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Nkosilathi Sibanda, [email protected]

THREE of the country’s young tennis sensations have been handed yet another opportunity to shine as they are set for the Africa Junior Teams’ Championships (AJTC), in Tunisia next month.

The trio is made up of top seed Kuzivaishe Chapepa, Akeelah Khanye both from Bulawayo and Kadoma based Rutendo Tom.

This is the team that earlier in January won the Under-14 International Tennis Federation (ITF) and CAT Southern African Junior Individual and Teams Championships in Namibia. At this competition, Chapepa, Khanye and Tom bagged gold in the girls’ team event, beating South Africa 2-0 on a set score of 3-6, 6-1 and 10-7 in the final.

Eight countries will take part at the AJTC and these include the hosts Tunisia, Egypt, Morocco, South Africa, Algeria, Togo, Burundi and Zimbabwe.

The continental event will be used as a qualifier for the World Junior Tennis finals in August.

In a communique sent by the Confederation of African Tennis (CAT), the Africa Junior Teams’ Championships are to be played in a round robin format in five days, from May 5 to 11. Players will be awarded points that contribute to their rankings on the continent and internationally.

“The 14 and Under Teams’ event will be considered as a Grade C tournament. Ranking points will be allocated to the participating players,” read the CAT communique.

It was stated that the winner in the singles will be awarded 250 points for each match won. Players finishing in position two will get 150 points, with victories in the doubles encounter set for 100 points for a win.

Tennis Zimbabwe President Walter Jera said the call up to participate at the African Junior Teams Championships was a sign that the country’s tennis future is assured.

“Our players will be going to Tunisia for the African Junior Teams Championships in May. We wish them all the best. 

“We applaud the fact that tennis in the country is gaining ground at grassroots level, it shows that the future is bright,” said Jera.

Tennis Zimbabwe selector and a member of the Bulawayo Metropolitan Tennis Board, Thesly Mufunda said they are excited at how local junior players were getting recognised in big tournaments.

“This is pleasing to say the least. Bulawayo Tennis is proud to have its players flying the country’s flag high. 

“The fact that these girls keep on playing at higher stages of the game, means that they have the potential to make it to even grander tournaments as they grow,” said Mufunda, who is also the director at Global Athlete Performance Sports.

Chapepa continued with her top notch performance as she reached the semi-finals of the African Junior Championships in Lome, Togo in March this  year. 

Akeelah Khanye was ranked 16th while Rutendo Tom finished at position 21 at the tournament.

At a tournament in Madagascar last month, Chapepa won  gold.