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Ellina Mhlanga Sports Reporter
TENNIS Zimbabwe received another boost as they continue with their efforts to develop the sport in the country, with Stanbic Bank helping the association renovate one of their courts at Harare Sports Club to a tune of $3 000.
The bank assisted with the repair and resurfacing of the tennis court and this comes as a boost for the association, with the Davis Cup tie against Moldova in a Europe/Africa Zone Group II relegation play-off set for the same venue from July 17 to 19.
Stanbic head marketing and corporate affairs Palmer Mugavha said they established a good relationship with TZ over the years.
“We just want to say our relationship with Tennis Zimbabwe goes back seven years and when we were approached by Tennis Zimbabwe their request was to refurbish the tennis courts.
“We have been supporting Tennis Zimbabwe in the past seven years and our support has mainly been sponsoring teams that are mainly going outside the country to participate in international tournaments.
“This year is different in that we focused on infrastructure upgrading and as Stanbic we have looked at the tennis courts. We have upgraded this one tennis court to the tune of $3 000, but there are still several tennis courts that need to be refurbished and we are just appealing to our partners in the corporate world to also come and assist Tennis Zimbabwe upgrade their tennis courts,” said Mugavha.
Mugavha said they had confidence in the way the association was conducting their business and will continue extending a helping hand for the development and growth of the sport.
“Why we have remained with Tennis Zimbabwe for so long is we have got confidence in the way they have run the association.
“They are very professional and their books are audited and as sponsors we get the confidence that when we come in they are going to do the right thing.
“Over the years they have nurtured talent and have managed to raise the game of tennis and continue to attract international tournaments like the recently held Davis Cup.
“Definitely, this is a long-term relationship that we are in with Tennis Zimbabwe. We will definitely continue to support, it’s not a once off thing,” said Mugavha.
TZ president Regis Bhunu hailed Stanbic for their support over the years.
“The continued support which we get from Stanbic is always quite encouraging in the development of tennis. This has been happening over the years and this year we went for a specific item which everyone could see and view to say this is something these people did and we said it’s better we do the refurbishment of courts.
“And the drive to refurbish the courts was to try and make sure that we meet the requirements of the Davis Cup, which is a tournament that we are playing in the country this year.
“We played the first match against Bosnia and we are going to play another one against Moldova.
“And there was a request by ITF that we develop the other courts to meet the standard of the centre court so that the participating teams can have access to practising before the tournament without interference,” said Bhunu.
Bhunu said the courts will also be used for other tournaments, including the upcoming ITF 18-and-Under tournaments scheduled for August.
Meanwhile, the Lock brothers — Benjamin and Courtney — are through to today’s Old Mutual Zimbabwe F3 Futures doubles finals after they prevailed over Arthur Surreaux and Vullnet Tashi 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 10-7 in the semi-finals yesterday.
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