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Brandon Moyo, Sports Reporter

AN International Tennis Federation (ITF) South Central Circuit Zimbabwe Leg 6 Tournament is taking place in the country from November 25 to December 10 with Bulawayo being awarded the privilege of being the host city.

The matches at Bulawayo Country Club will be part of the ITF World Tennis Juniors Tour, a development tour that provides players aged 18 and under the opportunity to travel the world and finetune their talent.

Players that have so far registered for the tournament will be drawn from countries such as Australia, Austria, Botswana, Burundi, France, Britain, Denmark, Ireland, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, United States of America and Zimbabwe.

tennis

The draw will comprise 98 players, 32 males and as many females for singles, 16 males as well as the same number for the doubles event. A total of 16 Zimbabwean players will participate in the tournament.

Speaking at a Press conference, tournament director and Bulawayo Metropolitan Tennis Board (BMTB) chairperson, Tarwirwa Chikunichawa said they are hoping to be hosting such tournaments on a regular basis as they are looking at promoting sports tourism in the country.

“For us when we look at it as Tennis Zimbabwe (TZ) on sports tourism, it’s actually going to be one of those things that we will try to push every year just to have these events come to Zimbabwe as we try to promote sports tourism.

“It’s also an advantage for Bulawayo that we are hosting this event, it also allows most of our local junior players that cannot afford to travel internationally to play these events,” said Chikunichawa.

Having hosted such tournaments before, Chikunichawa said such events will allow their players to gain enough points that will increase their international rankings.

TZ convener of selectors and BMTB vice chairperson, Thesly Mufunda said the tournament will provide good exposure for the province’s youngsters who do not travel out of the country a lot.

“For the province, one good thing about having this tournament is that our youngsters, some of them don’t travel as often as we would want them to so when they see some of these top juniors coming to play here, it’s easier for you to watch on TV and see top players and you think maybe the dream is far-fetched but when you see people your age or peers closer you then can see that it’s actually a possibility to play that high level and they also get a chance to interact with some of these juniors who have been travelling all over playing to find out how are they playing and how do they do it.

“So, it works out as a motivator and also an opportunity for more of our Bulawayo players to participate and get a chance to play with these players who are at a higher level,” said Mufunda.

International Tennis Federation

In a statement, TZ general manager Kupakwashe Mukurumbira wished success to Zimbabwean players and invited people to come in numbers to watch tomorrow’s stars battle it out.

“Allow me to invite everyone in Bulawayo and those in Bulawayo to come watch the future tennis stars battle at Bulawayo Country Club. Allow me to wish success to our Zimbabwean Tennis Players,” read the statement.
The ITF World Tennis Juniors Tour provides a launchpad for the best players to go on and achieve success in the professional game. – @brandon_malvin