Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. The object of the game is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. The player who is unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will.
Ilie Theodoriu Năstase is a Romanian former world No. 1 tennis player. He held the top singles spot from 23 August 1973 to 2 June 1974, and was the first man to hold the position on the computerized ATP rankings. Năstase is one of the 10 players in history who have won over 100 total ATP titles, with 64 in singles and 45 in doubles. Năstase won seven major titles: two in singles, three in men's doubles and two in mixed doubles. He also won four Masters Grand Prix year-end championship titles. He was the first professional sports figure to sign an endorsement contract with Nike, doing so in 1972. Năstase wrote several novels in French in the 1980s, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991.
The University of Botswana (UB) was established in 1982 as the first institution of higher education in Botswana. The university has three campuses: one in the capital city Gaborone, one in Francistown, and another in Maun. The university is divided into six faculties: Business, Education, Engineering, Humanities, Health Sciences, Science and Social Sciences and the Sir Ketumile Masire Teaching Hospital. UB is ranked 1201–1500 in the world and 21st in sub-Saharan Africa in the 2024 Times Higher Education World University Ranking.
The Botswana national football team was founded in 1970 to represent Botswana in association football and is governed by the Botswana Football Association (BFA). It qualified for the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations.
Lobatse is a town in south-eastern Botswana, 70 kilometres south of the capital Gaborone, situated in a valley running north towards Gaborone and close to the border with South Africa. Lobatse has a population of 29,772 as of 2022. The town is an administrative district, with a town council.
The Botswana National Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Gaborone, Botswana. It is currently used mostly for football matches. The stadium holds 25,000 people.
Gaborone United Sporting Club (GU) is a football club from Botswana based in Gaborone. It is the only professional sporting club in Botswana. Its official sponsor is Bank Gaborone, who signed a three-year deal at the beginning of the 2022-23 season. Gaborone United play their home games at several venues.
The Botswana Fed Cup team represents Botswana in Fed Cup tennis competition and are governed by the Botswana Tennis Association. They have not competed since 2006.
Township Rollers Football Club is a football club based in Gaborone, Botswana. Rollers are also known as Popa, The Blues or Tse Tala, the official nicknames of the club. The club is also often referred to as Mapalastina, a nickname that developed in the 1990s but has never been officially adopted by the club. Rollers is the most successful club in Botswana football history, having won more league titles and cup competitions than any other local side. It enjoys a large support base all over the country and has been called arguably the best-supported team in Botswana.
Chanel Simmonds is a former tennis player from South Africa.
Nicolaas (Nikala) "Nik" Scholtz is a professional tennis player from Greyton, South Africa. Nicolaas qualified for the 2011 SA Tennis Open.
Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) is the governing body of tennis in Pakistan. It has played a vital role in the development of domestic, national and international tennis in Pakistan, producing a number of young talented players. It also governs teams such as the Pakistan Fed Cup team and the Pakistan Davis Cup team.
Netball in Botswana is primarily played by women. Girls are introduced to netball at primary schools, as part of the school curriculum.
The 2nd African Youth Games took place in Gaborone, Botswana's capital city from 22 to 31 May 2014. The Games featured approximately 2000 athletes from 51 African countries competing in 21 sports. Gambia, Eritrea and Mauritania were the only African countries absent from the Games.
Sports in Botswana is diverse and reasonably well-developed. Though football, netball and athletics remain the most popular sports, numerous other sporting codes, including cricket, rugby, judo, swimming and tennis are active in the national sporting landscape. The Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC), together with the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) and Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture (MYSC) are responsible for the overall management of sport in the country. In addition, there over 30 National Sport Federations (NSFs) and three school sport federations
Botswana National Sports Commission is the national governing body for all sports in Botswana.
Botswana Cycling Association or BCA is the national governing body of cycle racing in Botswana. Botswana Cycling Association is a member of the Confédération Africaine de Cyclisme and the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). It is affiliated to the Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC), as well as the Botswana National Sports Commission. Botswana Cycling Association regulates the five major disciplines within the sport, both amateur and professional, which include: road cycling, mountain biking, BMX biking, track cycling and para-cycling, currently the most active being road cycling & mountain biking.
The Botswana Basketball Association (BBA) is the premier basketball league for clubs in Botswana. The league consist out of twelve teams. As of December 2019, the defending champions are Dolphins.
The Botswana national badminton team represents Botswana in international team competitions and is controlled by the Botswana Badminton Association in Gaborone, Botswana. The national team was formed after badminton was starting to be played in Motswana cities, Orapa, Selebi-Phikwe and Jwaneng.
Zibani Chikanda is a Botswana former amateur boxer who competed at middleweight. He won a bronze medal at the 2015 African Games and a silver at the 2015 African Championships.
