28 Jun 2024

The long awaited Botswana Open Tennis Championships will start today at the National Tennis Centre.

Local and international tennis players are expected to prove their mettle in the hard court for the next four days.

The defending champion, Chelsea Chakanyuka, said she was ready to defend her title as she recently competed in the Billie Jean King Cup, which helped her prepare for the tournament.

“So, I think I am ready looking at my preparations, and the Billie Jean King Cup has helped me gauge my readiness,” she said. USA-based Tsolofelo Tsiang said his preparations for both the Botswana Open and the Davis Cup were pleasing. He said they had been in a training camp with coach Petrus Molefe.

“There are lot of young players who will be coming to the games, so I am excited that I will have the chance to show them that I still have a lot to offer,” he said.

Seabo Saleshando said he was equally prepared for the Botswana Open edition, adding that he was confident that he would get better results compared to the previous years.

“I have been training a lot, and I had an opportunity to train with other local top players here, and I feel it has exposed me to a lot of good things,” he said.

The Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) vice president - technical, Nonofo Othusitse said they had increased prize money for the championships with men and women champions walking away with P10 000 each, making the Botswana Open one of the most lucrative sports events in the country.

“This is a 50 per cent increment for the champions compared to P5 000 last year.

The total prize money for this year’s championships has increased from last year’s P41 050 to P76 450,” he said.

Othusitse said the increased prize money was in line with their ambitious vision of having the championship recognised internationally thereby improving players rankings.

This, he said, would consequently improve the standard of tennis in Botswana and in the continent, enhance professionalism and contribute toward economic diversification through sports tourism.

Furthermore, he said their ambitions were aligned with both the BNSC’s Vision 2028 and Botswana’s Vision 2036, which aim to improve sport contribution in the economy and athletes’ performance.

“The BTA believes that through the Botswana Open, tennis can develop into a sport business thus become self-sustaining and produce globally competitive sportspersons,” he said. Ends