Rhine-Ruhr, Germany – Saturday, 19 July 2025
Day 3 at the 2025 Rhine-Ruhr World University Games saw South Africa’s tennis team return to the courts with a full schedule. Three matches featured South African players: Carl Roothman in the Men’s Singles Round of 64, Erine Lategan and Lilitha Ndungane in the Women’s Doubles Round of 32, and Delien Kleinhans in the Women’s Singles Round of 64.
After Roothman’s confident win the previous day, Saturday presented a more demanding challenge as the level of competition intensified.
Roothman Falls to 4th Seed in Tightly Contested Match
Playing on Court 3, Carl Roothman faced the tournament’s fourth seed, Egor Agafonov, who competed as an Independent Athlete. The match opened with a closely fought first set, with both players trading service breaks and engaging in lengthy rallies. Neither player could establish full control, pushing the set to a tiebreak. Agafonov held his nerve to edge the breaker and claim the first set.
The loss of that set seemed to impact Roothman’s momentum. His first-serve percentage dropped to 59%, and he committed four double faults, giving Agafonov key openings. The second set saw the fourth seed take advantage of these errors, closing out the match with a 6-2 set to win in straight sets.
Final Score:
📍 Court 3
Egor Agafonov (AIN) def. Carl Roothman (RSA) – 7-6, 6-2
Women’s Doubles Pair Edged Out by Italian Opposition
Next on Centre Court, the women’s doubles team of Erine Lategan and Lilitha Ndungane took on Italy’s Virginia Ferrara and Marta Lombardini. South Africa’s challenge was hampered by inconsistencies on serve, particularly in the first set, where they registered five double faults.
Despite improvements in the second set, where they reduced their double faults to three, the Italian pair maintained composure during crucial rallies. South Africa struggled to convert opportunities when returning serve, winning just 44% of those points, compared to 59% won by the Italians on return.
Final Score:
📍 Yonex Centre Court
Ferrara/Lombardini (ITA) def. Lategan/Ndungane (RSA) – 6-3, 6-4
Kleinhans Faces Tough Test Against German Crowd Favourite
The final South African match of the day saw Delien Kleinhans take to Centre Court against local favourite Gina Dittmann of Germany. Backed by strong home crowd support, Dittmann controlled the tempo from the outset.
Kleinhans struggled to settle into the match and found it difficult to build rhythm in rallies. Dittmann dominated the long exchanges and applied pressure on return throughout, winning a total of 51 points to Kleinhans’s 24. Kleinhans was unable to find answers, particularly in the second set where she won just 16% of points on return.
Final Score:
📍 Yonex Centre Court
Gina Dittmann (GER) def. Delien Kleinhans (RSA) – 6-1, 6-1
Stay tuned as we continue our daily coverage from the Rhine-Ruhr World University Games, following Team South Africa across every court and competition.
For More South African Sports News: Sport South Africa Home Page
For More South African World University Games News:
Day 2 Recap – Learning curve for South Africa in Women’s 3×3 Basketball at Rhine-Ruhr 2025
Day 2 Recap – Solid Progress and Record-Breaking Swim for Team SA in the Pool
Day 2 Recap – Roothman Claims SA’s First Tennis Victory at World University Games
Day 2 Recap – Brammer and Morrison in Women’s Synchronised Springboard Final.
Day 2 Recap – South Africa’s Épée Trio Show Resilience in Gruelling Fencing Bouts
