Kgothatso Montjane

Kgothatso Montjane (born 3 June 1986) is a wheelchair tennis player from South Africa. In 2018, she became the first black South African woman to compete at Wimbledon.

Kgothatso Montjane
Montjane in Geneva in 2014
Country (sports) South Africa
Born (1986-06-03) 3 June 1986
Seshego, Limpopo, South Africa
Singles
Career record310–153
Highest rankingNo. 5
Current rankingNo. 7 (22 January 2018)
Doubles
Career record197–118
Highest rankingNo. 5
Current rankingNo. 9 (22 January 2018)

Early life

Montjane was born in Seshego on the periphery of Polokwane, Limpopo with a congenital disorder which affected both of her hands and a foot with the other foot being amputated by the age of 12.[1]

Career
Montjane at the 2017 US Open

Montjane is a successful wheelchair tennis player who is placed in the top 10 of the ITF ranking. Her highest rank was 5 in the world in 2005.[2] She was named South Africa's disabled sportswoman of the year three times, in 2005, 2011 and 2015.[3] Montjane holds 29 singles titles and won tournaments such as the wheelchair Belgian Open and Swiss Open.[2][4] She is also successful in doubles, where she won, among others, the Belgian Open in 2015 together with Jordanne Whiley.[5] In 2013 and 2014, she participated in 3 of the 4 Grand Slam tournaments, Australian Open, Roland Garros and US Open, where she was able to reach the quarter and semifinals in the singles and the semifinals in all of the doubles tournaments.[6]

She was a member of the South African team at the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Summer Paralympics, but was not able to secure a medal.[7][1][8] Besides being a Paralympian, she was a 2009 and 2011 World Team Cup participant for South Africa.[9][10][11]

In 2018, she managed to qualify for the prestigious Wimbledon tournament, the first black South African woman to do so. In the same year, she also competed at the US Open and became therefore the first African wheelchair tennis player to qualify for all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same year.[12]

References
  1. "Kgothatso Montjane, l'atleta sudafricana che sogna di fare la storia del tennis in carrozzina" [Kgothatso Montjane, the South African athlete who dreams of making the history of Wheelchair Tennis]. lastampa.it (in Italian). La Stampa. September 10, 2013. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  2. "Kgothatso Montjane ITF profile". itftennis.com. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  3. "South African Sports Awards honours top performers". gov.zaa. South African Government. August 22, 2011. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  4. "Kgothatso Montjane wins Swiss Open". citizen.co.za. The Citizen. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  5. "Jordanne Whiley: Wimbledon champion wins sixth title of 2015". bbc.com. BBC. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  6. "Kgothatso Montjane Player Profile Australien Open". ausopen.com. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  7. "Lucas Sithole Remains South Africa's Last Tennis Hope At Paralympics". afkinsider.com. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  8. "Wheelchair tennis quartet ready for Rio". sabc.co.za. South African Broadcasting Corporation. July 24, 2016. Retrieved September 14, 2016.
  9. "Kgothatso Montjane". africastyledaily.com. July 8, 2013. Retrieved July 14, 2013.
  10. "South Africa's sports awards nominees are announced". southafrica.info. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  11. "Matlou named Sportswoman of the Year". sanews.gov.za. Official government News Agency. Retrieved September 14, 2013.
  12. "Kgothatso Montjane found wheelchair tennis and it opened up a whole new world". espn.com. ESPN. Retrieved March 9, 2019.
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