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Tennis found me. I did not think that I would play tennis until my neighbour took me to a tennis court. - Sabelo Mahlalela, junior national tennis coach. 

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Sizwe sama Yende

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Back in 1991, when Sabelo Mathebula accepted a tennis racket his mother brought home, he had no inkling whatsoever that his name would be counted among the best coaches of the sport.

Thirty-three years later, Mathebula has been recognised as the Coach of the Year by the Mpumalanga Department of Culture, Sport, and Recreation, and he coaches the country’s junior national teams.

He is also a development officer for the Mpumalanga Tennis Association and his responsibility includes ensuring universal access to the sport for every child in every corner of the province.

As a 12-year-old boy he took the racket his mother gave him just as any playing toy to use at home, hitting a tennis ball against the walls at Emjindini township in Barberton. Mathebula only put the racket to good use when a neighbour saw him playing with no purpose and took him to a tennis court.

“Tennis found me,” he said. “I did not think that I would play tennis until my neighbour took me to a tennis court,” Mathebula added.

Within a year he had mastered the forehand, backhand, serve, volley, lob and drop shots – and was representing his school.

Although Mathebula grew up and developed other interests and looked for job opportunities outside the world of tennis, he remained committed to the sport.

As far as coaching qualifications are concerned, he has achieved the Level 3 course, which he did in Egypt. He is the one of the coaches in the country who possess such a qualification that is recognised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF).

Mathebula worked for over ten years in the Mpumalanga Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs as assistant director for public participation, and six years as a presenter and producer at Barberton Community Radio.

In 2020, he established his own academy, Tennis Base, which runs programmes in Mbombela, Barberton, Malelane, Komatipoort and White River. Over and above these, Mathebula runs the annual Mbombela Open and other social tennis programmes. He has been a junior national team coach since 2022 and, among his responsibilities, he imparts his knowledge as a tutor for ITF programmes.

“This is my passion which also gives me an opportunity to give kids from disadvantaged communities a platform to learn and grow in the sport,” he said.

Mathebula said that the first time he was introduced at provincial level as  development officer, he was given task to develop tennis in every nook and cranny of Mpumalanga.

“As a groundbreaking move,” he said, “We established over 15 tennis hubs in the province including rural areas. It’s a very important achievement. There are coaches in Bushbuckridge, Acornhoek and other areas,” he added.

Mathebula said that he wished that South Africa had enough professional tennis tournaments to give more players a platform to perform and earn megabucks.

Now, he said, players must travel abroad to participate in tournaments. “There is a lot of money. The winner of the US Open last year won R55 million…it’s a lot of money,” Mathebula said.