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Ngqwele Dube, Sports Correspondent
LOCAL junior tennis players will get a chance to earn International Tennis Federation points when Zimbabwe plays host to three Under-18 tournaments with the first one starting tomorrow at the Harare Sports Club.
The first ITF 18 and under South Central circuit tournament will run until 4 August with the second leg running from 6 August to 11 August and the third event kicks off on 13 August and ends five days later.
Tennis Zimbabwe (TZ) administrator, Cliff Nhokwara said the tournaments present local players with a great opportunity to earn points and feature in world rankings.
He said the tourneys will give players a chance to have a feel of facing international opposition as there will be players from countries such as the United States of America, South Africa, Hong Kong, Germany, Egypt, Madagascar and India.
“The tournaments are critical in giving us (TZ) a chance to groom players as they get a feel of international competition. Players get noticed when they climb the world rankings so this is a great opportunity to also earn points.
“Players might find it difficult to travel to play outside the country but when we have the tournaments here, the costs are lower hence more players are able to take part,” said Nhokwara.
He said local players that include Thabo Ncube, who goes into the tournament as the highest seeded local player at number seven, Tanaka Chabata, Tinashe Taruberekera, Anesu Kwirirai and Tinashe Whata in the boys’ section will be challenged to emulate Mehluli Sibanda, who dominated the tourney last year featuring in all the three finals.
Sibanda won two singles titles and a similar number of doubles with his Kenyan partner Sheil Kotecha in last year’s three-legged South Central circuit and the feat saw him climb 58 places from number 194 to a career-best world ranking of 136.
Local players will be hard-pressed to carry the torch and ensure they shine in the events.
The boys will be up against top seed, South African Pierre Malan, second seed, Khololwam Montsi also of South Africa and third seed, India’s Dev Javia among other foreign players.
Fourteen-year-old Lyle Zaloumis and Bennedict Badza among other local players will take to the qualifying draw hoping to secure a place in the main draw that kicks off tomorrow.
In the girls’ section, Kimberly Bhunu is the highest seeded local player at position 12 followed by Rufaro Magarira at number 13 while America’s Sasha Wood is the top seed followed by South African, Myah Petchey and Egypt’s Amira Badawi is third.
Girls hoping to make it into the main draw through the qualifiers include Claire Machisa, Munashe Bera, Nicole Matukutire and Nandi Munyulwa.
The first two events are Grade 4 tournaments with the last one being a Grade 3 competition. Grades differentiate the number of points awarded to players with a Grade 3 event having more points on offer than a Grade Four one.
Online Reporter