Sibling rivalry alive in local tennis

By Oscar Pilipili

The tennis court has been the scene of both sibling battles and partnerships across the world.

The Kenya Open junior championships at Nairobi Club last month provided the perfect stage to prove the tradition was still alive here.

The new kids on the blocks include the Onyanchas (Derrick and Michelle), Ndongas (Emmanuel and Samuel), Fernandez (Farah and Nadia) and Kotecha (Sheil and Sneha).

Others who were not at Nairobi Club event include Oderas (Joab and Terry) and Gulams (Sophia and Omar).

The past generation featured Ilako brothers namely Philip, James and Charles and their uncle Justus.

There were the Wekesa siblings in Paul, who remains one of the finest players ever to come from Kenya, former beauty star Camilla and Louisa.

The Wakhungus (Susan and Judy), Davies (Jane and Phylis), Mbuguas (Wanjiru, Kanyi and Muthoni and Ranas (Saquib and Ambreen) fit well in the topic.

.

Keep Reading

• Help! My career is not growing
• Tips for travelling as a couple
• Keep your home warm with these tips
• What to do if you feel dizzy after a meal

On the international scene the Williams (Serena and Venus) and Murrays (Andy and Jamie) are some of the biggest names that have provided fans with some intriguing matches over the years.

The question most people are asking is, just how do family members relate on and off the court?

Wanjiru reveals there is a lot of rivalry in matches involving siblings because everybody wants to be the winner.

"It is a do-or-die situation in such matches but that rivalry hardly extends beyond the court," Mbugua assures.

Mbugua observes parents need to be very careful on which side to take when siblings are facing off in a competition.

"Parents must be very neutral or else they will cause a hell of problems at home," she says.

"My parents used to practice impartiality by announcing openly that they wish the best player victory and praising all for the good game after the contest," she recalls. Mbugua says the best thing with siblings is that they train together and encourage each other.

"One good thing with siblings is that life is made easier because they travel together, train together and share ideas back at home," Mbugua said.

Mbugua, who is popularly known as Wanji, excelled as a junior player and attained fifth position, the highest ever by a local player in the International Tennis Federation (ITF) in 1991.

Samuel and Emmanuel Ndonga are some of the family members who had a chance to face off in the Kenya Open championships.

Ndonga senior concedes that as much as he would want to remain neutral when supporting his sons, he wishes victory to the younger without either declaring or through body language.

"I’m always neutral in their matches but I would of course support the younger one for encouragement," he told FeverPitch on Saturday in an interview.

Listening to the brothers talk is enough evidence to show there is tough rivalry between them on court.

"I know dad supports him (Emmanuel) so that he beats me for the first time," Samuel said after defeating Emmanuel in an entertaining under-10 final of the Kenya Open at Nairobi Club last week.

Emmanuel replied: "I can beat this one (Samuel) and I’ll do that very soon."

The Ndongas have met on several occasions with the older Samuel winning on all occasions.

Unlike senior siblings who hit each other on court with gusto, the Ndongas match was more of a friendly encounter sending signals that they pity one another.

Gilbert Kibet, who is graduating in the juniors’ category has had a successful career but he is not the only one from the family to play tennis.

There is Gloria and Gladys who are following in his footsteps.

Their mother (Martha) says rivalry amongst the siblings is healthy in the development of individual player.

She said: "Gilbert is a role model to his sisters who now want to reach his level and play outside the country."

The Onyanchas mother was ecstatic with the performance of Derrick and Michelle after each one of them won a double at the Kenya Open as she went home with four trophies.

Burundian sisters Azisa Butoyi and Nshimirimana who are based at Sadili Oval Sports Club are riding high in the local women tennis.

They have met on several occasions and their last two meetings in the final of major events put them at bar on 1-1 win basis.

Although Kenya is endowed with sibling talent, the chances of them meeting is usually remote due to age variance and sex.

Those who enter doubles opt to partner with a player from a different family and an example was when Samuel and Emmanuel chose different partners in their doubles campaign at the Kenya Open. Samuel combined efforts with Sheil Kotecha to dismiss the pair of Emmanuel and Sahil Radia 6-1, 6-3 in the boys’ doubles under-10 final at the Kenya Open.

Venus and Serena are the most famous sports siblings in the world. These two seem to do everything together including training, travelling and living.

Both are former world number one players and Grand Slam winners. In a strange coincidence they both made it to the top spot in 2002. The elder Venus in February, then Serena in July.

They’ve played each other 14 times and are tied at seven wins apiece. Earlier in their careers it was suggested by some observers that the Williams sisters’ matches were ‘fixed’ to keep things even.

On consultation of their finals record this argument seems absurd. Eight of their 14 encounters have been in finals, with Serena triumphing six times to Venus’s two.

As for the sisters’ record in the majors, Serena has won seven Grand Slam titles and Venus six.

They’ve met in six Grand Slam finals with Serena edging out her older sister on five occasions.

Both have won six Grand Slam doubles titles. The Williams girls also mirror each other’s results in mixed doubles. In 1998 Venus and Serena split the four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles between themselves.

Serena won the US Open and Wimbledon titles with Max Mirnyi, while Venus won the Australian Open and French Open with American Justin Gimelstob.

The two were on opposite sides of the draw at Australian Open 2008, meaning a repeat of 2003 when they met in the final (Serena won 7-6(4) 3-6 6-4) was possible, but both were knocked out in the quarters by Serbian opponents.

Next time you watch a match between competing siblings look closely while there may not be an all-in brawl or domestic situation during the match, an inaudible comment at a change of ends or a lingering exchanged look could be enough to show that competition between siblings is alive and well.

— Additional reporting by Australia Open website