Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
POOR performances by emerging talent in an African Junior Tennis Championships played on clay in Egypt has left coaches and parents worried about the future of the sport.
A heated exchange ensued between parents and coaches after the early exits, with most questioning the development thrust of Tennis Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe’s emerging players that took part in the 14 and under tournament in Giza were bungled out of the clay tourney in the first-round of the warm-up stage and in the main tournament raising concerns among stakeholders on the future of the sport.
Players that represented Zimbabwe are Tinotenda Chapfika, El Zein Zara, Thandiwe Nkala and Tariro Zhuwakini, who all lost in the first-round of the girls’ main tournament, while in the boys’ category, Dilan Da Silva, Makanaka Whata, Blessing Nhokwara and Dylan Musabaeka performed badly.
Whata made it to the second-round.
Posting in a forum made up of tennis stakeholders, one coach said a lot has to be done to really improve the standard of tennis in Zimbabwe and while it is possible, there is also need to improve preparation when travelling with teams.
Another one suggested that there be an indaba where in-depth analysis of the challenges in the sport are thrashed out.
One parent, however, felt that clay courts affected the players since they are used to playing on hard surfaces in Zimbabwe.
Another stakeholder said it is critical for TZ to establish a national centre to cater for top national players that will work full time with knowledgable coaches to help them to compete on the international circuit.
The stakeholder added that there is a need to create provincial squads and holdnational training camps unlike in current circumstances where each player trains on their own.
They cited lack of coordination between provincial executives and the national executive.
Others suggested that TZ comes up with more local tournaments to cater for those that cannot afford to travel outside the country for tournaments.
“Can we have a system that accommodates both kinds of players when it comes to ranking? What’s the selection criterion for the national team? Can we have a system that stipulates you have to play a certain number of tournaments locally to represent your province, for example. How can we improve our competitive level locally?” one asked rhetorically.
One parent decried the fact that they have been left to foot all bills for their children with no financial input from TZ.
The parent said they were saddened to be reimbursed Covid-19 tests and travel costs by TZ in local currency after the Confederation of African Tennis would have paid them in US dollars.
“I never got my refund for Mauritius 2019 and Tunisia 2021. I got my refund in bond notes after borrowing money from people in US dollars to pay for the ticket. I am still in debt. CAT gave TZ kids’ travel grant in US dollars and I don’t know why it was converted to bond notes,” one of the parents said.
“Parents are also made to pay for the cost of uniforms at US$130 and also for the coaches’ welfare and my question is why can’t TZ look for a sponsor to fund all this.” – @innocentskizoe
Londile Moyo
Bongani Ndlovu