The tournament named after the Free State and South Africa’s best-ever women’s singles player, Amanda Coetzer, is hosted by Hoër Meisieskool Oranje, each year and is the oldest running school’s tournament in the country.

The tournament features the top-eight ranked schools and they are as follows according to the national rankings – Oranje, Bloemhof (Stellenbosch), Paarl Girls’ High, Rhenish Girls’ High (Stellenbosch), Waterkloof (Pretoria), Menlo Park (Pretoria), Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool (Pretoria) and Paarl Gymnasium.

The coach of Oranje, MC Olivier, told OFM Sport that they are excited and ready to defend their coveted title.

“We are super excited to host the 24th Amanda Coetzer tournament with the top eight tennis schools in the country and we are always looking to measure ourselves against the best,” said the astute coach.

“That's what will be looking to do in the next three days. We are number one seeds and the favourites after winning the Amanda Coetzer last year as well as the Gerrie Berner tournament earlier in the year.

“We're excited and we are looking forward to having some fun. So let's see what happens.”

For the first time since 2019 the Amanda Coetzer tournament will feature an under-15 event as well, with six teams entered. The under-15 section will be contested between Oranje, Bloemhof, Waterkloof, Menlo Park, Paarl Girls’ High, and Affies.

The 2023 Amanda Coetzer tournament gets underway on Thursday morning 9:00 and will run until Saturday afternoon. On Thursday and Friday, the girls will be playing until approximately 20:00 in the evenings.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport