Doig leads African tennis into "exciting" new era
Connor Doig underlined his status as Africa’s leading junior player on Tuesday afternoon at Flushing Meadows, coming through a see-saw encounter with Oluwaseun Peter Ogunsakin to book a third-round spot in the boys’ singles.
The 6-3 4-6 6-3 victory leaves Doig flying the flag for African tennis in the junior competition at the US Open. However, with two other boys from the continent competing in New York – Ntungamili Raguin came through qualifying to join Doig and Ogunsakin in the draw – the future looks bright.
“Yeah, I would say [I represent South Africa], definitely. South Africa and Africa as a whole,” Doig told World Tennis after the match.
“I mean, I saw something today that it's the first time since 2003 that there's been three Africans in the boys’ singles draw. So that's exciting.”
Through his exploits on the court, Doig is looking to put African tennis back on the map. South Africa, in particular, has a rich heritage in the sport, but has not had a household name since the retirement of two-time Grand Slam finalist Kevin Anderson in 2023.
“Definitely there's a lot of great players who have come from [South Africa],” he added. “So that's Lloyd [Harris] at the moment. He got to the second round, I think. He would be right at the top if it wasn't for injuries. And yeah, I mean, just trying to follow in those guys' footsteps.”
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Doig remained local for his tennis schooling, eschewing the opportunities to leave Africa for higher-profile academy overseas. And while this created initial doubts about his place in the junior pecking order, question marks over his ability were soon dispelled.
“I pretty much loved it right away, yeah. I was spending hours and hours on court from the time I was seven onwards.
“Coming from South Africa, you can often be a big fish in a small pond. So I think when I got exposure to what's out there overseas in North Africa and held my own pretty well, I think that's when I realized I was pretty good.”
The next challenge on the horizon comes in the shape of his third-round foe, the No. 2 seed Jamie Mackenzie. Regardless of the outcome of that test, Doig has already plotted the course of his career for the next few years, accepting a place on Baylor University’s much-vaunted tennis programme.
“I think college tennis right now is in such a good place with the resources, they're training our pros. I'm going to a great programme, and that's the goal to one day go pro.”
He is following in the footsteps of several of his compatriots in choosing Baylor. And the university’s reputation in South African tennis circles played a major part in swaying the 18-year-old’s decision.
“There's quite a tradition of South African players that have gone through there [Baylor]. The assistant coach at the time when I signed was South African and you know, a lot of people, a lot of South Africans know the programme well and they've spoken very highly of it. And I think they have a great facility, great resources.”
In recent years the US collegiate system has become a conveyor belt of talent for the professional tours. Indeed, Anderson himself was a three-time All-American at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign before rising the ranks to the top of the ATP Tour.
For Doig, though, the journey is only just beginning – and if his current trajectory is anything to go by, it will be an exciting one to follow for African tennis.
A full list of results from the 2026 US Open Junior Championships can be found here.