Kgothatso Montjane aims for back-to-back Wimbledon doubles titles
Kgothatso Montjane, right, and playing partner Yui Kamiji of Japan hold up their French Open winners' plates. Their next goal is to defend their Wimbledon title.
South African wheelchair tennis star Kgothatso 'KG' Montjane is gearing up for the defence of her Wimbledon doubles title, alongside Japanese partner Yui Kamiji, and is hoping for back-to-back Grand Slam wins.
KG is keen to carry the momentum from the defence of their French Open title on the clay of Roland Garros onto the grass courts of the All England Club.
The title in Paris was the fourth Grand Slam win for the South African tennis superstar who recently celebrated her 39th birthday.
They had to dig deep to see off the Chinese pairing of Xiaohui Li and Ziying Wang in the women's doubles final, coming back from a set down to secure a 4-6 7-5 (10-7) victory. Her major victories also include the 2023 US Open.
While she lists the Australian Open as her favourite Slam, Wimbledon has a special place in KG's heart, and she is keen to add to her legacy at SW19. The wheelchair tennis tournament begins on July 8.
She still ranks 'being the first black South African woman to ever win Wimbledon' as her greatest tennis achievement in a career that started at amateur level in 2011.
The adjustment from clay to grass is a difficult one for most tennis players, more so for wheelchair players.
'Grass is completely a different surface and it's quite heavy compared to clay,' KG told Independent Media Sport exclusively during her Wimbledon build-up. 'Moving is a challenge, everything requires arm strength, though you have to use the hips to manoeuvre the chair.'
That explains the decision to adapt her gym programme to include more power and strength training.
She feels her 'versatile game, with the ability to play both attacking and defensive tennis' remains her biggest strength, however.
The South African ace also came close to netting her first major singles title at Roland Garros, where she was knocked out in the semi-final by Dutch second seed Aniek van Koot.
It is one more obstacle the veteran from Seshego – who had a congenital disorder that affected both her hands and a foot and had to have a leg amputated at a young age – is determined to overcome.
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