The Namibia Tennis Association (NTA) has sent a six-member team to compete in a prestigious tennis tournament in Gaborone, Botswana, as part of their preparations for the upcoming Region 5 Games. 

The event will be hosted in Namibia later this year.

The squad includes Rubben Yssel, Dante Marcus, Leandre Louw, Johan Theron, Joanivia Bezuidenhout and Lian Kuhn. 

The tournament is set to run from 6 to 19 April.

It will serve as a vital platform to sharpen the players ahead of the regional competition.

Speaking to this publication, NTA junior tennis coordinator Jandre Bezuidenhout highlighted the significance of the tournament in developing a strong and competitive team. “It’s a youthful team that we are trying to build. They are young. To get the best out of them, we need to train them while they are still developing. We are hoping they go there, gain valuable experience and make us proud,” he said.

He said the ultimate goal is to improve on Namibia’s previous performance at the Region 5 Games in Malawi. 

To ensure thorough preparation, the team will compete in local tournaments and travel to Pretoria, South Africa, for further training and competition.

“Time is running out before the main event, so we will have multiple local tournaments as well. Our aim is to surpass our last performance at the Region 5 Games. To do that, we must continue competing in high-intensity tournaments,” he added.

– mkambukwe@nepc.com.na