivia Bezuidenhout defeated Leandre Louw 6-2, 6-3 to secure the crown.

The next event on the NTA calendar is the two-part Swakopmund Tennis Open at Tennisplätze, with the junior tournament running from 11 to 13 December and the senior event from 18 to 21 December. The Open carries a N$50 000 prize purse.

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