South Africa’s Tenille Van
Der Merwe (formerly Swartz) has announced that she will
be retiring from the WSA tour immediately.
Tenille spoke to WSA briefly and had this to say:
It
is with great sadness that I hereby announce my retirement
from the international circuit. I have been part of WSA
since 2006 and it was only an honour and privilege playing
on the international circuit.
WSA is very well run and organised and I have never
experienced any problems. All the tournaments I have been
to, were run in a very professional manner and working with
WSA has always been hassle free.
Thank
you that I had the opportunity to be part of such an amazing
organisation, this was the toughest decision I have ever had
to make and I will certainly miss all the good times I had
on the circuit.
The main reason is financial and also set back because of
injuries.
Also because of my new business opportunity, I am running a
new business called soccermom Cape Town; it’s a recruitment
company that places drivers with families who can't
transport their kids to and from school and or activities.
Almost like aupairing but only for the driving duties, I
will also complete my Bcom law degree next year.
Tenille
was one of the brightest stars on the tour and at only 24
years old, already achieved more than most players had done
in their careers. She was a former British Junior Open
finalist and World Junior Open semi finalist.
She reached a career high of 28 in the rankings back in 2008
and won 2 titles on the tour. Recurring injuries saw her
ranking fluctuate up until today but every time she dropped
down it didn’t take her long to quickly return to the top
50, such is her talent.
Tenille proved a difficult opponent for a lot of the top
players and her results speak for themselves.
She held winning records or has beaten the following
players: Tania Bailey, Low Wee Wern, Nour El Sherbini, Engy
Kheirallah, Emma Beddoes, Aisling Blake, Annelize Naude,
Camille Serme, Dipika Pallikal, Donna Urquhart and Isabelle
Stoehr.
Last
year she also took both Vanessa Atkinson and Rachael Grinham
to the brink. Impressive.
Not only was Tenille talented but she was one of the nicest
and kindest players on the tour, humble in victory and
gracious in defeat. A role model for young players and an
ambassador for the game.
Everyone at WSA wishes Tenille all the best for her
marriage, business venture and we hope to see you back on
the court someday soon.
A true South African great. |
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