22 Jun 2025

Local tennis star, Malak Macheng has once again made it to the podium by winning a silver medal at the just-ended ITF/CAT 14 and Under, Leg 2 Circuit girls’ singles final held in Gaborone on Saturday.

Malak lost gold to one of the tough opponents, South African Wendy Modiba by 6-1, 6-0.

On her road to the final, Malak won 6-0, 6-0 to Zimbabwean Sheen Mpofu to proceed to the semi-finals, where she met her court rival, Rutendo Tom from Zimbabwe, but the local player prevailed by winning 7-5, 7-5.

Malak said she knew it was not going to be easy playing against Wendy.

She, however, said she had learnt a lot of things, which she said she would implement in the coming tournaments. 

“It is every player’s desire to win a gold medal, but things did not pen out as I had planned, so I am happy that I made it to the podium,” she said.

She said competing against tough opponents gave her a good opportunity to gauge herself and prepared her for future tournaments.

In the boys’ singles, Botswana’s Tinashe Phatshwane won a bronze medal after beating Namibian Johan Theron 4-1, 4-0

In the doubles, Tinashe and his partner, Johan won a gold beating, South African Mpho Bowers and Botswana’s Lebone Tlape by 6-3, 3-6, 10-4. The later won silver.

In the girls’ doubles, Angel Chakanyuka and Malak delivered a silver for Botswana after losing a 6-3, 4-6, 10-8 against Zimbabweans Rutendo and Ruvarashe Makunike.

Botswana Tennis Association vice president, Nonofo Othusitse said in an interview that following the successful hosting of the ITF/CAT 14 and Circuit tournaments, they achieved numerous positive outcomes.

He said a larger number of local players, including five from the Re Ba Bona Ha Centre in Serowe, had the opportunity to compete in their first international tournament.

The participation of more internationally ranked players, he said, led to the tournaments being upgraded by CAT from Grades 3 and 2 to Grades 2 and 1, respectively.

Othusitse said when they first hosted the tournaments in 2024, they were Grade 3 events, adding that the upgrade allowed players to earn higher points, significantly boosting their CAT rankings.

Additionally, he said the players performed impressively across both genders in singles and doubles events.

“These achievements would not have been possible without the unwavering support of Senn Foods and Spar. 

We are deeply grateful for their partnership and look forward to further strengthening this collaboration,” he said. ENDS