GEORGE NEWS - A great honour was recently bestowed on local tennis coach Letona Mokhitli (37) of the Great Tennis Academy when he was appointed as a national selector of Tennis SA (TSA).
Mokhitli is now one of six selectors of SA Juniors, appointed for the term from 4 October 2021 to 31 September 2023. One of the criteria he had to meet before he could be appointed was that he had to be a member of TSA in good standing.
He is based in George, but his new responsibilities may require from him to travel with junior national teams on selected tours. He may also have to attend junior national training camps to assist in monitoring and assessing the performances of players and to provide feedback. However, he will still be able to go on with his duties at the Great Tennis Academy.
Mokhitli has come a long way from his childhood years in Lesotho. He started to play tennis at the age of eight and played at school on national level, representing Lesotho at the All African Games in Algeria in 2007.
André de Beer, who was involved with the Great Tennis Academy at the time, spotted him and asked him to join the organisation. He came to George in 2008.
He is optimistic about the future of tennis in South Africa. "The standard of tennis in South Africa is very good," he says. "It is a very good set-up that was created around junior tennis by affording the tennis coaches to run their own academies. The future of junior tennis in South Africa looks good."
He says most players look up at Loyd Harris, Kevin Anderson and Ravin Klaassen. "There is upcoming talent and they will be able to do really well."
Asked about the makings of a good tennis player he mentioned talent, work ethics, discipline and passion.
Director of the Great Tennis Academy Lizelle Fourie said his appointment is a big honour. He is the only one in Eden to have achieved this in the past decade. "It means our players will be noticed more. He will be able to identify local talent."
Local tennis coach, Letona Mokhitli (37) from the Great Tennis Academy.
Photos: Eugene Gunning
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