By Adnaan Mohamed
Brianna Robinson turned years of hard work into a national title after producing a stirring comeback at the Growthpoint South African Junior Nationals at Makers Landing at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town on Saturday.
The Joburg Squash player recovered from 2-1 down to beat Northerns’ Elzandri Janse van Rensburg 3-2 in a gripping U19 women’s final.
Robinson found her rhythm when the match entered its business end, moving with purpose and using the court like a chessboard as she pinned Janse van Rensburg deep before finishing the job 11-6, 11-5 in the final two games.
The victory fulfilled a goal Robinson has carried since first competing at the tournament.
“This has been a big goal for me since I started playing this tournament, so I’m very proud to have got the win,” she said.
“I am so grateful to everyone who has helped me over the past few years to make this sort of result possible.”
Janse van Rensburg, the Growthpoint U17 champion in 2024 and 2025, had to settle for third after KwaZulu-Natal’s Makayla Naidoo beat Boland’s Dane Meintjies 3-0 to finish second.
There was more five-game drama in the U19 men’s final, where Northerns top seed Juan-Corne Brand edged Western Province’s Joseph Feast 3-2.
Feast appeared to have the match in his grasp after Brand squandered a match point in the fourth game, forcing a decider. Brand steadied himself, raced into an early lead and held his nerve to win 11-6 in the fifth.
The scoreline, 3-11, 12-10, 12-10, 10-12, 11-6, underlined a final played at full throttle.
The U17 girls’ final produced another test of nerve.
Northerns left-hander Starla Phillips recovered from losing the opening game 11-8 to beat Border’s Kate van Biljon 3-1. Phillips repeatedly found the back corners with precision length before unleashing a sharp short game.
She survived a late wobble after allowing three match points to disappear while leading 10-6 in the fourth, then sealed the title with a winning backhand drop.
“I’m feeling good and very happy right now,” Phillips said.
“I’ve had some good results this year, and also a few bad ones, but I am glad I was able to finish it off today.”
Phillips was particularly pleased to settle an old score against Van Biljon, who beat her in the 2024 Growthpoint U15 girls’ final.
“Kate and I have been playing each other for many years and always have a good game, so I’m happy to get the win today.”
Christian Swanepoel completed the U17 winners’ list by beating provincial teammate Ruan Botha 3-0 in the boys’ final.
The championships produced a healthy dose of sweat, skill and sporting theatre, with South Africa’s emerging squash stars showing that when the pressure cooker starts whistling, composure can be the sharpest weapon in the racket bag.
Final results
U19 women: 1 Brianna Robinson (Joburg Squash), 2 Makayla Naidoo (KZN), 3 Elzandri Janse van Rensburg (Northerns), 4 Dane Meintjies (Boland).
U19 men: 1 Juan-Corne Brand (Northerns), 2 Joseph Feast (WP), 3 Thomas Boutall (WP), 4 Benji Newman (EP).
U17 girls: 1 Starla Phillips (Northerns), 2 Kate van Biljon (Border), 3 Rylee Howells (KZN), 4 Chelsey Cameron (KZN).
U17 boys: 1 Christian Swanepoel (Eden), 2 Cobus Schimper (Free State), 3 Ruan Botha (Eden), 4 Ross Smorfitt (Eden).
