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Sports Correspondent
THE planned revival of the Emakhandeni Open Tennis Tournament is likely to be attained next year. Initially the juniors tourney had been set for this month but due to pending school examinations the organisers felt it should be pushed to December when the schools are closed. However, Bulawayo would be hosting the African Union Sports Council Region Five under 20 Youth Games, which will run from 5-14 December.

Tennis tournaments are usually held during school holidays to enable as many junior players as possible to take part. During the August holiday there were several tournaments held in the country including the Bulawayo Open, Tarry-Leigh DeSouza Memorial and International Tennis Federation tournaments in Harare.

One of the organisers of the Emakhandeni Open, Tendai Sibanda said they are still looking for dates this year but it looked like the revival of the tournament would only be possible next year.

“We had hoped to have it in December but with the Youth Games being hosted by Bulawayo, we are most likely to have it next year.
“We will register the tournament and it will be on the tennis calendar for next year to ensure it is accommodated and given space among the various tournaments that are held around the country. We will also lobby for the tournament to award points as a way of attracting more players and also giving Bulawayo tennis juniors a chance to earn national points,” he said.

The Emakhandeni Open was last held over a decade ago. Lack of financial support to host the tourney and the fact that the Emakhandeni tennis courts were in a poor state caused the suspension.

Sibanda, along with his team at the Centre for Tennis Excellence managed to host the inaugural Dumiso Khumalo Memorial Tournament in June at Emakhandeni Tennis Courts that were revived last year. The competition is expected to be an annual event.

Last year’s National Youth Games held in Bulawayo came as a blessing as Zinara offered to repair the courts allowing activity to return at the once-famous venue.
Sibanda said it was critical to have frequent tournaments in the city to ensure young players get more game time and it would be ideal to have a tourney every month.

“I feel we need a tournament every month because it would give the youngsters more time on the courts. If they play against their peers on a more frequent basis, they are more likely to sharpen their skills easily,” he said.

Emakhandeni Tennis Club used to be the catchment area for the sport in the western areas, bringing what was then viewed as an elite sport to previously marginalised, high-density areas.

Tennis is still seen as a sport for the rich with more players emerging from the low-density suburbs than from high-density areas of the city.
Players such as Noel Wadawu, Dumiso Khumalo, Gloria Mpala, Fadzai Madzimbamuto and Matthew Gumbo, were all products of Aaron Mpofu who used to run Emakhandeni and the players went on to hold their own against the best in the country.