Montjane: 'Wimbledon finals answered my Tokyo questions'

Kgothatso Montjane may have lost two wheelchair finals at Wimbledon last weekend but the experience has sky-rocketed her confidence ahead of the Tokyo Paralympics, the South African says.

The 35-year-old lost out to Japan's Yui Kamiji and Britain's Jordanne Whiley in the doubles alongside British partner Lucy Shuker on Saturday, and to Diede de Groot of the Netherlands in the singles on Sunday.

Montjane was the first African to reach a Grand Slam wheelchair singles final and she says this year's Wimbledon experience has helped preparations for her third Paralympics.

"I feel it's quite a confidence booster and it happened at the right time just before Tokyo," she told BBC World Service's Newsday programme.

"I feel like this year I had so many questions about myself in terms of Tokyo: 'Are you ready? What's going on? Are you moving ahead? Where are you going to get?' So I feel like I have got the answers that I was looking for.

"From now on, I can only work even harder, and keep building up the belief and managing the level of confidence.

"Not forgetting that there's a goal going into Tokyo, but the most important thing is to enjoy the Games."

Montjane, the first African wheelchair tennis player to qualify for all four Grand Slam tournaments in the same year (2018), has never progressed past the second round in her previous Paralympics.

She reached her first grand slam final this year after losing five previous semi-finals at the Australian, French and US Opens, with her first loss dating back to 2013.

This article originally appeared on BBC Sport

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