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Ellina Mhlanga Senior Sports Reporter
THE curtain came down on the ITF/CAT Southern African Regional Championships at Harare Sports Club on Sunday with South Africa dominating the team competition.
The tennis championships got underway with the individual event from January 7 to 10. It was followed by the team competition that ended on Sunday.
South Africa claimed the 14-and-Under Boys and Girls titles as well as the 16-and-Under-Boys ones. They were placed second in the 16-and-Under Girls section.
Madagascar won the 16-and-Under Girls title while finishing second in the 14-and-Under Boys.
For Zimbabwe, the best team performance was in the 14-and-Under Girls and 16-and-Under Boys sections where they finished second.
Zimbabwe was placed third in the 14-and-Under Boys and 16-Under Girls sections.
Namibia were third in the 14-and-Under Girls competition and Mozambique finished third in the 16-and-under Boys category.
The tournament attracted participants from 11 countries — Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and hosts Zimbabwe.
Tournament director, Linsent Chitiyo, said it was a successful event with over 100 players competing.
He also commended local players for their effort.
“I think overall it was a successful event looking at the acknowledgement and appreciation that is being expressed by the various teams that participated.
“They are quite happy, from the logistics in terms of the accommodation, transport, food and the competitiveness of the matches that they were playing. There was so much excitement on the court.
“Look for us we are very much grateful and we are also appreciative of what the players have done in terms of the standard looking at the fact that we are coming off Covid-19. We didn’t have everyone as active as what we would expect and also looking at the competences within the region.
“South Africa ended the whole of last year playing their national events and the matches are quite competitive and we have also had our local players going to South Africa and compete. They are just looking for more competitive matches in preparations for such events,” said Chitiyo.
One of the coaches for Team Zimbabwe, Martin Dzuwa, said hosting such events is key for the improvement of the quality of the game.
“I think by hosting this event, it brings the game back where it used to be during my playing days or during my Davis Cup time. We used to host a lot of events and that increases the quality of the game and measuring ourselves with the Southern Africa players as well.
“So looking at the Southern Africa players I think we are there, I mean (we are) only struggling with South Africa. I think their set-up is quite good and for me that’s the level I compare with.
“But with other countries we are a little bit ahead of them. The level, the technique and even the coaching staff as well,” said Dzuwa.
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