The Rise and Rise of Botswana Women Tennis  

Sunday Standard The Rise and Rise of Botswana Women Tennis   Like mythological phoenixes, Botswana women tennis is rising from the ashes. This was all out there for everyone to see at the just ended Billie Jean King Cup (BJKC) Group III Africa tournament. Playing in front of an expectant home crowd at the National Tennis Centre here in Gaborone, the local girls went toe to toe with the best in the continent. Not only that. They gave their opponents more than just a good run for their points. Yesterday (Saturday 18th June 2026), the local girls faced Nigeria in their ultimate match at the tournament. A win here would mean they have gone through the tournament undefeated. It also meant automatic promotion back to the BJKC Euro/Africa Group II after a 23-year absence. Most importantly, their showing in the just ended tournament showed the team’s continued upward trajectory in the BJKC. Even before playing their ultimate match against Nigeria, the local girls had gone one step further than what they did at the same tournament in Namibia last year. Back then, in what was regarded as their best outing since returning to BJKC in 2022, Botswana went through the group stages unbeaten enroute to the playoffs. They however failed to win any of their playoff games, ultimately settling for 3rd position behind Morocco and Kenya.  This time around, the local girls had already won their first play-off match prior to the match against Nigeria. That win came on Thursday when they beat one of the tournament favourites Tunisia 2 – 1 in what was a closely fought contest. At the heart of this meteoric rise is the unearthing of a glut of talented young women. Led by the versatile duo of Ekua Youri and Chelsea Chakanyuka, this fearless group of young women is seeking to write their names in the history of Botswana tennis. Youri and Chakanyuka were at the heart of everything good about Botswana at the just ended tournament. Aside from the doubles match in Botswana’s first match of the tournament, they had played all the singles and doubles matches leading to the ultimate game against Nigeria.     They are however not the only talent at the disposal of team Botswana. Also, in camp for this tournament along with them are Leungo Monnayoo, Kelebogile Monnayoo, Rethabile Lesire Moshaoa and Angel Chakanyuka. The latter, Moshaoa and Angel, aged 17-years and 13-years old respectively, were called into camp as part of a long-term player development initiative. Aside from those in camp, there are also the likes of Naledi Raguin, as well as upcoming talents like Malak Macheng, just to mention but a few. Interestingly, save for Kelebogile Monnayoo, who is 27-years-old this year, the rest are 21-years and under. This bodes well for the country’s promotion, now and in the future, as well as maintaining statuses in upper groups once promoted. An upbeat women senior national team coach Kagiso Kelebeile says the future is bright for the team. He believes the country has a team that can excel now and also has a good pool of upcoming talent to close the gap when the current players are not available in future. “During the national team training camp, we did not only focus on the ones that are going to be playing. We invited a lot more other players to benefit from the training to also get them ready for other competitions that they are going to play in.” While the team is making strides, a lot still needs to be done. Resources are still needed to find more talent while more is needed to keep the current talent competitive. But be as it may, there is no doubt. Botswana women tennis is back on its perch among the best in the continent!     The post The Rise and Rise of Botswana Women Tennis   first appeared on Sunday Standard and is written by Sunday Standard Reporter