Kearsney College hosts its annual Kearsney Tennis Tournament from Friday, 3 May to Sunday, 5 May. It will be 28^th time the event takes place and Kearsney Deputy Head Ant Willows has been its organiser since the very first one in 1996.

Willows, a top tennis player, represented Western Province. After he joined Kearsney in 1993, as a mathematics teacher and a tennis coach, Headmaster Owen Roberts tasked him with building up the sport at the school. Within a couple of years, a strong tennis ethos had been established. That was when Willows decided to establish a tennis festival. There were none at the time.

He approached the top tennis-playing schools in the country. The idea was very well received, and from 1996 it became a fixture on the annual tennis schedule, improving year by year, and drawing the best schools from around South Africa.

The event features eight schools, four of which – Kearsney College, Grey College, Affies, and Paul Roos Gymnasium – are core members. It has never expanded beyond eight, simply because it’s what the local courts – at Kearsney, Highbury and St Mary’s DSG – can accommodate.

From the start, too, Sportsmans Warehouse has backed the tournament every year. Their support includes providing a racquet stringer at the event, which no other schools’ tennis tournament in South Africa has, Willows said. Wilson has also joined as a sponsor, providing balls and prizes.

Joining the core schools this year are St David’s Marist Inanda, Pretoria Boys High, Rondebosch Boys’ High, and the defending champions, Westville Boys’ High.

The teams are divided into two pools, with Grey College, Pretoria Boys High, Rondebosch and Westville in Group Alcaraz and Affies, Kearsney, Paul Roos and St David’s in Group Sinner.

Many would expect a final between Westville and Paul Roos, although Grey College might have something to say about that. Also, as Willows pointed out, team tennis is different from individual competition.

“People say tennis is not a team event but, when you come and watch it is a proper team event,” Willows said. “You see how the boys support each other. I find a lot of boys play better when they play for their school then they do outside of school.”

The best player to have been part of the Kearsney event is, undoubtedly, Kevin Anderson, who represented St Stithians College. He reached a career high of number five in the world in 2018 and was a runner-up at the US Open (2017) and Wimbledon (2018).

The Kearsney Tennis Tournament has been moved a little earlier this year, so that it takes place on the same weekend as Kearsney’s winter derby against Northwood and not during the second term’s long weekend, as was previously the case. That was a deliberate move to expose the event to more people.

After 32 years of service at Kearsney, during which the school has consistently performed well above the provincial and national averages in mathematics, Willows will retire at the end of 2024. His legacy will remain in the Mathematics Department, but his most visible legacy will be the Kearsney Tennis Tournament and the strength of the sport at the school.

Since he took charge, Kearsney has remained among South Africa’s best in the sport. Its teams play in top tournament in different age groups around the country, but its own event remains one of the most highly regarded.

Paul Roos is the most successful school in the history of the event, with 14 titles to its name, one of which was shared with Grey College in 2004. The Bloemfontein school has four wins, as does Waterkloof, while Affies and Kearsney have won twice each. Pretoria Boys High, St Stithians and Westville each have claimed the title once.

The same schools that played in 2023 will be in action again this year. Last year, it finished:

1st: Westville Boys’ High School
2nd: Paul Roos Gimnasium
3rd: Grey College
4th: Affies
5th: Kearsney College
6th: Pretoria Boys’ High
7th: Rondebosch Boys’ High
8th: Saint David’s Marist Inanda

At the conclusion of the event, the top players in each of the playing positions were recognised. Guy Vorwerk, the best no. 1, returns for Westville. Connor Doig, also from Westville, who was the best no. 2, has now moved to home schooling as he pursues a career in tennis.

Pieter Kotze, of Paul Roos, the best no. 3, is back again. Westville’s Lindo Gcwensa, the best no. 4, is back, too. Grey College;s Mphi Leshoele, who was the pick of the no. 5 players, is no longer around, but Xander Prinsloo, who was named the top no. 6,

each position were recognised. Westville produced three of the six: Guy Vorwerk (#1), Connor Doig (#2) and Lindo Gcwensa (#4). Paul Roos had two players named: Xander Prinsloo (#6) and Pieter Kotze (#3), while Grey College’s Mpho Leshoele was named the top number five.

SCHEDULE

Friday AM (plays begins at 08:15)

Group Sinner
St David’s vs Kearsney, Kearsney 3, 4, 5
Paul Roos vs Affies, St Mary’s

Group Alcaraz
Grey College vs Rondebosch, Highbury
Pretoria Boys vs Westville, Kearsney 1, 2, 6

Friday PM

Group Sinner
Kearsney vs Affies, Kearsney 1, 2, 6
Paul Roos vs St David’s, Highbury

Group Alcaraz
Westville vs Grey College, St Mary’s
Pretoria Boys vs Rondebosch, Kearsney 3, 4, 5

Saturday AM

Group Sinner
St David’s vs Affies, Kearsney 3,4
Paul Roos vs Kearsney, Kearsney 1, 2

Group Alcaraz
Grey College vs Pretoria Boys Kearsney 5, 6
Westville vs Rondebosch, Highbury

Saturday PM – Playoffs
Winner Sinner vs 2nd Alcaraz (A), TBC
2nd Sinner vs Winner Alcaraz (B), TBC
3rd Sinner vs 4th Alcaraz (C), TBC
4th Sinner vs 3rd Alcaraz (D), TBC

Sunday AM – Finals and Playoffs
Final: Winner A vs Winner B, Kearsney 1, 2, 6
3rd/4th: Loser A vs Loser B, TBC
5th/6th: Winner C vs Winner D, TBC
7th/8th: Loser C vs Loser D

A product of Clifton (Nottingham Road) and St Andrew’s School (Bloemfontein), Brad Morgan played schools’ provincial cricket and hockey. He has worked in radio, online and for newspapers. He also previously handled media matters for the Natal Canoe Club, which hosts the Dusi Canoe Marathon, and for the Midmar Mile. Brad has, furthermore, co-authored books on the Dusi Canoe Marathon and the Comrades Marathon. He holds no particular biases towards South African sports teams but, beyond South Africa’s borders, is a big fan of the Green Bay Packers and Liverpool FC. Brad enjoys photography and music, and likes working to some good dub techno in the background.