Injury drops Montjane to sixth in world rankings

Wheelchair tennis ace looking for a new coach to help improve her game

Athenkosi Tsotsi Sports Reporter
SA wheelchair tennis star Kgothatso Montjane.
SA wheelchair tennis star Kgothatso Montjane.
Image: Reg Caldecott/Gallo Images

After another year of falling short in an attempt to win a Grand Slam title, SA’s wheelchair tennis ace Kgothatso Montjane has revealed that she’s looking for a new coach to help break her Grand Slam curse next year.

Despite playing with a niggling elbow injury, Montjane put on an impressive display this year. She managed to get semifinal appearances in the Australian Open and French Open.

The injury she played with proved to be a challenging factor in her season in terms of winning and that saw her drop to sixth in the rankings.

“This year has been very tough for me with the injury. I haven’t played as much as I have wanted to, it’s a challenge I had to embrace and take as a setback,” said Montjane.

“But the most important thing is how I come back. It’s been a challenging year, I can’t complain about it. Such things we don’t have control over.

“In terms of results, I don’t think we did badly as much as we dropped down the rankings, we are still in the top eight, which is great. It shows that even with the challenges we had, there was a bit of good work we did,” she said.

Montjane knows she has it in her to win a Grand Slam, however, she always falls short in the last stages of the tournament. To work around this, she will be bringing in a new coach to help improve her game and help with opponent analysis.

Montjane has parted ways with Rene Plant, but could not reveal who the replacement coach is as she’s in the final stages of the recruitment process.

“I’m making changes to my team, trying to bring in a new coach. I’m hoping it will be someone who will help me improve and win the Slam,” Montjane told the Sowetan.

“I’m looking forward to the preseason and start preparing for next year. With the injury that I had, there are a few adjustments that I’m making to my stroke. I’m excited about the new journey with the new coach that’s coming on board. I want to see where it takes us,” she said.

The Australian Open in January will be the first Grand Slam title that Montjane targets.

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