KG Montjane paves way for kids to chase their Grand Slam dreams
Image: Daniel Kopatsch/ ITF
Wheelchair tennis Grand Slam champion Kgothatso 'KG' Montjane can't help but wonder where she would have been and what she would have achieved in the sport had she started earlier.
It was her steely determination to ensure that the same fate doesn't befall talented youngsters from similar backgrounds that drove the construction of a multipurpose tennis court at Lethaba Special School in Tzaneen, Limpopo, through her foundation.
'It has been an idea that has been lying in the pipeline, not being sure how I would be able to execute it. But having such a great team behind me speaking to some of the sponsors from tennis, we managed to make it a dream come true,' KG told Independent Media Sport exclusively on the sidelines of the project.
'This project just resonates with my story, my career, so it's been a long time for me, waiting for this to come true.'
South Africa's top-ranked wheelchair tennis player can often be seen zipping around the court, executing lobs, cross-court forehand winners and drives down the line at the US Open, French Open, Aussie Open, and Wimbledon, yet her story has humble beginnings.
'When I started playing tennis, I started at a school where there was no tennis court. We went out to try to play tennis somewhere and then we came back. We didn't have a tennis court at school so we had to improvise,' KG said.
Video Player is loading.
Play Video
Play
Unmute
Current Time
0:00
/
Duration
-:-
Loaded :
0%
Stream Type LIVE
Seek to live, currently behind live
LIVE
Remaining Time
-
0:00
This is a modal window.
Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.
Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan
Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque
Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps
Reset
restore all settings to the default values Done
Close Modal Dialog
End of dialog window.
Advertisement
Next
Stay
Close ✕
Ad Loading
'So for me, being able to do this is just a matter of saying I don't want the next generation – those who come from a similar background as me – to go through similar challenges that I went through.'
She chose Lethaba Special School because it didn't have a tennis court, unlike Tshilidzini Special School and Helena Franz Special School, her alma mater.
'I just wanted to make sure that the next generation doesn't suffer, mostly those who come from the rural areas. Because I've lived that, I've experienced that and when you are talented and you realise that you were so late into that particular sport, you just feel like you were kind of left behind. I'm just trying to fill that gap.'
The 'national treasure' from Seshego, in Polokwane, does admit that her late start has probably given her the longevity to continue to compete at the highest level at the age of 39.
Her remarkable career has led her to four wheelchair tennis Grand Slam doubles titles – at the US Open, French Open (twice) and Wimbledon – alongside Japan's Yui Kamiji. Yet she has also lost none of her hunger for success.
'I feel like I'm starting to understand the game better and I'm improving. Even though I picked up the racket at the age of 19, here I am still able to win a Grand Slam or two, or reach a semi-final in Grand Slams,' she said.
The children at Lethaba Special School in Tzaneen were thrilled to try out the new multipurpose tennis court made possible by tennis star Kgothatso Monjane's foundation.
Image: Supplied
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Citizen
2 hours ago
- The Citizen
Sinner or Alcaraz to triumph at Cincinnati Open?
There's not much separating the world's two best men's players. The year's final tennis Major, the US Open, gets going on Sunday with the first round of action. Before then there is the not-so-small matter of the Cincinnati Open finals happening on Monday and Tuesday. First up on Monday evening at 9pm (SA time), Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will square off for the fourth time this season in a final. Both men have enjoyed super seasons and will be confident ahead of the US Open, but winning the Cincinnati title will be foremost on their minds. There is so little between them, as we've seen over the last few years. Betway have Sinner, the recent Wimbledon champion, as the favourite to win at 1.49. Alcaraz is at 2.44. There are a number of other options available for those keen to wager some money on the match, such as first set winner, total games won and correct score. An interesting option is one player winning a set to nil — at 9.20. The women's final, between Iga Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini, takes place on Tuesday. See Betway for more on that match. All odds are correct at time of publishing and subject to change.
eNCA
a day ago
- eNCA
Alcaraz to face defending champ Sinner in Cincinnati ATP final
CINCINNATI - World number one Jannik Sinner and hot rival Carlos Alcaraz will face off in a major final for the fourth time this season after both booked straight-set wins into the title match at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday. Defending champion Sinner ruthlessly subdued 136th-ranked qualifier Terence Atmane 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 while Spanish second seed Alcaraz defeated an ailing Alexander Zverev, who was suffering badly from the 32 Celsius heat and humidity, by 6-4, 6-3. Alcaraz and Sinner have played for trophies this season in Rome, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, with the Italian winning their most recent at the All England Club last month. Sinner, celebrating his 24th birthday, ended Frenchman Atmane's dream run and will now try to become the first man since Roger Federer in 2014-15 to win back-to-back titles in Cincinnati. Sinner, tuning up for the US Open in his first tournament since winning Wimbledon, hasn't dropped a set en route to the final. "It's a very, very tough challenge every time you play a new opponent," Sinner said. "In the later stages of the tournament,the pressure is on, they deserve to be there." Alcaraz will also be playing in his second Cincy final after losing to Novak Djokovic in 2023. The Spaniard increased his ATP season match win lead to 53 in a year of five titles. Alcaraz broke Zverev once in the opening set to claim it before the German, who is diabetic, began feeling poorly and took a medical timeout off court after the third game of the second set. Zverev, who has retired in only two matches since 2014, came back out to finish what was a patchy match from Alcaraz, who double-faulted for times in the second game of the second set but won the last 12 points with Zverev running on fumes. "We started well with good rallies, a good level," Alcaraz said. "All of a sudden he felt bad and I was thinking more about how he was feeling instead of playing good tennis. "It was tough and I just wish him all the best." Alcaraz said he is keen to try and take his Wimbledon revenge on Sinner in the unorthodox Monday final. "We always bring our best tennis. We raise each other's level. I'm ready to take the challenge," Alcaraz said. "I will try and adjust my game better and correct what I did wrong in our last match. I want to be ready with my 100%. Mentally I'll be ready -- I'm excited for Monday." 'Pressure was on me' Atmane gave birthday boy Sinner a Pokemon card shortly before they went on court, but he was in a less giving mood once they were underway. But Sinner surrendered just three points in his first six service games as they went to the tiebreaker with neither man facing a break point. Atmane double faulted on the first point of the decider and Sinner was away, powering to a 5-2 lead and pocketing the set at his second opportunity. "My experience helped in the first set," he said. "I'm very happy to go through to another final. "I tried to focus on myself, how I usually play, and then try to adapt a little bit to his game style," Sinner said. "And that's exactly what I did today. "The pressure was on me. That's normal in the position where I am in -- he was ready to fight." "My goal has always been the US Open, But we have put in the work here, in the gym and in practice. I just hope to be ready for New York." Sinner showed a first sign of vulnerability as he needed five game points to hold serve in the opening game of the second set. But that was the closest look Atmane got at his serve, and Sinner broke the Frenchman for a 3-1 lead and again to seal the match. Atmane, who is projected to crack the top 70 in the world rankings, became Sinner's 22nd straight French victim since May 2021, when he lost to Arthur Rinderknech in Lyon.
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
KG Montjane paves way for kids to chase their Grand Slam dreams
Kgothatso Montjane, right, and playing partner Yui Kamiji of Japan hold up their 2025 French Open winners' plates at Roland Garros. Image: Daniel Kopatsch/ ITF Wheelchair tennis Grand Slam champion Kgothatso 'KG' Montjane can't help but wonder where she would have been and what she would have achieved in the sport had she started earlier. It was her steely determination to ensure that the same fate doesn't befall talented youngsters from similar backgrounds that drove the construction of a multipurpose tennis court at Lethaba Special School in Tzaneen, Limpopo, through her foundation. 'It has been an idea that has been lying in the pipeline, not being sure how I would be able to execute it. But having such a great team behind me speaking to some of the sponsors from tennis, we managed to make it a dream come true,' KG told Independent Media Sport exclusively on the sidelines of the project. 'This project just resonates with my story, my career, so it's been a long time for me, waiting for this to come true.' South Africa's top-ranked wheelchair tennis player can often be seen zipping around the court, executing lobs, cross-court forehand winners and drives down the line at the US Open, French Open, Aussie Open, and Wimbledon, yet her story has humble beginnings. 'When I started playing tennis, I started at a school where there was no tennis court. We went out to try to play tennis somewhere and then we came back. We didn't have a tennis court at school so we had to improvise,' KG said. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad Loading 'So for me, being able to do this is just a matter of saying I don't want the next generation – those who come from a similar background as me – to go through similar challenges that I went through.' She chose Lethaba Special School because it didn't have a tennis court, unlike Tshilidzini Special School and Helena Franz Special School, her alma mater. 'I just wanted to make sure that the next generation doesn't suffer, mostly those who come from the rural areas. Because I've lived that, I've experienced that and when you are talented and you realise that you were so late into that particular sport, you just feel like you were kind of left behind. I'm just trying to fill that gap.' The 'national treasure' from Seshego, in Polokwane, does admit that her late start has probably given her the longevity to continue to compete at the highest level at the age of 39. Her remarkable career has led her to four wheelchair tennis Grand Slam doubles titles – at the US Open, French Open (twice) and Wimbledon – alongside Japan's Yui Kamiji. Yet she has also lost none of her hunger for success. 'I feel like I'm starting to understand the game better and I'm improving. Even though I picked up the racket at the age of 19, here I am still able to win a Grand Slam or two, or reach a semi-final in Grand Slams,' she said. The children at Lethaba Special School in Tzaneen were thrilled to try out the new multipurpose tennis court made possible by tennis star Kgothatso Monjane's foundation. Image: Supplied
