Roxanne Clarke was appointed as South Africa’s new Billie Jean King Cup captain in 2020, succeeding Rene Plant after her four-year term. At 35, Clarke is recognized for her talent development work, previously serving as Director and Head Coach at the ITF Pacific Oceania Training Centre in Fiji until its closure earlier this year due to Covid-19.
Clarke represented South Africa in the Billie Jean King Cup (formerly Fed Cup) from 2002 to 2003. Her immediate goal as captain is to lead the team to promotion after their 2019 defeats to Portugal, Israel, and Luxembourg.
Clarke aims to advance South Africa to Europe/Africa Group II and build a stronger support system for elite and emerging players and their coaches.
Clarke’s goal recently became a reality when South Africa clinched promotion from Europe/Africa Group III this June at the BJK Cup Group Tournament in Nairobi, Kenya. Team South Africa allowed only a single loss the entire tournament, and were especially impressive in must-win clashes with Nigeria and hosts/favourites Kenya in the 1st to 3rd place play-offs.
Clarke said: “I’m so proud of this team. We started this week with a goal to be promoted to Group II. I’m so grateful to Tennis South Africa for the support and to my players for giving everything they could this week.”
A key concern for Clarke is the lack of South African women with world rankings, with only three in the top 1000. She emphasizes the importance of player development and retention, particularly for girls aged 15 and 16, to foster a future in tennis.
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