3 days ago
Multilingual Donald Ramphadi out of French Open singles
South Africa's quad wheelchair competitor Donald Ramphadi is out of the 2025 French Open after losing to Dutch opponent Sam Schröder 6-0, 6-3.
Ramphadi reflected on what a tough match it was for him and how he expected a better performance.
'It definitely was a tough one. Obviously, I know I should have done better.'
Ramphadi lost the first set 6-0 and he described giving Schröder what he wanted.
'Going into the first set, I think I gave him what he wanted. He likes lower balls, and that's what he was getting most of the time.'
After being bagled, Ramphadi deciding to change his tactics.
'Towards the end of the match is where I started changing it a bit to give him more higher balls, so he had to reach higher. As it's something that he doesn't like.
'In the second set I tried to hit the ball more to his backhand.
'I think I really played better in the second set.'
Ramphadi acknowledged that he was beaten by the better player, but appreciated that his performance was below par.
'He played well. 'Obviously, I can do better.'
It was not all doom and goom for the South African.
'I feel great how I played him. Especially in the second set.'
At last year's Paralympic Games in Paris, Ramphadi won the bronze medal with his doubles partner Lucas Sithole.
It was the first time Donald Ramphadi had been back in Paris since that unforgettable occasion.
'I call this a magical place. Anything can happen here.
'I'm still involved in the doubles with (Ahmet) Kaplan from Turkey.
'This is our second Grand Slam together.'
Ramphadi described that they are still getting to know each other's game.
'We are still working on getting an understanding of how we both play. We can try and understand each other more.
'We still need to have a good conversation to see if we can play more tournaments together.'
An interesting side note about Ramphadi is that he speaks seven languages: English, South Africa Sign Language, Sepedi, Tsonga, Venda, Zulu and Swazi.
After the conclusion of the French Open, Ramphadi will head home to South Africa for three weeks to catch up with his family.
'Limpopo is my hood.'
Ramphadi is a man of many talents.
Hopefully his tennis talents can propel to him to even more greater heights.
Dave Marshall is covering the 2025 French Open in Paris exclusively for The South African website
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