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Ellina Mhlanga
Sports Reporter
TENNIS Zimbabwe are confident local junior players will take advantage of the upcoming International Tennis Federation 18-and-Under events set for Bulawayo and Harare between this month and next month.
The national association have been pushing to, at least, have some competitions before the end of the year.
Their efforts have yielded positive results after they got clearance from the Sports Commission to host the international tournaments.
They had been given the green light by the ITF to host three 18-and-Under tournaments but they were waiting for the approval from the Sports Commission, which they now have.
The first tournament is set for Bulawayo from November 30 to December 5.
Tennis Zimbabwe manager, Cliff Nhokwara, said they were grateful for the support from the ITF and the Government.
“Hopefully, there will be no other unforeseen issues that may derail the events. It’s also confirmed that we are in compliance with Government requirements.
“We are starting with Bulawayo, then we have two in Harare. It’s been a difficult year I would say.
“We never thought we would have an opportunity to host ITF events and we never thought we will get this opportunity for our players to get world rankings.
“So, hopefully, the players will take advantage of this and do well, even in the middle of Covid-19.
“We pray that our local players will maximise this opportunity, particularly those looking at going to universities, and looking at getting scholarships.
“A lot of our Under-18s use this to get scholarships,” said Nhokwara.
The first event in Harare will run from December 7 to December 12.
The second gets underway on December 14 and ends on December 19.
“In our discussion with the SRC and ITF we were encouraged to prepare, so I would say we are right on point with our preparations.
“We are ready for Bulawayo and the signing in is likely to start next Friday.
“Then we have qualifiers on Saturday and Sunday, that is on the 28th and 29th (of November),” Nhokwara said.
The tournaments usually attract players from across the world but some of them might not make it due to the current situation.
Meanwhile, the club championships are expected to resume this weekend with a reverse fixture between Harare Sports Club and Old Hararians at Zimbank Sports Club.
Online Reporter