The path to success for Donald Ramphadi has not been a smooth one but Africa’s number 1 player has just been crowned as the World’s number 11!
Tshwane, South Africa (31 January 2022) – The Number One ranked men’s wheelchair tennis player on the African continent – Donald Ramphadi – touched down in Johannesburg on Wednesday as a freshly minted World Number Eleven, according to the International Tennis Federation (ITF) Quad Singles list.
The impressive feat follows a successful month-long tour of Australia in January – where he competed at the Victoria Open, Melbourne Open and the prestigious Australian Open (the first of the four grand slams of the year).
The Limpopo-born player who resides in Pretoria arrived ‘down under’ ranked as world number 18, but a spate of incredible results led him into the semi-finals in each tournament, which saw him rise seven spots to world number 11 and the only African player inside the top 40.
“I have been working very hard for the past ten years to reach this level, and I feel my time has come to be a dominant force in world tennis”, said a beaming Ramphadi at the OR Tambo International Airport as he was welcomed back by family members and TennisLabSA – the incubator behind his meteoric success.
Great tour ‘down-under’
The 28-year old Dona, as he is affectionately known in the tennis circles, handed out several deadly kangaroo punches in Australia – knocking out the then world number 4, David Wagner, at the Melbourne Open to reach the semi-finals. This was the third time Ramphadi beat the American.
At the main event – the Australian Open 2022, Dona participated as a 17th-seeded wildcard against David Lapthorne of the United Kingdom in the semis and managed to produce a scare for the Brit with an early lead of 5-3 in the first set. However, the then fifth-seeded opponent managed a 7-5 6-3 win in the end.
“I would like to thank Tennis South Africa, Tennis Australia, TennisLabSA, which is my incubator, the media and people of South Africa for the support and care they have given me”, said Ramphadi.
Eyeing Top-7
That was how Donald’s Australia singles tour came to an end, but not without bagging his highest world ranking of his career so far – eleventh spot – as a reward for himself and South Africa. He is now setting his eye on breaching the top 7 – a target his two coaches, Siya Nkachela and Duncan Krisjan, believe is well within reach soon.
“When I told you this guy is a potential grand slam winner, I was not kidding. We are gearing him up for the USA trip from 2 -13 March 2022 to collect points at the ITF 1 and a Super Series. These we need for automatic qualification into the three remaining grand slams of 2022. We are fighting and forcing our way into Roland Garros and Wimbledon grand slams later this year. 5, 6, 7th position this year is definitely possible”, said an enthused Siya Nkachela – who is also the founder of TennisLabSA.
“Donald is going to win the first wheelchair tennis medal for South Africa and Africa in 2024 at the Paralympics in Paris, France”, said Duncan Krishan, who is Donald’s high-performance coach from Real Athletes Tennis Academy.
Rocky road ahead
The path to success for Donald Ramphadi has not been a smooth one. The biggest challenges facing Africa’s number one player are funding and a lack of state-of-the-art equipment such as a high-performance wheelchair.
Throughout his Australia tour, Donald – who suffers from Osteogenesis Imperfecta (commonly known as brittle bones), had to compete using an outdated wheelchair as he faced off against opponents coming from first-world countries.
At the end of his tour, Tennis Australia gifted him with a better second-hand wheelchair – that needs a bit of spray painting here and there – in appreciation of his impressive showing. However, it is still not the ideal chair for the ambitions his team have in pursuit of Donald becoming the world number 1.
And the challenges do not end there, unfortunately. Another hurdle facing Donald is a lack of sponsorship. He was forced to fly solo on his tour ‘down under’ as his entire support staff and coaches were unable to travel with him, leaving him at a disadvantage compared to his opponents.
“I had to carry my own equipment everywhere, even during matches – although strangers would try to assist me sometimes. It is also psychologically challenging not to have my coaching staff and loved ones around me, to personally give me strength, courage and advice just before I go on court”, said a concerned but resolved Donald.
“I am off to North America at the beginning of March for the Georgia Open in Atlanta and the Baton Rouge in LA. I’m afraid I am going to go through the same challenges again. It would be great to have at least one of my coaches there and to be using a top-notch wheelchair in the near future”.
TennisLabSA has made an appeal for sponsorships to help Donald reach the pinnacle of his success.
Dona the warrior
Despite these physical and psychological hamstrings, Donald still managed to cause real upsets in Australia and has vowed to improve his fortunes in his upcoming tours in order to mark the spot as one to watch for the future of tennis in South Africa and be a dominant force on the global stage.
“I have learnt that every challenge is a driver of success and prosperity, however, patience is the determinant of the two”.
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