The RSC Rising Star Tennis sport development project has kicked off for 2025, which means another year of opportunities for young tennis talents from underserved communities and those who are disabled:
Mpumalanga, South Africa (11 March 2025) — Undiscovered tennis talents are about to get the opportunity to nurture new skills once again, thanks to the 6th edition of the RSC Rising Star Tennis project—a tennis sport development initiative.
A national project that’s grown impressively over several years, the RSC Rising Star Tennis programme gives school learners opportunities to fall in love with tennis—a sport that typically isn’t accessible for many underserved schools due to the costs attached.
The programme bridges the gap through sporting equipment and facilitating coaching clinics for learners and their coaches. Additionally, there is the big school tennis team competition that gives talents a chance to compete and showcase their skills, which is currently on the lookout for primary and special school tennis teams to partake.
Supporting learners with physical disabilities through tennis is also a big part of Rising Stars. At the launch event in Mpumalanga, Tennis South Africa’s wheelchair tennis manager Patrick Selepe undertook a wheelchair tennis demonstration in an effort to show schools that their learners in wheelchairs are also potential rising stars (the next Kgothatso Montjane or Donald Ramphadi could be at one of the schools!).
In Mpumalanga, the programme has proved to be beneficial, with school teams increasing from just 62 in 2023 to 119 in 2024. 797 schools across the country took part in 2024, and the goal for 2025 is to have 1000 teams at primary school and wheelchair tennis levels.
“By equipping these schools with the necessary tools, we aim to level the playing field and inspire even greater participation and excellence in the years to come, shared Tennis South Africa’s general manager Anthony Moruthane.
Sports development plays a huge role in giving young people opportunities while cultivating character. In South Africa, there are a myriad of charities focused on this sector—from dancing to swimming and all sorts of activities in between. Find them here.
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