27 Mar 2025

The Botswana Tennis Association (BTA) will host the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior J30 and J60 at the National Tennis Centre in Gaborone from April 7 to 19.

The BTA president, Oaitse Thipe, said the international event was expected to attract tennis players from Africa, America, Asia, and Europe. 

He said they were expecting more than 80 players, with their parents and coaches and other stakeholders. 

He said the tournament would help the players to earn points in both the J30 and J60, adding that this year, one of their international events had been upgraded to J60, which had increased the number of participants.

“These tournaments are really good for our players. They play and earn points while on home soil,” he said.  Last year, Thipe said they hosted 10 weeks in total of international tournaments, which he said generated P1.5 million in hotel accommodation. 

Their officials, he said, were able to learn more, adding that the BTA also managed to send some of their referees to the University of Pretoria for refresher courses. 

He added that some of the referees had been upgraded to international white badges. 

He said hosting international tournaments helped their officials gain more exposure, which would help them when they wanted to turn professional.

He further said hosting the event would help the country with sport tourism. 

He said sport was a sector, which could generate a lot of money for the country’s economy. ENDS