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by the trio of Kimberly Bhunu, Karen Machisa and Munashe Kaome and they are competing in the Under-14 age-group.
First to play was Machisa and she lost 1-6, 2-6 to Sariaka Radilofe before her teammate Bhunu went down 2-6, 0-6 to Randy Randrianasoloson.
Bhunu then teamed up with Kaome for the doubles, but their combined efforts could not stop them from going down 3-6, 2-6 to their North African opponents. The matches are being played on a round-robin and the top country in this section will progress to the World Junior Tennis finals to be held in Prostejov, Czech Republic, from 5 to 10 August.
Zimbabwe, who are attempting to qualify for the World Junior Tennis finals for the first time, were scheduled to take on South Africa yesterday in their second match.
The teenage girls were, however, bracing for another tough outing as they they usually struggle against the South African and the North African countries which have continued be the dominant force in the continent’s junior tennis.
Apart from competing in the World Junior qualifiers, some of the countries are also fighting for places in the Junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup finals to be held in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, from 24 to 29 September.
Zimbabwe, however, only managed to field the Under-14 girls’ team in the World Junior Tennis qualifiers after the pair of Machisa and Bhunu were invited directly by the International Tennis Federation.
This followed their good shows at the Africa Junior Championships held in Kenya early this year.
They were joined by Kaome as the tournament requires three players to make a team.
The ITF team competitions cater for two age-groups — Under-14 boys and girls and the Under-16s.
Online Reporter