Kgothatso Montjane wins US Open women’s wheelchair doubles title

South African wheelchair tennis sensation Kgothatso Montjane celebrated her second Grand Slam victory at the US Open in New York on Saturday.

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Montjane, in partnership with Japan’s Yui Kamiji, claimed the women’s wheelchair doubles title without stepping onto the court, as their opponents were forced to withdraw due to illness.

The duo were scheduled to face the top-seeded Dutch pairing of Diede de Groot and Jiske Griffioen in the championship match, but Griffioen had to withdraw due to illness, resulting in a walkover victory for Montjane and Kamiji.

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This landmark win makes Montjane only the second South African to clinch a US Open wheelchair title after Lucas Sithole achieved the feat in 2013.

Reflecting on securing her latest Grand Slam crown, Montjane remarked: “We are really excited about the title even though it’s not how we wanted to win it. We were so ready to battle it out there and we wanted our revenge from Wimbledon (where they lost to De Groot and Griffioen earlier this year). Other than that, a win is a win, and we did so well to get ourselves to the final. We are just so grateful to have won our second title together and for us making our third Grand Slam together in one year. It’s really exciting to be winning this title with Yui.”

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Their result added to Montjane and Kamiji’s impressive 2023 campaign after they clinched the French Open doubles title in June. The pair’s impressive performances throughout the season have solidified their position as one of the top wheelchair tennis doubles teams in the world.

In the quad wheelchair doubles event in New York, Donald Ramphadi and his partner Andy Lapthorne also did well to secure the runner-up spot.

The South African-British pairing faced a tough challenge in the final against Dutch top seeds Sam Schroder and Niels Vink, ultimately losing in straight sets 6-1, 6-2.

Ramphadi and Lapthorne had previously claimed victory at the French Open earlier this year and were eager to avenge their Wimbledon loss to the Dutch pair, but it was not to be.

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