What are the biggest sacrifices you and your family make?
“Foreign exchange is really tough right now, and that meant we couldn’t go to Europe for big tournaments this year. My father does flooring and furniture, and he skips his holidays so I can afford to go to tournaments. Plane tickets are the biggest expense. No tournaments are close. You have to fly.”
What are your biggest challenges?
“If it’s in Europe then only I can go, if we can go at all. If it’s in Africa then a coach might come with me to a tournament. I was very attached to my parents at the beginning when I was starting to travel alone at 13 or 14. I remember my first time abroad, and it’s not always safe when you get out of the airport at some of these African sites. I don’t know how I did that back then as a small kid.”
What is your family like?
“My mom is a housewife and has a linen business. And I have a younger brother who’s 13. We come from a small town close to Cape Town.”
What are your plans for your education?
“Now I have online schooling to make time for tennis, but it isn’t free. I’m almost done as a senior. I’m really interested in top-level tennis at a university, thinking of places like LSU, Florida State, Clemson, Oklahoma. To go pro after school or do something with a major in sport management.”
Highlights:
WTN: 21.4
UTR: 12.06
Champion at Potchefstroom ITF
24-14 record in 2022 (ITF)
19-7 on hard
Top 350 juniors (UTR)
Top 3,500 overall (UTR)
Ranks:
Highest ITF: 119
Current ITF: 150
UTR 12.06