Back in 2005, local Tennis sensation Denzel Seetso was born. Although at birth his father Ntsholeng Seetso touted him to be a president one day, his mother, Martina Seetso never imagined him to be anything like a Tennis champion.

Currently ranked number 1 by Botswana Tennis Association (BTA), Denzel recently won the Potchefstroom J100 tournament in South Africa, beating Hugh Winter of Australia, to place himself in a perfect position to compete in the World Junior grand slams this year. “When he was young, he was really tiny, he was allergic to almost everything, I was worried he was going to get bullied at school. When he was seven (7) I took him to Judo school and also took him to swimming lessons, they had good programs, and swimming is good for health and I also love swimming —but I never imagined him being a tennis star one day,” Denzel’s mom reminisced. Some of Denzel’s friends who played tennis at the time, invited him to one of their training sessions from whence he discovered his favourite sport and impressed the coach from day 1. Martina told Sun Sports that, the development of his son was a gradual process and they aimed to compete and become the best in Southern Africa starting off by conquering South Africa. “His development was organic,” she said. Upon learning of his sons’ talents, Martina Seetso admitted that the support to his son was now treated like a business and returns were calculated on the investment made. “I did think about the returns, in the sense that, at the age of 10, I knew he was serious about the sport, I also knew about International Tennis Federation (ITF) centers, ITF provides opportunities and they provide everything. When Denzel was 12, he moved to Kenya and stayed there for 18 months, he could have been there until he was 18.

Tennis Centers are relatively free and there are opportunities guaranteed to go to the US Colleges, so in calculating the money for the school fees and US College—it was a business decision, I budgeted and invested on him to land the opportunities,” Martina Seetso revealed. She further added that they paid Denzel’s coach at least P5000 00 per month as part of investment and there were also frequent trips to South Africa where they looked to compete against some of the country’s best talents then. Before earning an opportunity to join ITF Centre in Kenya, Denzel had to be amongst the top young athletes in the region, a feat he achieved, in order to improve his rankings and compete in global competitions. His stay in Kenya was cut short but the foundation was laid. Apart from the on field achievement of her son, Martina highlights that what is more fulfilling is the level of responsibility the sport has instilled on her son. “What I feel now is more about what it has made him, a human being who is really responsible, somebody who works really hard, somebody who constantly has to deal with disappointments which are part of the sport, conflict on court—these are challenges you’ll find in life.

It has made me not to worry much about his future as a person, and chances are he is not going to go into drugs; he knows how to deal with failure, he is someone who is prepared for life and I believe that any sport does that if taken seriously,” beaming Martina shared her feelings of contentment regarding the future of her son.

Last year Denzel suffered an injury following an impressive season. The set-back denied him an opportunity to become the first Motswana to play in the Junior Grand-Slam missing out on the Australian Junior Open.

Before winning the Potchefstroom J100 tournament, Denzel lost his first match and during an interview with the talented 17 year old highlighted that he has learnt to deal with disappointment to enhance his growth. “It didn’t feel good losing the first match, it was my only second tournament since my injury, I was not up to speed yet; mentally, I also knew that I can’t just expect to come back and win the tournament without facing challenges. My family and my coach, Phenyo Matong have always been supportive so I always remain positive. He has been my coach now for 10 years, he pushes me a lot all the time and he’s always there for me and try to help me improve,” Denzel shared. Denzel Seetso called for more support as he is set to travel more to various tournaments across the world with his rankings now putting him amongst the very best young talents in the sport.