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Descent Dube, Sports Reporter

ZIMBABWEAN representatives Kudzai Chapepa and Brooke Black lost their opening matches in the girls’ Under-12 Tennis Southern African Junior Team Competition at Bulawayo Country Club yesterday.

Chapepa lost her first match 6-1, 6-1 to Jordan Morgan, while Black fell 6-3, 2-6, 7(5)-6 against Amelie Van Zyl.

Black, daughter to tennis legend Wayne Black, is the top Zimbabwean seeded player in the competition.

Her father said the least he could do is to support her achieve her dream of becoming a professional tennis player.

“It’s very important for her to be here because at school they are not getting much tournaments and they have to balance academics and sport. Yesterday (Monday) she lost a close match against a South African, but there’s no rush because she’s only 11 (years old),” said Wayne.

“There are still more matches to play for in this tournament. She always trains and tries to play as much as she can. Hopefully she follows in my siblings footsteps, but I don’t have to put much pressure on her because there’s life other than tennis.” 

He said some parents make mistakes by taking kids out of school, adding that they can burnout when they reach the age of 17.

“It’s also difficult for parents because we want too much for our kids, but we need to try and sit back for a bit to give them freedom to choose what they want and support them. We have to keep that balance and it’s quite easy as long as the kid loves what they’re doing,” he said.

— @DecoDecent2.