Tennis – US Open – Semifinals – New York, U.S. – September 8, 2017 – Kevin Anderson of South Africa celebrates his win against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain. (REUTERS / Shannon Stapleton)
Tennis – US Open – Semifinals – New York, U.S. – September 8, 2017 – Kevin Anderson of South Africa celebrates his win against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain. (REUTERS / Shannon Stapleton)
He’s a home-grown hero, but Kevin Anderson has spent most of his adult life in the USA. That’s not stopping us from claiming him as ours, though.
Hell, we could claim Roger Federer if we really wanted to…
Anderson left South Africa in the twilight of his teenage years. But what took him overseas, and why does he not bother returning to Mzansi? That’s what we’re here to find out.
Why Kevin Anderson left South Africa
His prolonged exile can be broken down into two factors – why he left, and why he hasn’t returned. It was the enticement of playing his tennis at one of the most prestigious collegiate programmes in the world that lured him away.
When Anderson was being recruited in 2004, coach Craig Tiley, who’s also from South Africa, had built Illinois into one of the best tennis programs in America, recording an NCAA record 64 consecutive wins and winning the NCAA title in 2003.
He spent three years at the university, entering national and international tournaments whilst undergoing rigorous training. By the time he had graduated from the programme, Anderson had won three all-American competitions.
He also met his wife Kelsey at Illinois University. The pair got married three years after completing their studies, and Kevin never really looked back.
Why doesn’t Kevin Anderson come back to South Africa?
Apart from taking to American culture like a duck to water, there’s also a very professional reason “Ando” very rarely makes a homecoming. In comments shared by 2OceansVibe, it seems like SA isn’t very conducive for his game:
“We do so much travel throughout the year, and I’m from Johannesburg, where we’ve also got the altitude. We don’t play any tournaments at that altitude. It really affects my style of tennis and it’s much more difficult to train in that kind of environment.”
Anderson seems to forget that there are three very distinct coastlines in South Africa that aren’t so “vertically challenged”. But he’s a proper Joburger: You either go back to Jozi, or you don’t bother at all.
He hasn’t represented SA in the Davis Cup since 2011. Some South Africans have questioned his commitment to the country of his birth, but others – including very important statespeople – are right with him:
Well done to Raven Klaasen & Kgothatso Montjane for making it as far as they did at #Wimbledon. I called & spoke to Kevin Anderson & wished him the best of luck & told him that we are all rooting for him. He was very pleased and said he’d do his best to make South Africa proud. pic.twitter.com/k58xdtVIKI
— President Cyril Ramaphosa (@CyrilRamaphosa) July 15, 2018
