South Africa’s Paralympic wheelchair superstars Kgothatso Montjane and Donald Ramphadi continue to blaze their way on the clay courts of the French Open where both have reached the final, while Montjane is also in a semi-final.
Five-time Paralympian and wheelchair tennis icon Montjane won through to the singles semi-finals of the French Open at Roland Garros, before Donald Ramphadi reached the quad wheelchair doubles final. Montjane then teamed up with Japan’s Yui Kamiji to topple the No1 seeds Manami Tanaka (Japan) and Zhenzhen Shu (China) in the women’s wheelchair doubles semi-final 6-1, 6-4.
Two finals booked and also a semi-final to come. Go Team SA!
In the quad wheelchair doubles, South Africa’s Ramphadi and his Turkish partner Ahmet Kaplan reached the final after beating the No2 seeds Andy Lapthorne (GBR) and Sam Schroder (Netherlands) 6-3, 2-6 [10-7].
The 39-year-old Montjane upset the No4 seed Ziyng Wang in straight sets in the singles, 6-2, 6-4, to reach the wheelchair singles semi-finals where she comes up against No2 seed Aniek Van Koot of the Netherlands.
Montjane struck five aces in her quarter-final win, coming in 78 minutes, and converted eight of nine break points, as she attacked the serve of her opponent. The South African had won her opening match 6-3, 6-3.
In 2018, Montjane made history by becoming the first Black South African woman to compete at Wimbledon. That same year, she became the first African wheelchair tennis player to participate in all four Grand Slam tournaments within a single calendar year. Her persistence culminated in 2021 when she reached her first Grand Slam singles and doubles finals at Wimbledon.
Montjane and Japan’s Yui Kamiji clinched the 2023 French Open and US Open wheelchair doubles titles, and in 2024, they secured the Wimbledon doubles championship, making Montjane the first Black South African woman to win at Wimbledon.
Last year Ramphadi won a bronze medal at the Paris Paralympics with his partner Lucas Sithole in the quad wheelchair doubles.
