CENTURION, June 5, 2026

South African tennis takes centre stage at the Rise Centurion Open on Saturday with local players featuring in both singles semi-finals and the doubles final. The week marks one of the most successful performances for home-grown talent on the ATP Challenger Tour in recent years.

In a remarkable achievement, South Africans Philip Henning and Kholo Montsi have both secured places in the singles semi-finals, underlining the growing depth of talent within the country’s tennis ranks.

Henning has impressed with pure clinical dominance, proving untouchable from the baseline on his way to the last four. The sixth seed has not dropped a set en route, defeating Orel Kimhi of Israel, Robert Strombachs from Latvia, and last week’s champion Giles Hussey from Great Britain.

Montsi, meanwhile, has enjoyed a breakthrough run as a wildcard entrant. He stunned third seed Calvin Hemery of France in a dramatic three-set thriller, before backing it up with victories over Gonzalez Fernandez from Spain and Arda Azkara from Turkey in straight sets.

Chasing the dream at home 🇿🇦

Wildcard Khololwam Montsi advances to his maiden ATP Challenger semifinal with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Azkara in Centurion#ATPChallenger pic.twitter.com/Zose2PGyih

— ATP Challenger (@ATPChallenger) June 5, 2026

Adding to the strong home showing, Devin Badenhorst and Luc Koenig delivered a major upset in the doubles draw, defeating reigning Rise Irene Open champions Robert Strombachs and Constantin Bittoun Kouzmine 6-3, 7-5 to reach the final.

Tournament director John-Laffnie de Jager praised the significance of the results, highlighting the importance of ATP Challenger events in developing emerging players. He noted that the performances reflect growing belief, opportunity, and momentum within South African tennis, adding that success at this level is built through consistent exposure to high-level competition.