22 Jul 2021

Denzel Seetso (16) is the youngest Motswana to represent the country in Davis Cup and to win Botswana Seniors Open Tennis Championship in 2021.

Looking at Denzel’s achievement at his age, it is evident that he has a bright future. 

In 2020, he was crowned National Junior Sports Person of the Year and he finished Under 14 as number one in ITF/CAT rankings.

In 2016, Denzel emerged number one in South Africa Under 12 rankings.

Denzel’s mother, Martina Seetso, said her son started playing tennis at Baobab Primary School under a coach who visited the school once a week as part of Komatsu tennis development programme.

At that time, she said, he was eight years old and was invited to join other tennis children on weekends.

She highlighted that her son started home schooling at the age of 10 and spent mornings training with his coach, adding that he went to SA for his first tournament after six months and lost badly in the second round.

Seetso said after six months, Denzel took part in his second tournament in SA and reached the final, noting that a year after that he reached number one.

She indicated that he wrote PSLE as a private candidate and attained excellent results. She further highlighted that he then received an ITF scholarship in Kenya at the age of 12 and spent 18 months there.

She said he then came back home to play the regional championships in January, when he turned 14 and emerged the regional champion and decided to prepare for African Junior Championships at home, under a tailor made programme. 

“The goal was to reach number one position in Africa,” she said.

At the end of September 2020, she said the dream became a reality and Denzel was invited to join the ITF team to represent Africa at two of the biggest junior tournaments of the World: Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl.

Seetso said the experience was eye opening, unfortunately Denzel got injured and had to retire in the second round.

She said when he finally played his first tournament after injury, he lost in second round to one of the top players in Africa, adding that in the next tournament he beat him to reach a quarter final.

She indicated that selection to the Davis Cup team helped him a lot because his confidence improved and his game started picking up again.

She further said Denzel was now studying at Phakalane Tutors, following IGCSE syllabus and was preparing for ITF tournaments in South Africa at the end of August.

Seetso highlighted that people assumed it was talent behind his success but in reality it was a result of hard work, continuous effort and maximum dedication.

Denzel’s coach, Phenyo Matong said he had been coaching the player for six years. 

He described him as a focused individual and a hard worker, adding that he understood that he still had a long way to go. 

“We are working on reaching the Junior Grand Slams,” he said. ends