A group of young tennis enthusiasts from a rural Limpopo village cheered and smiled when a brand-new set of kit was handed over to them for an early Christmas present recently – courtesy of contributions from generous Daily Maverick readers.

Ntwanano Mashimbye and his peers never thought much would materialise from an article published by DM168 in September 2021, detailing the challenges they experienced in pursuing their love for tennis in a football-obsessed society.

Their village of Thomo near Giyani is nothing like Wimbledon, the London suburb where each year the world’s great tennis players meet to enthral the crowds and millions of television viewers with their skills.

In fact, Wimbledon stars would probably be shocked were they to come anywhere near the dilapidated combi court where Mashimbye and his pals play barefoot.

It is typical of many rural villages without proper recreation facilities where, if the youngsters are not playing football, they find an outlet for their idleness at the bottom of beer bottles in taverns, which are about the only source of entertainment in these parts.

Added to these challenges is the apathy among village elders, who give the boys no support at all.

Read in Daily Maverick: “The name of the game is tennis for a group of youngsters in rural Limpopo”

“We don’t have a coach. We don’t have anyone to guide us. But because we love this game we continue playing. We hope one day that we can get someone to help us improve,” said Mashimbye, who is regarded as the team’s captain.

“We would also like to be able to play matches with other teams from elsewhere because right now we only just play among ourselves,” he said.

After the publication of their story, Daily Maverick readers opened their hearts and wallets to contribute towards encouraging the boys.

This month, ‘Daily Maverick’ delivered an early Christmas present to the boys. The goodies include new racquets, white shirts and dozens of tennis balls. A new court net has been ordered and will be delivered in due course. (Photo: Lucas Ledwaba)

A total of R12,500 was generated through donations. With the cash, Daily Maverick bought basic equipment – 15 rackets, 15 shirts, 50 tennis balls and a net.

Before this intervention the boys only had a few old rackets that they shared, and a few tattered tennis balls. Still, they had lots of passion for the game.

The boys burst into wild cheers and celebration when the kit was handed over to them at the dilapidated community court where they still play daily. Although others had already left to visit family elsewhere for the holidays, they quickly spread the news to their friends via phone.

“I never believed anything would change. Even after reading the article on the internet I never believed that people could do this for us. I thought we were just going to continue struggling with our old [kit],” said Mashimbye, who organises and leads the youngsters.

As they were trying out the new balls and rackets on a sweltering day, a group of boys walking past asked what was going on.

Explaining that it was a handover of new tennis kit, they asked the others to join them. But they were not interested, saying they were footballers and wanted nothing to do with tennis.

In September 2021, ‘Daily Maverick’ told the story of the boys who played on a dilapidated court with limited kit and broken racquets. (Photos: Lucas Ledwaba)

“They are saying we behave like white people,” said one of the boys with a chuckle.

When asked why their parents had not come along, the boys shrugged, saying they were busy.

However, their enthusiasm has not wavered, and they believe the donation will further encourage others to join up and those who had lost interest to return.

“I am so happy today. I never thought something like this would ever happen. Now I know that this is serious,” said Ntsheketo Chauke (16).

Read in Daily Maverick: “Sport’s a ball for rural kids, but lack of facilities handicaps development”

His interest in the game was ignited after he attended a coaching clinic in primary school. Later he was among those who travelled to watch a tournament in Polokwane. He hopes that one day their club will grow and produce a top-class world champion like Roger Federer, who is cited as a favourite among the enthusiastic youngsters.

“We are just so grateful to Daily Maverick for this. We are going to make sure that we look after this kit properly. Hopefully we will get more people coming to join us after this. I truly believe that,” said Mashimbye.

In numbers

• R12,500 was generated through donations from readers.
• Daily Maverick bought the boys basic tennis equipment in the form of: 15 rackets, 15 white shirts, 50 tennis balls and a net. Mukurukuru Media/DM168

This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper which is available for R25 at Pick n Pay, Woolworths, Exclusive Books and airport bookstores. For your nearest stockist, please click here.