A total of 166 junior tennis players have entered the 2011 Harare Junior Closed Tennis Tournament which will be hosted by the Harare Metropolitan Province Tennis Board in the capital starting on Saturday.
The draw for the tournament is set for Friday at Harare Sports Club before the tournament serves off tomorrow at Old Hararians Sports Club, Prince Edward, St Georges College and Harare Sports Club. It ends on Sunday.
The tournament director Linsent Chitiyo said the tournament was reserved for players from the Under-12, Under-14, Under-16 and Under-18 age groups based in Harare.
“There has been an overwhelming response from young players in the capital that shows the number of children taking up the sport continues to increase, which is quite pleasing.
“This tournament is meant for players in the Under-12, Under-14 for both boys and girls and we will combine the Under-16 and Under-18s for both boys and girls as well.
“The Harare Selection Committee will use the tournament to select players who will represent the province in the Dunlop and Brooks inter-provincial tournament scheduled for August in Mutare,” said Chitiyo who is also a provincial coach for the Harare Metropolitan Province Tennis Board.
Chitiyo said they expect some tough competition between players as the young players from the capital battle to accumulate ranking points ahead of the provincial championships.
“The competition is going to be stiff. Players will be gunning for ranking points and there are no clear favourites as all players have equal chances of winning in their age groups,” said Chitiyo.
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Some of the top junior players who will take part in the tournament include Tadiwa Mberi, who won the Under-16 title during the recently held Mid Term tournament. Rumbidzai Ugaro, Kimberley Bhunu, Munashe Kaome, Tinotenda Alufeyo and Luca Picci are some of the players.
