Fenit Nirappil
The third annual Soweto Open tennis tournament starts today.
It’s an event aimed at encouraging and revitalising tennis in the township.
But as players from around the world arrive to compete in the event at the Arthur Ashe Tennis Centre, described as “the best in South Africa”, other Soweto tennis courts are not maintained and unused.
The Arthur Ashe Tennis Centre, which first opened in 1977, was neglected for decades. But in 2007, the City of Joburg and the South African Tennis Association (SATA) decided to revive tennis in Soweto.
“There was nothing going on in Soweto at the time. Tennis had pretty much died,” said Ian Smith, SATA’s chief executive.
With funding from the National Lotteries Board, the centre reopened. It now has 16 courts, seating for 1 000 spectators and four full-time coaches who have trained more than 1 000 children.
Since 2009, the City of Joburg has used the centre for the Soweto Open, a week-long men’s and women’s tournament sanctioned by the International Tennis Federation.
But a mere 7km away, the tennis courts of Meadowlands are in a shambles. None has nets, the lines have faded and the courts are pale and covered in graffiti. Parts of the tall fences that border the courts have collapsed.
“We just chill. We play soccer, smoke dagga. I’ve never seen people play tennis here,” said a 16-year-old Meadowlands resident who has come to the court since he was a child.
Sylvester Zungu was the chairman of the Soweto Tennis Association in 2007 when the Arthur Ashe Tennis Centre opened. STA members forced him out in 2008 after he started complaining about the Soweto Open and the centre.
“They created a monster,” Zungu said about the centre.
“(The Gauteng Central Tennis Association and SATA) used to give us rackets. But as soon as Arthur Ashe started functioning, no one wants to help (other courts) any more.”
Zungu says the government cannot revitalise tennis in Soweto without addressing the eight other courts in a shambles. Zungu said many children could not afford transport to the Arthur Ashe Centre.
But SATA officials say the centre buses in students from different parts of Soweto and that they have never received funding requests to improve other Soweto courts.
Oupa Nthuping coaches at the centre, and has played tennis in Soweto since 1971. He’s battled the poor conditions of Sowetan courts for decades.
“You find men who are supposed to maintain (the courts) just sitting in the sun,” Nthuping said.
But he says the courts have always been poor, and the Arthur Ashe Tennis Centre should be praised for stoking passion for the sport in Soweto.
City spokeswoman Gugu Makhaya said the city focused tennis spending on Arthur Ashe to “create an enabling environment not only for Soweto community but for all other city regions”. She added that the city planned to improve other tennis courts.
l The Soweto Open runs this week, starting at 9.30am today. The finals will take place at 11am on Friday and Saturday.
For more information: http://www.thebldgroup.com/ the-clients/soweto-open-2011/