{"id":42552,"date":"2026-07-22T19:05:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-22T19:05:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/42552\/"},"modified":"2026-07-22T19:05:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-22T19:05:19","slug":"kgothatso-montjane-still-chasing-her-maiden-singles-grand-slam-title","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/42552\/","title":{"rendered":"Kgothatso Montjane Still Chasing Her Maiden Singles Grand Slam Title"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kgothatso Montjane is not done. Let there be no doubt about it: the maiden singles Grand Slam title that has eluded South Africa\u2019s wheelchair tennis trailblazer remains the target, and New York is squarely in her sights.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI have one goal in mind, and that is to win a singles Grand Slam.\u201d
\nProfessional Wheelchair Tennis Player, Kgothatso Montjane<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

With the US Open the final major of the year, the mission is immediate. \u201cI just need to keep pushing myself hard. I believe it can be done,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s just my biggest goal at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

It is the conviction of a player who sees her game trending upward even when the results have not yet followed, and who has made a career of doing what no one before her had done.<\/p>\n

That conviction was on full display at Wimbledon this month. Partnering Great Britain\u2019s Lucy Shuker in the doubles, Montjane reached the semi-finals before falling to the top seeds, a run made all the more emotional by Shuker playing her final Wimbledon before retirement at the end of the 2026 season.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t what I expected considering how I prepared before that,\u201d Montjane admits of her time on the grass, before reflecting on what mattered most: the chance \u201cto see her at least still win a match at Wimbledon before she really retires\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe French Open is a treasured venue, marking the moment when Montjane won her first-ever Grand Slam title in 2023.<\/p>\n

That win came in a gruelling three-set quarter-final against Ks\u00e9nia Chasteau and Jiske Griffioen, played in heat England rarely sees. Montjane says a toilet break after the first set gave her the moment she needed to regroup, and from there the tactics crystallised. \u201cI just kept telling Lucy to stick to the plan,\u201d she says, a plan built on relentless rallying to the consistent Griffioen while pulling the dangerous Chasteau out of position.<\/p>\n

Serving for the match, Montjane reached back two years for belief, to the day she served out the 2024 Wimbledon doubles final alongside Yui Kamiji to become the first black South African woman to win a title at the All England Club. \u201cI\u2019ve done this before, surely I can do it again,\u201d she recalls telling herself. She did.<\/p>\n

Of Shuker, her partner and friend, Montjane is unequivocal: \u201cWe will be losing like a hero and she will be missed dearly.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tA winning start in Cape Town saw Player of the Match and 50th international cap\u2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

While the singles dream drives her on court, Montjane has already begun laying the path off it, and she is doing the work personally. Through her foundation, Multi Sports Development Foundation, she is determined to \u201cplough the path for the next generation\u201d, with a tennis court already built at a special school in Limpopo for children with physical disabilities, equipment donations to follow, and an ambition to reach all nine provinces.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe are focused on erecting sports facilities, and giving access to the disadvantaged.\u201d\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

None of it happens alone, and Montjane is quick to credit the partners who have backed both her career and her foundation. \u201cI\u2019m really grateful for my personal sponsors,\u201d she says, naming Nike, Syensqo, and Dunlop among the brands that have supported her journey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She singles out her Belgium-based Syensqo for making the Limpopo facility possible: \u201cThey actually contributed a huge donation for us to really build that facility.\u201d And she reserves special thanks for those driving the projects on the ground, with \u201cthe biggest shout out to my team at Optimize\u201d for ensuring the foundation\u2019s work is executed.<\/p>\n

\"SouthSouth African wheelchair tennis star Montjane, a multiple gsport Award winner, will attend the 2026 gsport Awards as an industry icon.<\/p>\n

The work is personal because the gap is personal. Montjane is candid that wheelchair tennis does not receive the national support its athletes\u2019 consistency at Grand Slam level deserves. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy to really keep up,\u201d she says. \u201cTennis is a very demanding sport.\u201d What keeps her going is her hope that \u201cone day it will open up so that the new generation doesn\u2019t suffer\u201d.<\/p>\n

She knows better than anyone what visibility can do. \u201cI get to be the first of many,\u201d she says of her pioneering career. \u201cOne has to see to be able to believe it, that it can happen. I didn\u2019t see anyone doing it, but here I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WithWith her sights set on a maiden singles Grand Slam title, Montjane is now in serious preparations for the 2026 US Open.<\/p>\n

That visibility is something Montjane credits gsport with championing throughout her career. A multiple gsport Award winner, she attends this year\u2019s ceremony on Saturday 8 August not as a nominee or finalist, but as an industry icon and treasured friend of the platform. She laughs about the change of role: \u201cCan I not be nominated? Can I just be an ambassador?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

For her, the recognition has always run deeper than silverware, and she describes it as \u201can honour to be part of gsport\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Asked how the landscape for South African women athletes has shifted since her first gsport Award, she points to progress in football and the surge of netball. \u201cWe\u2019re not there yet, but the conversations are on the table,\u201d she says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe wouldn\u2019t have been in the right path if we didn\u2019t have movements like gsport\u201d.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And when she looks around the room at the Awards, at the rising stars who represent everything she is building for, her message to them is direct. They belong. \u201cThey belong right where they\u2019re supposed to be,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Aimee\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tRecord-Breaker Aimee Canny Ready for the Glasgow Games<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 22, 2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tFrom the Knysna Dragons to swimming\u2019s biggest stages, Aimee Canny talks to gsport about her\u2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Main\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 22, 2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tTumi Sekhukhune has rebuilt herself before and she is ready to do it again, opening\u2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Hannah\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tSouth African Women Beat Namibia 2-0 to Take Command of Test Series<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 22, 2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tOngeziwe Mali and Marlise van Tonder celebrated their 50th international caps and Baylee Engelke made\u2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Penny\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tPenny Heyns Marks 30 Years Since Historic Atlanta Gold<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 21, 2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tPenny Heyns reflects on the 30th anniversary of her historic winning of the 100m breaststroke\u2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"The\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tSA U19 Women Surge Back in Front with Mieke van Voorst Half-Century in Karachi<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 20, 2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tThe SA U19 Women are back in front in their historic Youth T20I series in\u2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Ntsopa\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\tSouth African Women Begin Namibia Series with 4-0 Victory in World Cup Build-Up<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJuly 20, 2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tA winning start in Cape Town saw Player of the Match and 50th international cap\u2026\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

It was fitting that this conversation took place on Mandela Day, and Montjane closed with the man whose path made hers possible. \u201cThat\u2019s the path he created for all of us,\u201d she says. Her charge to South Africa\u2019s young girls carries his spirit forward: \u201cThis is the time. So don\u2019t be scared to really take up whatever dream that you really want to pursue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Because, as she reminds, \u201cTheir dreams are valid and they can achieve everything that they aspire for\u201d.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Caption: South Africa\u2019s international tennis icon Kgothatso Montjane remains relentless in her pursuit of a maiden singles Grand Slam title, and her eyes are on the next opportunity at the US Open, staged at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, from 30 August to 13 September. All Photos: Supplied<\/p>\n

Photo 2 Caption: The French Open is a treasured venue, marking the moment when Montjane won her first-ever Grand Slam title in 2023.<\/p>\n

Photo 3 Caption: South African wheelchair tennis star Montjane, a multiple gsport Award winner, will attend the 2026 gsport Awards as an industry icon..<\/p>\n

Photo 4 Caption: With her sights set on a maiden singles Grand Slam title, Montjane is now in serious preparations for the 2026 US Open.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Kgothatso Montjane is not done. Let there be no doubt about it: the maiden singles Grand Slam title…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42553,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[15097,137,15098,15099,15100,15101,15102,366,15103,15104,15105,15106,15107,15108,8179,15109,11163,15110,4500,15111,15112,6359,2776,15113,15114,15115,15116,28,463,7367,285,15117,15118],"class_list":["post-42552","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-us-open","tag-athlete-edition","tag-billie-jean-king","tag-brand-south-africa","tag-department-of-sport-arts-and-culture","tag-dsac","tag-dunlop","tag-feature-article","tag-grand-slam","tag-gsport","tag-gsport-awards","tag-gsport-newsletter","tag-gsport-newsroom","tag-gsport4girls","tag-international-wheelchair-tennis","tag-interview","tag-jiske-griffioen","tag-kgothatso-montjane","tag-ksenia-chasteau","tag-lucy-shuker","tag-mandela-day","tag-nelson-mandela","tag-newsletter","tag-nike","tag-sabc","tag-sabc-sport","tag-syensqo","tag-telkom","tag-tennis","tag-us-open","tag-wheelchair-tennis","tag-wimbledon","tag-womens-wheelchair-tennis","tag-yui-kamiji"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42552","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42552"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42552\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42553"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42552"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42552"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42552"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}