Mastering the art of playing competitive tennis on clay courts is not something that comes naturally to young South African players as there are very few such courts available for them to practise on. Kobus Botha (TuksTennis head coach) who firmly believes in giving young players a fair chance when they compete internationally realised that, so he took a few of the youngsters to Johannesburg where he coached them to master the finer intricacies of clay court tennis.

It paid dividends as South Africa’s top under-12 player, Carlé Botha, managed to win most of her matches representing South Africa in tournaments in Madagascar and Mauritius. She left yesterday to play in Italy where her new found clay court confidence will hopefully stand her in good stead again (by Wilhelm de Swardt). 

Watch these videos to see how some of the TuksTennis juniors move around on the clay court to get a feeling for the surface.