Botswana: Botswana successfully hosted four International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis Tour Juniors tournaments at the National Tennis Centre in Gaborone.
The two editions of the ITF J4 Gaborone were hosted over two weeks, with the first one held from the 11th-16th of April 2022, while the second one was hosted from the 18th-23rd April 2022.
Two editions of the ITF J5 Gaborone were also hosted over two weeks at the National Tennis Centre. The first edition was hosted from 22nd to 27th August, while the second edition was from 29th August to 3rd September 2022.
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Botswana Tennis Association also highlights- πͺπ’π₯ππ π§ππ‘π‘ππ¦ π§π’π¨π₯ ππ¨π‘ππ’π₯ π₯ππ‘πππ‘ππ¦ of 2022. Association stated, “Our juniors continued to participate in a number of ITF WORLD TENNIS TOUR JUNIORS events in a quest to gain points and improve their international rankings.”
Denzel Seetso and Ekua Refilwe Youri surged to new ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors rankings during the year. Denzel achieved a career high ranking of 271 in the boys’ singles, while Ekua reached 310 in the girl’s singles. The two remain our top ranked Juniors.
The following juniors also achieved career high rankings, placing them in the top 1000:
– Mark Nawa 698
– Chelsea Chakanyuka 672
– Naledi Raguin 780
– Batsomi Marobela 996
Moreover, Botswana also made a return to the Billie Jean Cup in 2022 after non-participation in the past 16 years. The country last competed in 2006, having first competed in the competition in 1995.
The 2022 competition was hosted in Skopje, North Macedonia, from the 5th β the 9th of July. Botswana competed in the Europe/Africa Group III, which consisted of 27 nations.
Botswana was placed in Event B with the following nations: Albania, Burundi, Congo, Democratic Republic, Iceland, Ireland, Kenya, Kosovo, Malta, Namibia, North Macedonia, Portugal, Seychelles, South Africa and Uganda.
Botswana had named a team of three junior players with an average age of 17 years. The trio included 16-year-old Chelsea Chakanyuka, 17-year-old Ekua Refilwe Youri and 18-year-old Leungo Monnayoo. The team Captain was Coach Ernest Seleke.
