With the London 2012 Olympics just around the corner, Zimbabwe’s tennis ace, Cara Black, is eyeing a fourth appearance at the global show piece.

Black (32) who is ranked the fourth-best player in doubles tennis in the world revealed this after being officially presented a floating trophy, a medal and $2 600 for being named the country’s Sportsperson of the year for 2010.

Black could not manage to attend the Annual Sports Awards, sponsored by Delta Beverages in December last year because of a busy schedule on tour.

This was the third time she was receiving the award during her illustrious career which has seen her win all four Grand Slam mixed doubles titles and three of the four Grand Slam titles in women’s doubles.

In an interview after the presentation ceremony which was attended by officials from the Sports and Recreation Commission and the sponsors, Black said: “The International Tennis Federation may give me another opportunity to participate at the next Olympics and it’s something that I would love to do.

“The only problem is I would have to play in the singles because at the moment there are no female players who are up to the standard required.”

Keep Reading

Black, a doubles specialist, was given a wildcard by the ITF to represent Zimbabwe in the women’s singles competition at the Beijing Games in 2008.

This was her third appearance at the games as she had previously represented the country at the Olympic Games in Sydney, Australia, in 2000 before gracing the Games again four years later in Athens, Greece.

With local tennis standards taking a nosedive in recent years, Black’s performances abroad have put the country on the spotlight and she remains one of the country’s sporting icons.

The tennis star who has been playing professional tennis at the highest level for the last 13 years said she has plans to come back home and assist young players in the country after she retires.

“In the future when I retire one of my goals is to give back to Zimbabwe not only in tennis but in any way I can.

“When I’m on tour it’s difficult to manage this as I only have two weeks in a year. However, in the next two weeks I will conduct some clinics and meet with the youngsters,” said Black.

Tennis Zimbabwe vice president Regis Bhunu who was also at the presentation ceremony highlighted that Black always took time to assist the youngsters whenever she was in the country.

“Everytime she comes she spends some time to hit the balls with the kids and every year they look forward to it and we appreciate this a lot as most of the kids are inspired by her,” added Bhunu.