Ascentia Bed and Breakfast are the sponsor of the tournament. Speaking to Mmegi Sport, BTA coach Brighton Keteng said the competition is part of the association's development plan. "These tournaments are very important as they help with developing players and keeping them active for international tournaments," Keteng said. Attention turns to local competitions after several tournaments across southern Africa in recent weeks. After hosting the J4 ITF Gaborone Open, the association has had various successes from local players. The likes of Denzel Seetso and Mark Nawa have been playing impressively on the international stage to improve their world rankings.
The Phikwe Open is yet another tournament that is expected to have all the best players in the country battle it out for honours. In recent tournaments, it has been the same players dominating play and judging from their recent performances outside the country, it looks like the same script will continue.
The boys' Under-18 are fresh from playing at the Windhoek J4 ITF where Nawa lost in the quarterfinals to a South African player. His performances improved his rankings by close to 100 notches. He went to Namibia ranked 698 in the world and now stands at position 600 worldwide. Esi Molefhe, who also took part in the Windhoek tournament, will be part of the Selebi-Phikwe tournament and hopes to redeem herself. She was the only female that attended the tournament but unfortunately failed to progress to the second round of the tournament and made an early exit. In the Under-14 category, players such as Marcus Semane, Nelisiwe Tsima, Samantha Chivazve, and Angela Sefawe are players to look out for.
They have been consistent, getting exposure from across the borders.
