The annual Amanda Coetzer tennis tournament at Hoër Meisieskool Oranje in Bloemfontein gets underway in Bloemfontein on Thursday and as per usual the leading tennis schools in South Africa will be in action.
For the hosts, Oranje, it’s an opportunity to gun for back-to-back titles in what is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the country. The tournament was named after South Africa’s best women’s singles tennis player to date, Amanda Coetzer. The Free Stater is a true legend of the sport in South Africa and she is of course also an alumnus of the girls’ school.
During her illustrious career, Coetzer achieved her career’s highest ranking of third on the WTA rankings.
Oranje will go into the event unbeaten in 2023 with 14 wins and they also carry the number-one ranking in the country.
Their wins also include taking the honours and the Gerrie Berner tournament in Paarl, and more recently winning the All Girls’ Festival at Eunice in Bloemfontein.
In addition, Oranje has been on a phenomenal run since 2022 in which they have won 32 of the 34 tournaments they have competed in. All eyes will be on Donna le Roux and Nestine van Rooyen, who were both chosen for national teams this season.
Le Roux was selected for the South African under-19 team, while Van Rooyen is in the national under-15 team.
Le Roux is also the reigning national under-16 champion after winning the South African Junior title in Bloemfontein earlier this year.
For the first time since 2019 the Amanda Coetzer tournament will feature an under-15 event as well, with six teams entered.
The under-15 section will be contested between Oranje, Bloemhof (Stellenbosch), Waterkloof (Pretoria), Menlo Park (Pretoria), Paarl Girls’ High, and Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool (Pretoria).
The senior tournament will be contested by eight schools and they are as follow, according to the national rankings – Oranje, Bloemhof, Paarl Girls’ High, Rhenish Girls’ High (Stellenbosch), Waterkloof, Menlo Park, Affies, and Paarl Gymnasium.
To date, Bloemhof is the most successful team at the tournament with a total of 13 titles, while Oranje will be looking to win the tournament for just the sixth time. Waterkloof is the third most successful school at the tournament with a total of four titles.
The 2023 Amanda Coetzer tournament gets underway on Thursday morning at 09:00 and will run until Saturday afternoon. On Thursday and Friday, the girls will be playing until approximately 20:00 in the evenings. – MORGAN PIEK
