adminBULAWAYO junior tennis players held their own against opponents from other provinces in competitions held recently in Harare. The capital played host to the Harare Junior Open from 26 to 29 April, which was immediately followed by the Zimbabwe Juniors Closed tourney which ran from 30 April to 3 May.
Bulawayo had a contingent of 16 players who took part at the competitions and most managed to advance to the final stages of the tournament while others came out tops in their categories.
Tanya Magunje, Tinaye Muzenyi, Zandile Mguni, Tanaka Chabata, Ethan Sibanda, Nicole Matukutire, Tinashe Hwata, Mengesi Sibanda and Lyle Zilomaus all finished in the top four of their age groups in the competitions, which was a good showing by the youngsters.
Local tennis coach, Adam Joelson, who accompanied the players to the two tournaments, said he was pleased with the performance of the players and the results showed they were improving.
“I think the players put up a great show, most of them did well even though others did not compete in both tournaments.
“I know there has been a view that our players are still not good but they are matching the national standards, both competitions represent the best in local tennis talent and if nine of our players managed to feature in the final four of their competitions it is a great sign of improvement,” he said.
Mengesi took top honours in the under-8 green ball category, which was played on a round robin basis; Ethan walked away the winner in the under-10 boys section while Nicole Matukutire came second in the under-10 girls of the Zim Closed.
Zilomaus came out in the top four of the under-12 section, crashing out in the semifinals while Chabata took the trophy in the under-14s boys beating Andrew Kunaka 7-5, 6-1. St Columbus pupil, Hwata came second in the under-16s losing to Andrew Chigadzira 6-4, 6-3 in the final.
Bulawayo Open champion, Magunje was the runner-up in the under-16 girls section, coming second to Rudo Mahachi who claimed the top prize. Girls College pupil, Muzenyi was runner-up in the under-18 section of the Zim Closed while in the boys’ category Chris Sibanda came fourth.
Mengesi emerged the winner again in the Harare Open while Zandile Mguni took third place in the under-14 section. However, Magunje lost in the semi-finals in a category that featured under-16 and 18 players in one section.
Magunje outlined her talent early last month when she won the Bulawayo Closed as she overcame Rutendo Makamure 6-3, 6-0.
Joelson said they would be preparing for the Bulawayo Open and Tarryn-Leigh De Souza Memorial tournaments scheduled for the August school holidays.
Two other tournaments, which are aimed at taping talent in the high-density suburbs of Bulawayo, the Emakhandeni Open and the Dumiso Khumalo Memorial, are set to be held in the coming three months.
Some of the matches for the two competitions would be held at Emakhandeni Tennis Courts, which received a facelift last year when Bulawayo played host to the National Youth Games.
The courts had been run down and this led to little action taking place at the courts. Concern was raised over inactivity at the venue which had led to a sharp decline in the number of players coming from the western suburbs.
Hosting the finals at Emakhandeni is meant to arouse interest from people in the surrounding areas and attract more youngsters to the sport.
Emakhandeni Open and Dumiso Khumalo Memorial are being organised by local businessman Tendai Sibanda in conjunction with the Bulawayo Metropolitan Province Tennis Board.
More game time is likely to see tennis players improving their skills as they face more opposition and playing more matches.
Online Reporter