Local Tennis Star Wins UK Series

February 8, 2018

1 minute read

Ekua Refilwe Youri, a Motswana tennis star based in the UK has won the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) Under-16 Grade Four tournament played over the weekend.

At the Riverside Lawn Tennis Club in Bedfordshire, she beat Dascha Brazire in the final of the winter junior competition, meant for all juniors in the UK from local, county, regional through to national level.

The series began on September 1, 2017 and runs up to March 31, 2018. This was Youri’s first tournament since she took part in the African Junior Championship played in Gaborone last month.

Youri made her national team debut at the Gaborone tournament, and flew back to the UK to grab her first major title.

Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) vice president, Oatsi Thipe hailed the youngster, saying it was a huge achievement to win the tournament.

“Youri is 13 years and for her to win an under 16 tournament is a milestone. She is preparing to play the Under-14 tournament in Madagascar on February 22 to 25, 2018,” he said.

Thipe said if Youri continues doing well, together with other players such as Leungo Monnayoo and Denzel Seetso, they could qualify for the African Junior Championship finals that are scheduled for South Africa.