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Teen sensation Khololwam Montsi is serving up some serious game at the Roland Garros Championships in Paris. He recently won his debut match and is also the second ever black South African to represent the country at the French Open Juniors, and the first in 20 years.

The 17-year-old scored his win during the second round of the prestigious competition, beating French competitor Axel Garcian 6-2, 6-2 on Sunday, October 4. Montsi played his heart out and almost lost the intense match, but ended off victorious.

Unfortunately, Montsi lost both his singles and doubles matches on Tuesday, October 6.

Despite his loss, South Africans are rallying behind this talented sportsman to celebrate his first win.


The King William’s Town-born player lives in Cape Town and is based at the Anthony Harris Tennis Academy, the same academy that delivered world-famous tennis star Lloyd Harris, who Montsi says is a big inspiration.

Montsi comes from a line of athletes. His mother is renowned sprinter Pumla Montsi, and his brother Sipho is also a tennis player.

He is currently ranked 13th in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) world junior rankings.

The last Black South African who competed at Roland Garros was Peter-Jon Nomdo, back in 2000. Nomdo is now one of Montsi’s coaches.

He is not the only one waving the South African flag high at the championships. Wheelchair-bound tennis star Kgothatso Montjane is back on the court after a seven-month lay-off. She will go up against Japanese World number one Momoko Ohtani in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, October 7.

Picture: Twitter

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