About two years have passed since the Tennis World Tour was inaugurated, the long path of tournaments strongly desired by Federico Coppini’s Tennis World Foundation, with the aim of developing competitive spirit in areas of South Africa, and raising funds for a foundation that is doing extraordinary things, in South Africa and beyond.
The TWT has entered the social fabric of the area, to the point that the recent Open tournament (an event that’s open to all, without age limits) at the Idas Valley Tennis Club in Stellenbosch, a club that’s been completely renovated thanks to the commitment and energy of Coppini, collected a record number of participation.
The event took place over the weekend of 6th -7th August and gathered 28 players. However, there could have been many more players participation but being a weekend event, this wasn’t possible. On account of this reason, several aspiring players remained on the waiting list.
The (almost) 28-year-old Marc Van de Merwe celebrated his upcoming birthday on the court by winning a tough battle in the final against young Ernst Gouws, one of the most interesting players of the Tennis World Academy. Credited with the top-seed billing, Van der Merwe risked big in the final, and was only able to claim the win in the super tie-break with the final score of 6-7, 6-2, 10-8.
In the backdraw, Federico Coppini himself took away the satisfaction of imposing himself. His principal role, however, is being more interested in the achievements of his students. And these satisfactions were not lacking, especially in the Under-12 tournament.
The event went to Quinn Smith, a student of the TWA. The boy recently entered the Tennis World orbit and has gone on to conquer everyone’s hearts with his polite and respectful behaviour. These qualities also emerged on the court, where he imposed himself without losing a set.
Good results also came in the tournament meant for the little ones, in the Under-10 category, in which Coppini Jr. (Matteo, Federico’s son) went all the way to the final but surrendered to a kid from Stellenbosch, Jean Luc Bernardo, born in 2012.
Coppini was the top seed while Bernardo was the no. 2 seed. He won the title with the score of 6-3, 6-4 in the final. It must be said that the Tennis World Academy was consoled with the success in the backdraw, won by Chrystian Gantz at the end of a hard-fought final against Pierre Nauta.
Apart from the results, these tournaments are very important because they help the younger kids get used to the air of competition, with all that it entails. This means not just the matches but also the challenges and everything else, and also other crucial aspects such as education and respect for the opponent.
On these points, Tennis World Academy pushes a lot because it aims to inculcate the right attitude in people, even before they can be good tennis players.
