Local tennis on an upward trajectory: Kaulinge

WINDHOEK, 02 JUL – Local tennis is on an upward trajectory as evidenced by Namibia’s recent promotion from group three of the Davis Cup to group two following their recent good performance in Kenya.
This was said by Namibia Tennis Association (NTA) President Samson Kaulinge during a courtesy call on the Namibia Sports Commission, where they were congratulated for their good performance here on Monday.
Namibia was the only country that was undefeated at the tournament which was held in Nairobi, Kenya after beating the host, Mozambique and Algeria, before beating Nigeria in the final to gain the promotion.
They qualified alongside Kenya, who beat Benin in the other final qualification match.
Kaulinge said development that has been taking place over the past 10 years is finally paying off.
“We have been quietly doing a lot of development the past years and our number one player, Tukhula Jacobs is a product of that development. We are also introducing tennis to our youngsters in Grade 3 or 4 so that they can grasp the basics at an early age,” he said.
Their main training centre is at Eros Primary School, where they usually send talented children for development through coaching by a full-time coach.
Most of the NTA’s developmental work is being done at primary school level, especially with the establishment of the primary schools league in Windhoek.
The league enables primary schools to compete against each other on a regular basis.
Kaulinge said Namibia’s promotion to group two is an exciting phase in the history of the sport as this will see the country playing in the Europe/Africa Zone’s group two in 2019.
The team was led by captain and number two player Jean Erasmus, Jacobs, Deon van Dyk and Paul Schwieger.
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men’s tennis.
It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested annually by teams from competing countries in a knock-out format.
(NAMPA)