Celebrating her second Grand Slam victory at the US Open in New York on Saturday night, South African wheelchair tennis sensation Kgothatso Montjane said she and her doubles partner worked hard to get to the top.
Montjane claimed victory in partnership with her Japanese teammate Yui Kamiji, as they won the women's wheelchair doubles title without stepping onto the court, as their opponents were forced to withdraw due to illness.
The duo were scheduled to face the top-seeded Dutch pairing of Diede de Groot and Jiske Griffioen in the championship match, but Griffioen had to withdraw due to illness, resulting in a walkover victory for Montjane and Kamiji.
The landmark win makes Montjane only the second South African to clinch a US Open wheelchair title after Lucas Sithole achieved the feat in 2013.
Reflecting on securing her latest Grand Slam crown, Montjane said: "We are really excited about the title even though it's not how we wanted to win it. We were so ready to battle it out there and we wanted our revenge from Wimbledon (where they lost to De Groot and Griffioen earlier this year). Other than that, a win is a win, and we did so well to get ourselves to the final. We are just so grateful to have won our second title together and for us making our third Grand Slam together in one year. It's really exciting to be winning this title with Yui."
Their result added to Montjane and Kamiji's 2023 campaign after they clinched the French Open doubles title in June.
The pair's impressive performances throughout the season have solidified their position as one of the top wheelchair tennis doubles teams in the world.
In the quad wheelchair doubles event in New York, Donald Ramphadi and his partner Andy Lapthorne also did well to secure the runner-up position.
Cape Times