The players will take part in the Confederation of African Tennis (CAT) Under-14 Circuit tournament from today until Saturday.

Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) vice president, Nonofo Othusitse, said in an interview that the CAT Under-14 Circuit was hosted across several African countries and awards players continental ranking points.

“You will note that Botswana also hosts two of these tournaments. Through participation in these events, our players have gained valuable points, and we now have a good number of ranked players,” he said.

Othusitse said Malak was currently ranked 12^th, while Lebone and Francesco were ranked 28^th and 46^th, respectively.

He added that after the Circuit, the trio would compete in The Petits As – Africa Playoffs 2025, scheduled to take place at the Moundir Tennis Academy in Morocco from November 10 to 14.

The Petits As – Africa Playoffs, he explained, was a singles-only qualifying event for the prestigious ‘Les Petits As’, widely regarded as the Under-14 Junior World Championships, which annually brings together the world’s best young tennis players.

Since its inception in 1982 and the first edition in 1983, the tournament has hosted some of the greatest champions in world tennis, including Michael Chang, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, and Martina Hingis.

Othusitse noted that Botswana’s Ntungamili Raguin remained the only Motswana player to have qualified for the event. ENDS