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High hopes for Ghana Tennis player at ITF Africa Junior Championship

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Following his recent success at the ITF West and Central Africa Junior Qualifiers tournament in January in Togo, United Through Sport Ghana’s youngest tennis player, Reggie Okai travelled to Tunisia this weekend to play in the ITF Africa Junior Championship tournament.

Reggie was the only member of the Ghana National team who travelled to Togo to qualify for the Africa Junior Championships. This is a huge achievement for United Through Sport Ghana and of course for Reggie himself – although he has been playing tennis for a few years now, he is a complete novice to tournaments of this level and calibre. The tournament will see Reggie coming up against rival players from all areas of Africa and it is a great opportunity for him to showcase his talents to the international tennis community.

The whole team in Ghana along with his Academy fellow students are supporting him every step of the way and wish him all the luck in the world. We are all looking forward to welcoming him back and congratulating him on his successes at the tournament.

We’ll be updating the website and our Facebook page with all the latest news on Reggie’s tournament quest, so keep checking back for the latest information.

Tennis success in Togo

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Earlier this month, United Through Sport Ghana’s youngest Tennis player, Reggie Okai was selected to join the Ghana National Tennis Team to travel to Togo for the ITF West And Central Africa Junior Championship Qualifiers. The tournament took place from the 11th to 17th January 2015 in Lome, Togo – Reggie was part of a 10 player team that was called up to the Ghana National Team. He joined fellow Ghanaian players to compete alongside rival tennis players from across west and central Africa.

As a novice to this level of tournament, Reggie didn’t let the sense of occasion phase him. He played some incredible matches, defeating some extremely talented opponents from all over west and central Africa.

As the tournament got into full swing, Reggie flew through his rounds and surprised many of his fellow team mates as well as coaching staff. Reggie and the rest of the team all played exceptionally well, most of his colleagues had played in Junior tournaments previously however this was Reggie’s first junior tournament. As the matches began Reggie delivered consistent winning performances in both the singles and doubles tournaments. He completed the tournament in fifth place overall which was a fantastic achievement alone but his place in the final standings meant that Reggie was also the only member of Ghana national team to qualify to play in the forthcoming ITF/CAT African Junior Championships which is being held in Tunisia in March 2015.

Everyone in Ghana is extremely proud of Reggie and his fantastic achievement, we wish him all the luck in the world in the Junior Championship Tournament and will be supporting him every step of the way.

Venus and Serena Williams visit Argentina

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The Williams sisters, United Through Sport Argentina and the Blind Tennis Social Project put on a clinic during an exhibition match held at Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club on 30th November. Serena Williams, world number 1, and her sister Venus worked with children suffering from blindness with the aim to promote more participation in the sport regardless of disability.

With the public asked to remain silent, the sisters used a specially designed ball that would give off a sound that could be heard by the blind children. To everyone’s astonishment the balls were being regularly returned proving what a success this new technology has been.

Over 250 children from disadvantaged communities turned up, along with kids from the Blind Tennis Social Project, to take part in this exciting opportunity. Working alongside two of the worlds most well know tennis players was a great priviledge for all involved.

Serena even posted out the following Twitter message:
“I did something I have never done before today. I played tennis in Argentina with blind kids. The ball made noise. They listened and hit it back. It was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. Tennis opens doors to so many different people and things. These kids taught me a powerful lesson today. Anything is possible”

Ghana Boys Play in the Accra Senior Open Tennis Championship

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Monday 2nd December was an exciting day for two of our Tennis Academy Boys, George Nyarko and Emmanuel Wettey, as they competed in the Accra Senior Open Tennis Championships at the Accra Lawn Tennis Club.

Both George and Emmanuel entered the Singles tournament and joined forces in the Doubles tournament to fly the United Through Sport flag. The Accra Senior Open Tennis Championships attracts players of a high standard and this year was certainly no different, as there were Davis Cup players and former Ghana number 1’s among the entrants. Volunteers and staff attended the tournament to cheer the boys on and show their support.

George and Emmanuel, who are both 14 years of age, played their Singles matches on the first day of the tournament, their opponents were all at least 20 years of age, showing just how talented our United Through Sport boys are already. They each played four Singles matches and won one match each; a fantastic achievement for both boys. On the second day the boys played in the Doubles tournament, although there were no victories for them they both played incredibly well and showed off just how much talent they have. Throughout both the Singles and Doubles tournament, Emmanuel and George did themselves proud, they played their hearts out and fought every single point down to the wire; they both really are big Tennis stars in the making!

Tennis Coach Prepares Ghanaian Youth Player for International Tournament

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United Through Sport Ghana Volunteer, Michael Rossi, of London UK, has been coaching at the National Tennis Centre in Accra for the past 6 weeks to assist the development of grassroots tennis in Ghana. During his time in Accra, Michael worked one-on-one with Toshi. Toshi is amongst the most promising young players in Africa. The fifteen year old hails from mixed Ghanaian and Nigerian heritage and has already competed in tournaments around Africa. Michael’s one-on-one coaching sessions will hopefully prepare him for victory in a tournament he is due to enter in Nigeria commencing later this week. The tournament will include the brightest prospects from West Africa to determine the highest ranked players in the region.

Michael has been working closely with International Tennis Federation trained coach and United Through Sport’s Tennis placement coordinator, Yaya. Yaya volunteers his time without pay to aid the development of Tennis in Ghana, helping children of all ages excel in the sport. He is helped by the wonderful facilities at the National Tennis Centre in Accra. The 4 court complex, which is situated in the shadow of the 40,000 capacity Accra Sports Stadium and opposite the landmarks of Independence Square, are vital to the continued development of the sport. Yaya stakes the ambitious claim to have a Ghanaian breaking into the Top 10 World Rankings.

Yaya was speaking courtside at the Ghana Tennis Championships that were taking place in Accra. Many of the players qualifying for the latter rounds are still young and yet to reach their full potential. Key to the development of Tennis in Ghana is the small coastal town of Winneba in Ghana’s Central region, which is home to a State funded Tennis Academy and has 8 courts and hosts many National training camps whilst acting as a fully residential Academy for the brightest prospects.

Michael and Yaya also coach a large group of dedicated young beginners, who are lucky enough to use the same facilities as Ghana’s elite players. These children from underprivileged backgrounds rely on donations to provide the resources they couldn’t participate without; shoes, balls and rackets are expensive even by Western standards. In Ghana, contributions from United Through Sport and our beneficiaries are giving kids the chance to play, improve and hopefully compete internationally like Toshi and maybe one day become household names.

School of Excellence Girls Win Tournament

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United Through Sport South Africa was invited by Imbewu South Africa to take part in a World AIDS Day Knock-Out Tournament, which was held at the Dan Qeqe Stadium in Zwide on the 1st December. The tournament had netball, tennis, basketball and 5-a-side soccer games for U/13s and U/16s.

We had our U/16 netball girls and soccer boys playing in this tournament. There were three U/16 netball teams involved on the day, as well as 4 four U/16 soccer teams from other local schools. Our boys played well but unfortunately got knocked out and did not make the final. They played 3 games and with only one win, they lost the other two matches. The girls, on the other hand, played a total of 3 matches, made it through the finals and were the day’s winners! Having the floating trophy and their medals, the girls felt very proud to be United Through Sport SA girls!

This was a great way of ending the year for the kids, on a high spirit of working together as a team and we are happy that Imbewu SA invited us to take part in this tournament and to raise awareness about this deadly disease.