Andrew
THE story of Sasha Chimedza looks certain to be a talking point among local tennis enthusiasts for some time to come, as she continues to make waves in her budding career.
At 14 and excelling beyond her age, Chimedza is being touted as the next queen of Zimbabwe tennis, a crown held for many years by the now-retired Cara Black.
Arguably the best female tennis player to emerge from Zimbabwe, Black was primarily a doubles specialist, winning 60 WTA and 11 ITF titles in that discipline.
The young prodigy has now set her sights on following suit.
She is part of the 13 tennis junior girls who received grants of up to US$25 000 from the International Tennis Federation (ITF) as a contribution towards competition-related costs, with the aim of aiding their development in professional tennis and enabling them to compete at Grand Slam tournaments.
Chimedza told The Sunday Mail Online that she was grateful to ITF for setting the platform for her tennis career to flourish.
“It means a lot and I am very thankful for receiving this opportunity, and this will help me play more tournaments and travel to a lot of places around the world,” she said.
“This will also prevent stress on my parents for the financial side of the sport, since I haven’t been receiving any financial sponsorship.
“My parents were responsible for all the finances and we have been working so hard to commit to travelling to tournaments.”
Chimedza, who is based in South Africa, is currently ranked sixth in Africa and 172nd on the ITF junior world rankings.
“I have played a lot of ITF tournaments since 2020, the competition has a lot of tough opponents out there and the environment is always tough, so it’s been a tough journey.
“I obviously want to play more tournaments and hopefully win the HAC that’s coming up soon, and, in the future, win the Grand Slam. I know getting there is not easy, but there is a lot of improvement that needs to be done.
“I have to be more mentally tough on court and everyday practice in order to reach there,” she said.
Chimedza, who trains at the Anthony Herris Academy in Cape Town, is now set to be part of the ITF junior development programme, which will see her competing in a number of top international junior tournaments around the world, including junior Grand Slam events.
Online Reporter