Moorosi Tsiane
TENNIS sensation Neo Makhakhe’s hopes of playing in the on-going World Tours and Futures tournaments in Mozambique were recently dashed after the player was told he could not qualify at the last minute.
Makhakhe left for Mozambique on 2 November 2019 but later learnt that only International Tennis Federation (ITF) ranked players would qualify.
Participants in the tournament are also expecting to improve their ITF rankings.
The 2019 Tuks (University of Pretoria) Open bronze medallist told the Sunday Express when he realised that he would not qualify, he simply turned back home.
“I was in touch with the tournament director while I was travelling to Mozambique on 2 November but after checking the entry list, I realised that I was in the same spot for two days,” Makhakhe said.
“From the onset, I have been on the alternates list as I am not yet ranked, so players with good rankings get priority. However, there are a lot of players from around the world with good rankings who are all playing this tournament.”
He said he had hoped that he would qualify for the tournament because previously 48 players would qualify making it easier for unranked individuals.
“One other obstacle was that the draw was for 32 players instead of the previous 48 which made it easier for unranked or lowly ranked players to participate in the tournament. However, things were different in Maputo.
“After realising that my chances were slim since they only take six alternates to fill in the gap in the qualifying draw, I found my way back home because I was 21st with a day to go before the release of the draws,” Makhakhe said.
He said he has now shifted his focus to two December tournaments to be played in Johannesburg South Africa.
“I am over the Mozambique episode in as much as I would have liked to take part in the tournaments. My focus is now on the two summer tournaments to be played in Johannesburg next month as I am still preparing to go to college next year,” Makhakhe said.