Uncle Joseph is someone you always meet when you go to the Ndlovu Sports Ground in Elandsdoorn. He is in a wheelchair and the children love him very much. There are always one or two of them standing by his wheelchair having a chat. Uncle Joseph is a very good tennis player and an inspiration to many of the young tennis players in the community, especially the wheelchair tennis players.
Uncle Joseph was the one who discovered the extraordinary talent of Danny Mohlamonyane, a young man from the municipality of Elandsdoorn. Danny also plays wheelchair tennis and a strong bond of friendship quickly developed between the two men. Uncle Jo began to encourage and challenge Danny. Due to his great ambition and unconditional will to succeed, Danny often reached his limits and failed himself with his anger. It was Uncle Jo who taught him to channel his aggression into the game, onto his tennis racket.
In 2012, David Rakalakane from the Ndlovu Care Group also became aware of this exceptional player and began coaching Danny. Later that year, the WTSA (Wheelchair Tennis South Africa) recruited him for their squad. Danny played here from 2013 to 2015, qualifying in the top QUADS (paraplegic) category and getting his first professional wheelchair. Before that, he had always just managed to get by and was reliant on second-hand tennis equipment and a wheelchair. In May 2015, he played as a professional player for the WTSA at the World Team Championships in Turkey.
In January 2016, he played world championship tournaments in the USA, in February in England and in March in Israel. He also took part in the tournaments in Japan. He is now ranked 20th in South Africa’s top 50.
Danny strongly believes that with the right equipment and the right support, anything is possible. He often thinks back to Uncle Joseph’s words of encouragement when he is at his tournaments. His big goal is to get into the top 10, so he keeps practicing non-stop.
Danny is optimistic and works hard towards his goal of making it to the top of the WTSA. He works as a self-employed car mechanic. He often can’t believe how far he has come in his sporting career as a handicapped person, and then thinks back gratefully to everyone who has supported him along the way. Especially Uncle Joseph.
