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Ricky Zililo Sports Reporter
THE country’s upcoming tennis players are expected to battle it out in the annual Tarryn-Leigh De Souza Junior Memorial Tennis Tournament set for April 9-11 in Bulawayo.

The sixth edition will be played at the renovated Bulawayo Athletic Club, Girls College and Christian Brothers College, depending on the number of participants.

In 2010, Tennis Zimbabwe turned the Tarryn-Leigh De Souza Memorial tournament into a national competition to be used for national player rankings.

The tournament is meant to celebrate the life of De Souza, one of the best players to come out of Bulawayo who died in 2009 due to heart failure.

It was launched yesterday in the city with officials from the provincial board and family in attendance.

Tarryn-Leigh represented Matabeleland and Zimbabwe in a number of tournaments at the age of 18 when she was ranked third in the country.

She won a scholarship to play and study at Oklahoma Christian University in the United States in 2003 and at the time she was one of the top female players in the land.

Tarryn-Leigh’s mother, Beverly said her daughter’s love for tennis was driving them to bankroll the competition.

She is hopeful that the tournament will attract and give youngsters an opportunity to shine.

“This competition is meant to develop talent, a vision that Tarryn-Leigh had on her return from the United States. She wanted to help upcoming tennis players and as a family we’re very much pleased that the tournament is one of the major events on the Tennis Zimbabwe calendar. We’re also happy that as a family we’re contributing towards shaping athletes’ future,” said Beverly.

Last year the event had over 120 entries with a significant number of participants coming from outside Bulawayo.

Ethan Sibanda beat Anesu Kwirirai 6-4, 6-4 in the boys’ Under-14 final while Phiwo Moyo was the girls’ category champion with the runner-up being Taona Mwandagara.

The Tarry-Leigh de Souza competition will be held after the Bulawayo Open which will run from April 6-8 at the Bulawayo Athletic Club.