Chronicle Editor
Nkosilathi Sibanda, [email protected]
RISING Zimbabwe tennis star Kuzivaishe Chapepa is now the Confederation of African Tennis (CAT) number one ranked Under-14 player, in what is an indication of the success of grassroots sport development in the country.
Chapepa recently won gold in Under-14 girls’ competition at the just ended CAT and International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) Southern African Junior Individual and Teams Championships in Namibia. In the players’ classification list released by CAT this week, Chapepa, who hails from Bulawayo, has earned 1 825 points and leads the list of 157 players. Another Zimbabwean player in the top 10 list is Emmly George at position six with 1 085 points.
Akeelah Khanye, also from Bulawayo is ranked at number 12 on 646 points. Other local players on the girls’ Under 14 list are Mufaro Ruwanza at position 36 with 194 points and Rutendo Tom at 44th on 170 points.
Chapepa’s achievement was met with excitement from the local tennis circles. Tennis Zimbabwe issued a statement on various social media platforms saying in Chapepa there is a star in the making.
“Congratulations to Kuzivaishe Chapepa who won gold in the Under-14 Girls Individual Event at the ITF/CAT Southern Africa Zonal Championships that were hosted in Namibia. Kuzivaishe is now ranked number one in Africa based on the Confederation of African Tennis ranking. Superstar in the making,” read the statement.
Reacting to the performance, Chapepa’s father, Fradreck told Zimpapers Sports Hub on Thursday afternoon that her daughter had worked hard to attain the status.
“She has a bright future ahead. There were days on end when she would just concentrate on her training. She worked hard at it and it is paying off.
“What we wish as her parents is for her to scale dizzy heights and go on to play professionally and continue flying the country’s flag high. I encourage her to aim higher. This is not the end, more is yet to come,” said Chapepa.
He heaped praise on Tennis Zimbabwe and the Sport and Recreation Commission.
“We say thank you to the Sports and Recreation Commission and Tennis Zimbabwe for the support.
“The young tennis ace trains with Curro Hazeldean Academy in South Africa during school holidays. Locally she is under Thesly Mufunda’s Global Athlete Performance Sports. Mufunda was overjoyed at the news.
“As Global Athlete Performance Sports we are proud of Kuzivaishe. Indeed she is a rising star. Her achievement is deserved. She is a hard worker,” said the tennis coach who is based in Bulawayo.
Chapepa’s stock rose at the ITF/CAT Namibia tour where in the final match she beat South African Jordan Edwards in straight sets 6-2, 6-1.
She had started off on a bye in round one and went to the second match to face Anna Chan Kwai Siong whom she beat 6-2, 6-1. The player advanced to the quarter-final stage and won 6-2, 5-7, 10-5 and then beat South African Nikilitha Ndungane 6-0, 6-2 in the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Tennis Zimbabwe congratulated the whole of Team Zimbabwe players who participated at the CAT/ITF Southern African Junior Individual and Teams Championships in Namibia. – @NkosieLegend
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