Namibia Selects Junior Tennis Squad for Southern African Championships in Gaborone

Namibia Selects Junior Tennis Squad for Southern African Championships in Gaborone. The Namibia Tennis Association has selected 12 junior players to represent the country at the ITF/CAT Southern African Junior Individual and Team Championships, set to take place from 9 to 17 January in Gaborone, Botswana.

The squad comprises top Under-14 and Under-16 players drawn from across Namibia’s junior tennis ranks. The team was officially sent off on Tuesday by the Ministry of Sport at Olympia’s Central Tennis Courts in Windhoek, ahead of their departure scheduled for Wednesday.

The championships will bring together junior tennis players from across the Southern African region. Host nation Botswana will be joined by invited teams from South Africa, Angola, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The tournament features both individual and team events, providing young players with an opportunity to compete in a structured regional setting.

Namibia’s delegation will be led by a coaching and management team covering both age categories. The Under-16 boys will be coached by Charlton Diergaardt, while the Under-16 girls will be under the guidance of Larushka Kruger. The Under-14 boys will be coached by Patrick Paulus, with Amore Theron responsible for the Under-14 girls. Team management duties will be handled by Queen Kandjirimuje.

The send-off ceremony at Olympia marked a formal endorsement of the team’s participation and acknowledged the players’ selection for regional competition. Officials from the sports ministry used the occasion to wish the squad well ahead of the championships.

The ITF/CAT Southern African Junior Championships form part of the regional junior tennis calendar and serve as a competitive platform for emerging players within the Southern African Tennis Association structure. Participation allows players to gain exposure to different playing styles and competitive environments against peers from across the region.

The Namibia Tennis Association confirmed that the selected players will compete throughout the tournament period, which runs over nine days. The event is expected to attract strong participation from across Southern Africa, offering valuable competitive experience for the junior athletes involved.