South Africa’s top young squash players will compete for national honours when the Growthpoint Junior National Squash Championships take place at the V&A Waterfront’s Makers Landing in Cape Town from 13 to 15 August.
Hosted by the City of Cape Town, the prestigious tournament will see the country’s leading U17 and U19 players battle it out on the all-glass squash court, with national titles on the line.
Northerns players Elzandri Janse van Rensburg and Juan-Corne Brand head the U19 seedings after impressive performances on the junior squash circuit.
Janse van Rensburg enters the girls’ U19 competition as the player to beat after winning back-to-back U17 national titles in 2024 and 2025. Moving into the senior junior division, she will be aiming to continue her strong run of success against some of South Africa’s best young players.
Brand, who won the boys’ U17 national title in 2024, will also be targeting another national crown as he steps up to the U19 division.
The tournament is expected to feature intense competition, with several rising stars looking to challenge the top seeds. In the U19 girls’ division, Janse van Rensburg will face Eastern Province’s Emma Hill in the opening round, while second seed Brianna Robinson from Joburg Squash takes on Eden’s Hanrie Duits.
In the boys’ U19 draw, Brand begins his campaign against Eden’s Luan van Zyl, while second seed Joseph Feast of Western Province faces KwaZulu-Natal’s Bandile Mahaye.
The U17 divisions will also showcase some of South Africa’s most promising junior talent. Northerns’ Starla Phillips leads the girls’ U17 draw, while Eden’s Christian Swanepoel is the top seed in the boys’ competition.
The players will first compete in qualifying rounds, with winners progressing to the top four round-robin phase to determine the national champions, while other players compete for final rankings.
Following the Growthpoint Junior National Championships, the Growthpoint SA Squash Nationals will also be hosted at Makers Landing at the V&A Waterfront from 20 to 22 August.
With national titles at stake and some of the country’s brightest young squash players competing, the championships promise to deliver an exciting showcase of South African junior squash talent.
