A TENNIS enthusiast and his friends from Humansdorp plan to establish a club for the youth in their area where they can learn about and master the sport.
Eldoraan Williams from Moerasrivier outside the town aims at applying his experience to start a tennis club
Williams started playing tennis after watching a group of people playing the sport at the nearby tennis court. He found it fascinating and wanted to learn more.
“When I saw people from the area playing tennis, I found it very interesting. Each time they played I made sure that I was there to watch. Eventually, after watching the group play for some time, I began to learn how to play by practising with them,” he says.
Williams, who works at Nexus Yachts, says that initially, he was not interested in tennis and did not know much about the sport, until he began practising with the late Johnny Petersen, better known as Oom Sonny Boy.
According to Williams, Petersen was one of Humansdorp’s tennis legends and taught him a great deal about the sport. At 12 years old, he quickly learnt all the necessary techniques he needed to do well at playing tennis.
“I really enjoy playing, because it is competitive and good for the mind.”
Williams and friends, Zin Du Plessis, Liam Kroutz, Anul Leander, Dyron Mdidimba and Bradwill Petersen, practise every Saturday and Sunday at the old tennis court in Moerasrivier.
They use their skills to teach children in the area, but unfortunately, due to the poor condition of the tennis court, they are not able to provide adequate training.
“The tennis court has many cracks and there is not much space at the back to play. The facilities are not up to standard, but we try to make the best of it,” says Williams.
The group of friends began cleaning up the tennis court and were able to paint the surface in May, this year.
“Our future purpose is to get the youth involved with tennis. We are willing to train and practise with anyone who is interested once we have better facilities.”
In order to make their dreams a reality, Williams hopes to receive sponsorship or funding to refurbish the tennis court and make it suitable for them to use and train others.
Contact Eldoraan Williams at 062 660 4513 or email eldoraanwilliams5@gmail.com.
