Many call him 'Oom Harrison' due to the resemblance to Hollywood actor, Harrison Ford. You ask most of the Free State tennis playing community they might say 'King of the drop shot'. Many would say 'the definition of gentleman' but whatever you call him Johan Botha has left a legacy in the sport of tennis that many will aspire too but few will ever reach....and he's not done yet.
Johan was practically born with his first tennis racket in hand. He has been playing this wonderful game since the tender age of 4. Countless hours against the practice wall honing his skills started his career in tennis.
During his high school years at Grey College, 1965 – 1969, Johan represented the first tennis team from grade 10 -12. He received the school’s highest recognition for his SA doubles championship win with Cyril Rudman at the u/18 Nationals Tournament in 1969.
Johan represented the Free State senior and veteran team from 1972. He was the FS Seniors Closed Champion in 1980. He also proudly represented South Africa in multiple age groups over the years in SA and aboard (ages 50+ in Germany 2003) and (ages 50+ in Australia 2005).
Johan was a member and vice - chairman of the Free State Tennis committee since 1995. He was also the Chairman of the Free State veteran’s tennis from 1990 – 2020 and a member of the S.A.V.T.A from 2004 – 2020.
Johan’s court building career started in the 90’s when he purchased a piece of land adjacent to his own and set out to build himself a tennis court. Hours of research and a months later he managed to build one of the most scenic courts in Bloemfontein.
The rest is history, as they say. Over the past 30 years Johan has built and resurfaced hundreds of courts across South Africa including the Federation Cup court in 1995 at the Bloemfontein Tennis Stadium.
Johan has dedicated his entire life to the sport he loves. No one knows the court quality that top players expect better than someone that has played at the highest level. It’s very often the things you don’t see that makes the biggest difference on a tennis court. (Read the blog post on ‘The ideal tennis court’)
Johan has ‘served’ tennis for more than 60 years. The thriving family business continues to grow from strength to strength with the recent introduction of Padel court construction (A post on the new and exciting Padel tennis will follow in due course).
Nothing makes Johan happier than when someone says ‘The ball is in your court, Johan’.
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