ITF

24 Summer 2022 ITF World KG MONTJANE The start of her tennis journey wasn't all plain sailing though. As an athlete who develops her craft even to this day through watching others, the left-hander smiled as she reminisced about attempting to serve right-handed and also trying a double-handed backhand in those early days because it was what she had seen others do. Until she had access to the level of coaching support and experiences she needed to develop her game, "nobody had told me it wasn't right." But as Montjane gained more experience and was exposed to wheelchair tennis more through the support she was given by the ITF and Cruyff Foundation, she found her game and a role model in one of the legends of the sport, Esther Vergeer. "When I first saw her play, I didn't even know she was the world No. 1," Montjane said, laughing. "I was still in the early days of learning about the sport then. "But I remember watching her and thinking, she's flawless, I want to be as good as her. She really made me fall in love with the sport and encouraged me to get better. I really do look up to Esther. "Then next thing, a bit later on from that first time watching her of course, I found myself in Beijing with a wildcard at the Paralympics and playing in the same draw as Esther, and I'm like, what is this? "And I remember watching the final against Korie [Homan] and once again I was just like, I want to be like them, and that's when I made the decision that at the next Paralympics I would qualify on ranking, not as a wildcard." Fast forward to present day and those early experiences and support have certainly led to a very accomplished career and life in the sport. Having qualified for four Paralympic Games and now a regular feature on the entry lists for the Grand Slam tournaments, including Wimbledon in 2021 where she reached both the singles and doubles finals, Montjane shows no sign of slowing down. It was at that 2021 edition of the Championships where she experienced one of the most memorable moments in her career, being part of the first wheelchair singles match to be played on Court 1 – the final between herself and world No. 1 Diede de Groot. She eventually finished with runner-up honours in that particular head-to-head, but for Montjane the overall winner on that day was the exposure that not just wheelchair tennis, but also women's sport, had been given and how that could lead to inspiring the next generation of athletes. "You can just imagine how many people it reached," Montjane said. "Being part of history like that you know I always talk about giving hope to people back in Africa, and well you can imagine how huge that was for Africa and women specifically. "That was the first wheelchair tennis match ever to be played on such a big court at Wimbledon then, and this year we saw a few men's and quad matches on there too and they show a lot of diversity. "I want to see a lot more of that in the future because I think wheelchair tennis deserves a bigger and better place in the world." The passion you see from Montjane when she speaks of the history-defining moments she has been part of extends beyond the baseline too. And whilst her future performance goals include winning her first Grand Slam title and trying to claim that No. 1 spot in the rankings, off the court she would love to be involved in developing future talent and spreading her message of "bringing hope" to people back in Africa by using her platform as a player. Clockwise from top le : Montjane was runner-up at Wimbledon in 2021, her best Grand Slam singles result yet She has represented South Africa in four Paralympic Games Montjane reached the semifinals in Paris this year Compe ng as part of the 2008 ITF Development Team supported by the Cruyff Founda on Montjane is a five- me Grand Slam doubles finalist, including at 2022 Roland Garros with Yui Kamiji

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