Brianna Robinson turned a lifelong ambition into national gold, producing a five-game Houdini act to defeat Elzandri Janse van Rensburg and claim the Growthpoint South African Junior Nationals U19 women’s title at Makers Landing on Saturday.
The Joburg Squash player was forced deep into the corners by a determined Northerns opponent, trailing 2-1 before finding another gear. Robinson sharpened her movement, tightened her length and began dictating the rallies like a conductor with a racket, storming through the final two games 11-6, 11-5 to win 3-2.
“This has been a big goal for me since I started playing this tournament, so I’m very proud to have got the win,” Robinson said.
“I am so grateful to everyone who has helped me over the past few years to make this sort of result possible.”
The title carried extra weight for Janse van Rensburg, the Growthpoint U17 champion in 2024 and 2025. Her tournament had already taken a bruising turn when KwaZulu-Natal’s Makayla Naidoo beat her earlier in the event, leaving her third in the section.
Naidoo finished second in the U19 women’s division after beating Boland’s Dane Meintjies 3-0, while Janse van Rensburg took third.
Northerns top seed Juan-Corne Brand completed the U19 double act, edging Western Province’s Joseph Feast 3-2 in another five-game furnace.
The scoreboard tells the story: 3-11, 12-10, 12-10, 10-12, 11-6.
Brand squandered a match point in the fourth game, handing Feast a lifeline and sending the contest into a decisive fifth. The Northerns player steadied the ship, seized an early advantage and refused to let his Cape Town rival back through the door.
In the U17 girls’ final, Starla Phillips recovered from an opening-game wobble against Border’s Kate van Biljon to win 3-1.
The left-hander unleashed accurate length into the back corners before applying the finishing touch with a deft short game. Even after surrendering three match points while leading 10-6 in the fourth, Phillips kept her nerve and ended the duel 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 added: “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 an Eden double by beating provincial teammate Ruan Botha 3-0 in the U17 boys’ final.
The championships served up plenty of evidence that South Africa’s junior squash pipeline is producing players with steel, skill and the stamina to survive when rallies become a war of attrition.
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).
