Roland Garros: SA's Donald Ramphadi is a double's Grand Slam champion
Limpopo's Ramphadi and his doubles partner Andy Lapthorne defeated Heath Davidson and Robert Shaw to claim the Quad Wheelchair Doubles title 1-6, 6-2, 10-3.
Donald Ramphadi and his doubles partner Andy Lapthorne claim the Roland Garros Quad Wheelchair Doubles title on Saturday 10 June 2023. Picture: @rolandgarros/Twitter.
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's wheelchair tennis star Donald Ramphadi rewrote history on Saturday as he became the first black South African since 1981 to win a Roland-Garros title.
No other South African - in either the able-bodied or wheelchair categories has won it since Johan Kriek.
Limpopo's Ramphadi and his doubles partner Andy Lapthorne defeated Heath Davidson and Robert Shaw to claim the Quad Wheelchair Doubles title 1-6, 6-2, 10-3.
Ramphadi who is South Africa's leading wheelchair tennis quad player won the wheelchair quad singles title at the Belgian Open - ITF 1 series - tennis tournament in Belgium in 2022 - the year he made his Wimbledon debut.
The 30-year-old was also part of South Africa’s quad wheelchair tennis team that won a silver medal at the 2022 BNP Paribas World Team Cup.
The South African team, including Ramphadi, Lucas Sithole and Danny Mohlamonyane reached the final of the BNP Paribas World Team Cup in Portugal after defeating Brazil 2-0 to secure their spot in the all-important final.