Dar players tipped to excel in Junior World Tennis Series 

21Mar 2023
Joseph Mchekadona
Dar es Salaam
Sport
The Guardian
Dar players tipped to excel in Junior World Tennis Series 

TANZANIA Tennis Association (TTA) says the country has junior players that can cause an upset in the coming Junior World Tennis Series (JWTS), which will take place in Bulgaria if they prepare well.

Junior tennis player, Isando John, hits a return to an opponent in the boys' singles tie of the BQ Junior Open tournament which took place at the Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club (DGC) recently. PHOTO: CORRESPONDENT JUMANNE JUMA

Francis Thomas, TTA's newly elected president, revealed in an interview held during the conclusion of the showdown's qualifiers that took place at Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club (DGC) on Sunday.

He said the one-week tournament which has attracted 53 players from across the world has shown that Tanzania has good tennis players.

The top three youngsters in each category will battle it out in the tournament's finals slated for early June in Bulgaria.

Thomas, however, could not disclose the names of the players who will travel to Bulgaria, saying there are other logistics his association is working on.

He challenged local junior tennis players to make full use of the Bulgaria tournament.

"We are happy with the level of commitment shown by our players, the quality was just awesome, the Bulgaria tournament presents an opportunity for the Tanzania team's players to leave a mark in tennis history, when you go there fight for mother Tanzania," he told the youngsters.

The TTA president disclosed that they are looking for companies, institutions, and tennis stakeholders to sponsor the team's trip to Bulgaria.

The official stated: "We need more money given in the JWTS tournament every player is supposed to have his/her coach."

"In some cases, a coach can take charge of more than a single player, but one coach per player is recommended, so we will need a lot of money."

"We ask tennis stakeholders, the cooperate world, and institutions to support us financially," he said.

Tanzania is the first African country to host the JWTS tournament.

Speaking at the tournament's launch at DGC on Sunday, JWTS president Thomas Schulze said through the tournament youngsters play more matches as they battle it out in age categories of U-12, U-14, and U-16, doubles, and mixed doubles.

He said JWTS is a federation that is operating alongside the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and it has its set of laws, rules, and regulations.

In JWTS matches, players have the opportunity to on-court coaching and there are round-robin format clashes, among others.

Schulze pointed out: "Tanzania is the first country in Africa to host the JWTS tournament, we have 53 kids who will participate in the six-day event."

The JWTS official noted: "The players come from the United States of America (USA), Spain, Russia, India, Malawi, Kenya, Uganda, and the host Tanzania."

Other JWTS tournaments for this year will be held in Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, Austria, United Arab Emirates (UAE)Indonesia, Egypt, Morocco, and Uzbekistan.

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