WINDHOEK – Although Codie van Schalkwyk failed to clinch overall victory of the Kia tennis series – the 11-year-old made a magnificent step towards being crowned this year’s champion when he won the advanced category of last weekend’s tourney under the auspices of the Pro Tennis Academy in Windhoek.
Van Schalkwyk will now have to be at his best at the last event of the season slated for next month to finally bring the cup home. Winning the advanced category ahead of Nguvi Hinda and his brother, Conner van Schalkwyk surely gave the youngster much needed confidence before next month’s grand finale.
However, his brother Connor, who is also still in contention for the overall win is likely to bring his A-game to the season finale and try to wrestle victory away from younger sibling and cause an upset in the process.
Veri Hinda won the intermediate class with Delvin Losper and Kiana Cormack having to settle for 2nd and 3rd places respectively. In the beginners’ category, there was no way past Kayden Schnelle, with Ranel Kavandja adrift in 2nd place with Jaco Losper settling for 3rd.
Victory in the midi category went to Sumar van der Merwe – leaving Adam Diggle to pick up the pieces for 2nd place with Zula Ayoub trailing in 3rd spot, while Karmi Muller emerged victorious in the mini category. The race for 2nd place was a family affair between Hendrina and Leonardine Apollus with the former finally edging ahead to secure 2nd place.
The top 10 players in the Kia Tennis Ranking are as follows:
Codie van Schlakwyk 4750
Connor van Schalkwyk 3600
Waylon Wentzel 3550
Veri Hinda 3200
Delvin Losper 3025
Kayden Schnelle 2360
Oliver Diggle 2325
Zander Coetzee 1915
Jaco Becker 1750
Randel Kavandje 1684
By Staff Reporter