South-African Jason Fogle sets his eyes on second FISU World University Games

The upcoming tennis player from Stellenbosch University was recently selected to represent South Africa for the second time at the FISU Games in Germany, from 16 to 27 July.

Having represented South Africa internationally at the FISU World University Games (WUG) in Chengdu, China in 2023; Fogle is no stranger to wearing the green and gold. After his selection, he expressed his determined attitude when donning the country’s colours: “It is a privilege to represent South Africa. When you are playing you are not just representing yourself but your whole country. When playing at international tournaments the level is extremely high, the matches are always going to be tough. However, representing South Africa makes the experience a lot more meaningful and important, which makes you fight so much harder for the match.”

Learning from other student-athletes

Fogle has fond memories of the last FISU World University Games in Chengdu, stating that it was one of the best experiences he has ever had. “It is so different from playing a regular tennis tournament as you have so many athletes playing different sports around you constantly and just being able to learn from them was amazing,” said Fogle. At his second WUG, the seasoned athlete plans to do one thing differently: prioritise his nutrition by fuelling his body with what is best for it.

The 22-year-old who is currently studying a Postgraduate Diploma in Accounting (PGDA) at Stellenbosch University recalls originally starting to play tennis at the tender age of six. “As I grew older, I started taking private lessons and increasing the amount of time I was playing. My parents encouraged me to play many different sports, such as rugby, soccer and golf. But at 1,4 I decided to focus on my tennis, simply for the reason that it was my favourite sport to play and I had more of a passion for it,” he said.

Jason Fogle (right, with his training partner) poignantly shares his biggest lessons he has taken from his budding tennis career so far: “Tennis has taught me many things such as being disciplined, handling pressure moments and being resilient. With tennis I have had the opportunity to travel the world and experience different countries, cultures and make great friends.”

As Team South Africa conclude their final preparations, Fogle has been balancing studies and training but recently finished his exams and can give his full attention and focus to competing at the Games. In Germany the teams will be playing on clay courts, Fogle and his teammates have been training slightly differently than usual in preparation for clay as there are mainly hard courts in South Africa – the team will have a final training camp on clay in Potchefstroom in early July to acclimatise before they travel to compete at the games in mid-July.

Alcaraz and Sinner make him push harder in fitness training

He has also gotten a taste of what epic encounters can take place on a clay court, the recent Roland-Garros final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner had Fogle commenting that was “insane tennis to watch”. He went on to express his adoration for the two young tennis stars: “What is so crazy for me as a player to watch, is not only that they were playing such a high level of tennis, but the fact that they can play that well for 5 hours and 29 minutes is actually insane. By watching those athletes for so long makes me push harder in fitness training.”

Fogle who named his favourite tennis player as the world-renowned Roger Federer and mentions that Novak Djokovic motivates him as a player for still being able to do so much at his age (37) to fight back in matches, Fogle insists that as a player he has no excuse to do any less.

Fogle has a lot to look forward to in Germany: “I am looking forward to playing in the stadium especially on clay. European clay is so unique to play on and it’s always a great experience. I am looking forward to staying in the village with all the other athletes and to experiencing the German culture as well as meeting international athletes from all over the world. I am also excited to do some sightseeing and explore Germany,” he concluded.

Written by Kimara Singh Ruiters, pictures courtesy of Jason Fogle