“What has happened to my team?” This clearly pained question was the first statement by Bongani “Wire” Zondi in an interview after he was named the first black president of the South African Tennis Association (Sata) this week. And, somewhat surprisingly, it was not the decline in the international stature of South African tennis in the past decade that the 51-year-old ANC transport chief and Johannesburg city councillor for Jabavu had on his mind.
Rather, the urbane, striking-looking Zondi was lamenting another former giant of the South African sporting world, the enigmatic, unpredictable Dube soccer “Birds” of Moroka Swallows.
“Gordon Igesund,” he said, referring to the coach who played a material role in rescuing Swallows from Premier League relegation last season, “is the best thing that has happened to the club for a long time. He must grab the reins and steer the Birds in the right direction because no one else there seems capable of doing it.”
And when it comes to steering another somewhat troubled ship in the right direction, Zondi also has strong views and appears suitably equipped for the task.
“I may be politically connected and, yes, my appointment as a black president is welcomed in the new South Africa. But Sata and I will be only as good as our programmes and achievements in gaining the support of the sporting public, the government and private sector which is needed to take tennis in South Africa back to the glory days of the 1960s and 1970s.”
Even before taking on his challenging new role, Zondi had proved his mettle as a pioneer of tennis in Soweto, notably in the manner in which he played a pivotal role in reviving and restructuring the Arthur Ashe Tennis Centre in Jabavu to the point where it has become just about the best-equipped and most thriving tennis venue in the country.
In the process he resurrected the dream of the great American icon and former Wimbledon and United States Open champion to spread the gospel of tennis among Soweto’s underprivileged youngsters after the project had initially gone to rack and ruin and become a lurid squatter camp.
Nicknamed “Wire”, the resolute Zondi was elected to the Sata board in 2005 and was voted vice-president in 2008 before finally heading the newly constructed controlling body, elected last weekend.
His initial task will be to oversee next month’s crucial Davis Cup World Group play-off against a formidable Croatian line-up, in which South Africa will attempt to return to the elite segment of the event after an absence of more than a decade. And, crucially high on the agenda, of course, is regaining for South Africa a tournament on the ATP premier circuit, which flourished briefly at Montecasino for the past three years, but which has been deprived of its status for 2012.
What Zondi did for the Arthur Ashe Centre he is determined to do in the country as a whole, with an emphasis on developing young talent of all race groups around the country through qualified coaches, training centres and tournaments.
“But, if necessary,” he said, “we will have to give thought to ensuring the most promising of this talent receives the right preparation to compete on the ultra-difficult international circuit and that might mean sending them overseas to specially equipped centres.”
Zondi said he would immediately tackle the task of securing sponsorship for South African tennis at all levels of the game, which, inexplicably, had not come from the private sector.
“Apart from soccer,” said the new Sata president, “tennis is the most widely played sport in the world. It seems to me there is a blind spot somewhere that has prevented the business community from recognising this. After all, the Federers, Nadals and Djokovics are among the most recognisable among all the sporting icons on the planet.
“It was a great boost this year when Kevin Anderson won the South African Open at Montecasino in the face of strong international opposition, to become the first local player to hold the title in 22 years,” said Zondi, “and it has created an atmosphere of optimism for the tie against Croatia. But some members of the Davis Cup squad are nearing the final years of their careers and we need to find young talent to replace them.”
As for the epochal Soweto Open, which he helped create as an ATP Challenger event and for which he secured sponsorship from the Johannesburg City Council, the three-year contract is now complete and is due to be examined by the council with the objective of renewal.
Knowing the drive and persuasive powers of the councillor for Jabavu it will come as a surprise if Zondi does not coerce his colleagues to renew the worthy project.