Kgothatso Montjane hopes she can awaken a whole new generation of wheelchair tennis players after the South African trailblazed her way to two Grand Slam finals at the Wimbledon Championships.
By beating Japan’s Momoko Ohtaniin the semi-finals of the women’s wheelchair singles, Montjane became the first black woman from South Africa to reach a Grand Slam singles final.
The 35-year-old defeated Ohtani 7-6 (7-3) 4-6 6-4 and now faces top seed and world No 1 Diede De Groot in the final, although there were more accolades to come her way on what proved a momentous day.
Buoyed by her success over Ohtani, Montjane then teamed up with Great Britain’s Lucy Shuker as the duo shocked top seeds De Groot and Aniek Van Koot in the women’s doubles. The formidable pairing of Yui Kamiji and Jordanne Whiley await in the final.
“For me, being out here is all about giving hope to Africans, not only South Africans, because we know how this sport is in our continent,” said Montjane.
“When the young generation see someone doing well it inspires them to take up the sport. That is my hope, to keep instilling hope and encouraging the next generation to take it up.
‘I also want them to realise that, no matter what challenges you face, as long as you want it, you can always get it.’
It has been a long time coming for Montjane, who has lost eight previous Grand Slam singles semi-finals, and statistics alone hint at the scale of the challenge facing her against serial title-winner De Groot.
While Montjane will be contesting her first Grand Slam singles final, De Groot will go in search of her 11th singles crown at a major after overcoming home favourite Jordanne Whiley 6-4 6-1 in the other last-four tussle. For her part, Montjane is keen to continue riding the wave of optimism.
‘I am just going to go out there and enjoy my first Grand Slam final and whatever happens, happens. I am looking forward to it,’ added Montjane, who reached the doubles final alongside Shuker at this year’s Australian Open, only to lose out to De Groot and Van Koot.
Credit: itftennis.com