Latest news with #Ramphadi
Eyewitness News
5 days ago
- Sport
- Eyewitness News
SA's Donald Ramphadi wins silver in quad wheelchair doubles at Wimbledon
JOHANNESBURG – Donald Ramphadi brought home a silver medal from Wimbledon. The Limpopo-born athlete made his first Wimbledon final in quad wheelchair doubles alongside British partner Gregory Slade. They went down to 6-0, 6-2 to Niels Vink (Netherlands) and Guy Sasson (Israel). To make the finale, Ramphadi and his partner took down second seeds Ahmet Kaplan (Turkey) and Sam Schroder (Netherlands) 7-6(5), 1-6, 7-5 in the semis. At the 2025 French Open Men's Quad Doubles final Ahmet Kaplan and Donald Ramphadi claimed silver. READ: South Africa's stars shine at Wimbledon: Ramphadi eyes quad doubles glory, Montjane makes semis In 2023, Ramphadi rewrote history as he became the first South African since 1981 to win a Roland Garros title. Ramphadi, who is South Africa's leading wheelchair tennis quad player won the wheelchair quad singles title at the Belgian Open - ITF 1 series - tennis tournament in Belgium in 2022 - the year he made his Wimbledon debut.
The South African
7 days ago
- Sport
- The South African
Ramphadi-Slade's whirlwind Wimbledon run: 'We played our best'
Donald Ramphadi and Gregory Slade have many reasons to keep smiling. Both have enjoyed a whirlwind month. Ramphadi got married, Slade has had a great grass season, and the pair have had a dream run as the underdogs. On Saturday, the underdogs were runners-up in the Wimbledon Quad Wheelchair final. Incredibly, this was their very first grass court tournament, and their second ever tournament as a pair. All the more special for Slade as Wimbledon is his home slam – the quad doubles world No 10 lives nearby. The South African-British pair were up against the favourites – the established, successful pair of Guy Sasson of Israel and Niels Vink of the Netherlands, who played well when they needed to on the key points, winning in straight sets, 6-0, 6-2. But the score is no reflection of the quality of tennis from the South African and British duo. Fans were entertained on Wimbledon's show court on a scorchingly hot afternoon, with some close games. The pair had opportunities – game points in the first four games of the match. The scene was set: Wimbledon's Court 3, with the iconic church steeple backdrop on a scorchingly hot Saturday afternoon. Ramphadi-Slade entertained fans with their audible exchanges, and visible camaraderie. Despite the score, the two were jovial, and simply soaking up the experience of being in a Wimbledon final. Adorably, the two have been crediting each other this week for their humour and support to each other. Their chemistry is palpable. In a change to Wimbledon's finals weekend scheduling, this year, this match, together with the doubles and juniors' finals, were scheduled before, rather than after the ladies' singles final. This is a positive change, raising the profile of wheelchair tennis by allowing tennis fans with tickets to the ladies' singles final as well as those with grounds passes, to come and watch. Amisha Savani spoke to Ramphadi and Slade after the match. The pair were upbeat and grateful for the experience, noting their progress, despite the odds. Slade reflected on the match, saying 'Really pleased as I said, with the week Donald and I have had. Obviously, we do not have a lot of experience playing together, we had no experience before this playing on grass, so I think to come here as very much a new pairing and make a slam final at Wimbledon has been an incredible experience, and it's an incredible achievement.' Crediting their chemistry and banter, Savani asked the pair how they planned to revive this chemistry between tournaments. Looking at Slade, the Quad Doubles ranked world No 7 Ramphadi laughed, saying: 'Greg is a funny guy,' and spoke of Slade's sense of humour, as well as his ability to uplift them when down in a match. Ramphadi was happy with their performance. 'We played our best and we did well'. The pair are scheduled to pair-up again next week at the Swiss Open. If Wimbledon 2025 is a taster of what is to come from the Ramphadi-Slade pairing, we can expect only good things. Amisha Savani is reporting exclusively for The South African from the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon . Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
12-07-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Donald Ramphadi's Wimbledon final run overshadowed by daily difficulties off-court
South African Donald Ramphadi and Great Britain's Gregory Slade secured a first for the pair – a place in a grand slam final. But behind the jubilation lies a daily battle that Ramphadi faces every single day. It was a closely fought match of tight margins, starting with a first set tie-break won 7/5 by Ramphadi/Slade. Their opponents, world No 2 pair Ahmet Kaplan from Turkey and Sam Schroder from the Netherlands, had a change of strategy in the second set, playing well on the slice, changing the rhythm, and winning 6-1 in 47 minutes. The chemistry between the South African and the Brit pairing was palpable, with open communication and camaraderie throughout. After the match, the team spoke to the press, with Slade summarising that the third set decider (clinched 7-5) was about committing to the shots to create more pressure on their opponents. Ramphadi was still in disbelief when Amisha Savani spoke to him post-match. 'I still can't believe it to be honest; we played one of the best in the world'. His partnership with Slade is a new one – the two partnered up just two weeks ago, but have clearly hit it off instantly. Savani asked the South African star how life-changing his progress to the final felt, in addition to his bronze Paralympic medal, and 2023 grand slam wheelchair quad doubles title at Roland Garros. 'I thought it was gonna change my life, but now I'm just doing it for me, and not having a lot of expectations'. A visibly emotional Ramphadi elaborated: 'I'm getting emotional, sorry, because as a young kid, growing up, starting to play tennis you know that one thing you wanna achieve is to get a grand slam, you wanna get a medal at the paralympics, that will change your life. 'But I can tell you right now, my life is still the same, there's not really a lot that is happening. 'Funding – it's expensive, I'm paying flight tickets by myself, accommodation.' The financial help he receives, is insufficient for the 18-22 tournaments Ramphadi has to travel to each year. 'I've lost hope, I don't think it's gonna really change a lot on my side, but I've been, trying to attract people to see the struggle, to see how much I want this'. Referring to his mental breakdown last year, he said: 'I just felt like I've done everything but still, nothing is changing and it's really hurtful.' Looking ahead, Savani asked Ramphadi about his thoughts on fellow South African and CEO of Tennis Australia, Craig Tiley's recent funding launch – the Stellenbosch Racquet Centre. Tiley's project aims to bring about more investment in African tennis. Unaware of this new project, Ramphadi was heartened with this news, speaking of the positive changes that Tiley had already made with Tennis Australia. 'I didn't know about that, that's great news… that's wonderful, I think Tiley is a good person to try and help develop that'. Despite his daily struggles off-court, Ramphadi was positive: 'I just end up telling myself that I'm gonna do this for myself'. UPDATE: Donald Ramphadi and Gregory Slade lost 6-0, 6-2 to world No 1 Quad doubles pairing Guy Sasson and Niels Vink in the final. Amisha Savani is reporting exclusively for The South African from the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
11-07-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Donald Ramphadi out of Wimbledon Quad wheelchair singles, but all is not lost
South Africa's Donald Ramphadi played, and lost, his Wimbledon Quad wheelchair singles quarter-final match against Niels Vink of the Netherlands, 6-0, 6-1. It was a valiant effort on Ramphadi's part. The score was no reflection on the quality of tennis on Court 15, with some impressive shots by the South African. The Quad singles world No 8 tried to change things up to keep Vink from coming to the net by hitting high topspin forehands deep into Vink's court to try and interrupt Vink's rhythm. But even the moonballs didn't seem to interrupt Vink's dominance. The match went Vink's way with dictating the match from the start, particularly with his serve. Impressively, both of Vink's aggressive first and second serve win percentage was 10/10 and 3/3, respectively. He was able to convert 75% of his key points when serving at 30-30 and deuce, compared to Ramphadi's 28%. However, all is not lost for Ramphadi's Wimbledon 2025 campaign. The world No 7 doubles ranked player is next due to play in the Quad Wheelchair doubles final with partner Gregory Slade of Great Britain. The pair pulled off a thrilling semi-final upset, defeating second seeds Ahmet Kaplan (Turkey) and Sam Schroder (Netherlands) 7-6 (7/5), 1-6, 7-5. In the final they will face top seeds Guy Sasson (Israel) and Niels Vink (Netherlands). Amisha Savani is reporting exclusively for The South African from the All England Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon . Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
11-06-2025
- Sport
- The South African
Multilingual Donald Ramphadi out of French Open singles
South Africa's quad wheelchair competitor Donald Ramphadi is out of the 2025 French Open after losing to Dutch opponent Sam Schröder 6-0, 6-3. Ramphadi reflected on what a tough match it was for him and how he expected a better performance. 'It definitely was a tough one. Obviously, I know I should have done better.' Ramphadi lost the first set 6-0 and he described giving Schröder what he wanted. 'Going into the first set, I think I gave him what he wanted. He likes lower balls, and that's what he was getting most of the time.' After being bagled, Ramphadi deciding to change his tactics. 'Towards the end of the match is where I started changing it a bit to give him more higher balls, so he had to reach higher. As it's something that he doesn't like. 'In the second set I tried to hit the ball more to his backhand. 'I think I really played better in the second set.' Ramphadi acknowledged that he was beaten by the better player, but appreciated that his performance was below par. 'He played well. 'Obviously, I can do better.' It was not all doom and goom for the South African. 'I feel great how I played him. Especially in the second set.' At last year's Paralympic Games in Paris, Ramphadi won the bronze medal with his doubles partner Lucas Sithole. It was the first time Donald Ramphadi had been back in Paris since that unforgettable occasion. 'I call this a magical place. Anything can happen here. 'I'm still involved in the doubles with (Ahmet) Kaplan from Turkey. 'This is our second Grand Slam together.' Ramphadi described that they are still getting to know each other's game. 'We are still working on getting an understanding of how we both play. We can try and understand each other more. 'We still need to have a good conversation to see if we can play more tournaments together.' An interesting side note about Ramphadi is that he speaks seven languages: English, South Africa Sign Language, Sepedi, Tsonga, Venda, Zulu and Swazi. After the conclusion of the French Open, Ramphadi will head home to South Africa for three weeks to catch up with his family. 'Limpopo is my hood.' Ramphadi is a man of many talents. Hopefully his tennis talents can propel to him to even more greater heights. Dave Marshall is covering the 2025 French Open in Paris exclusively for The South African website Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
