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Ellina Mhlanga Senior Sports Reporter
BASELINE Tennis Academy player Kudakwashe Sandi left the country on Saturday for the United States on a two-year tennis scholarship.
Sandi will be studying accounting at Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey, Illinois, USA.
His coach at the Academy, Stanley Rudhu confirmed the development and said this will help the player pursue his goals.
“It’s a once in a life time chance. He loves his tennis and would not have pursued it further if he had not gotten the scholarship. He is also academically gifted.
“He started tennis at Kwekwe Primary School before joining Baseline Academy. The same Academy that had, at that time, Wendy Rudhu, Hesley Masara, Chido Chimbetete ( all in the USA).
“Despite being the most talented, Kudakwashe did not make a name locally and internationally as he went to Shungu High School, a rural mission school and didn’t get the exposure needed to develop him further. He would only get proper training during school holidays.
“After ‘O’ Level he decided to try his hand at the game again and enrolled with Kwekwe High (the Baseline Academy training base) for his ‘A’ Level. He re-established himself as the best junior player in his province but because of financial constraints he was restricted to mostly tournaments in Midlands.
“Because he had no ITF ranking and UTR (Universal Tennis Rating) points he struggled to get a college to pursue his dream of studying in America until coach Eric Sturgis, the college coach, came across his video on social media
“And he decided with strong recommendations from his associate, Bulawayo-based coach, Zenzo Ndlovu, to take him on board,” said Rudhu.
Rudhu began coaching the player when he was nine and believes he stands a good chance in pursuing his dream in tennis.
The Academy has provided Midlands province teams and schools with the bulk of their players when they compete at various national events. The likes of Kupakwashe Kanyore have played for Zimbabwe, representing the country in the girls Under-12 in 2019.
Online Reporter