26 Oct 2025

Local tennis coach Kelebogile Monnayoo has become the second Botswana woman to attain a high level International Tennis Federation (ITF) coaching certificate after successfully passing the Coaching Advanced Players course in Rwanda recently.

Coach Lebo, as she is known in tennis circles, follows in the footsteps of Tapiwa Masunga who holds the ITF Coaching High-Performance Players course qualification.

The recent course in Kigali drew 24 participants, predominantly from East African, with only three women among them. Out of the 24 coaches who undertook the rigorous training and assessment, only 12 successfully passed and received their accreditation, underscoring the high standards and difficulty of the course.

Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) vice president, Nonofo Othusitse said in an interview that the course was designed to help coaches develop the knowledge and skills needed to train players competing at higher levels, focusing on improving their technical, tactical, physical and mental abilities.

“Coach Lebo’s success is not only a personal achievement but also a remarkable milestone for Botswana tennis as a whole,” Othusitse said, adding that the accomplishment also represented a step forward in developing highly qualified and competent tennis coaches in Botswana.

He noted that such progress aligned with BTA strategic objectives of prioritising the production and accreditation of skilled coaches as a foundation for raising the overall standard of tennis.

“In line with this strategy, Botswana tennis has previously hosted a series of developmental coaching courses, including Play and Stay programmes, as well as ITF Coaching courses for Beginner and Intermediate players,” he said.

He said the advancement of coach Lebo to the Advanced Players accreditation was testament to the effectiveness of such programmes and the commitment to continuous improvement.

“It is often said that podium coaches produce podium players and the elevation of coach Lebo into this advanced coaching cadre signals promising potential for Botswana tennis to nurture athletes capable of competing at the highest levels,” he added.

He highlighted that her expertise would be invaluable in guiding the next generation of tennis talent and foster both technical excellence and competitive success.

For her part, coach Lebo expressed happiness to have attained such a milestone.

“The course is more advanced for more advanced players who play high-level tennis and with this course, now I have a bit more understanding in tennis because I learned a lot of things that I didn’t know,” she said, adding that the exposure was vastly different from the Level 1 course she previously held. ENDS