It was a terrific weekend for South African tennis at the three-day BNP Paribas RCS Rising Star Tennis exhibition festival continued at the Sandton Sports Club on 1 February. SA men’s number one Kevin Anderson and number two Lloyd Harris took to the courts to kick off an afternoon of smiles and laughter with an all-around fun hitting session.
According to Tennis South Africa CEO Richard Glover, the Rising Star initiative aims to provide tennis access to children, targeting hundreds of primary schools across the country, including schools in historically disadvantaged communities.
“The competition will set out to nurture tennis, and widen its participation and appeal, in order to diversify the sport and enrich South Africa’s junior talent pool,” Glover said. In an effort to increase youth participation in the tennis, the initiative hosted a national primary school’s tennis challenge on 2 February at the Arthur Ashe Tennis Facility in Soweto.
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Anderson added that he strongly believed in passing on his knowledge and giving back to the tennis community. “I strongly believe developing future South African Tennis stars needs to begin with a grassroots revolution,” he said.
“Together with BNP Paribas, RCS and Tennis South Africa, I want to achieve just that, as every child at primary school level should have the opportunity to play and fall in love with tennis. This is a fantastic initiative to increase the profile and legacy of the sport in South Africa, and I can’t wait to witness the discovery of some amazing tennis talent.”
Vikas Khandelwal, CEO of BNP Paribas South Africa added, “In South Africa, we hope that through this partnership we can act as a catalyst for grassroots tennis and to help grow participation among the youth of the country, particularly in schools in disadvantaged areas to create a new legacy for the sport.”
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