ZIMBABWE tennis player Mehluli Sibanda is in the final stage of preparations for the International Tennis Federation (ITF) events starting next week.
It will be a six-week competition with three phases of two weeks each. The first phase will be in South Africa, the second in Angola, and the last one in Turkey.
Sibanda told NewsDay Sport that the main aim of the ITF is to earn higher rankings on the tennis circuit.
“It's an individual, internationally sanctioned event where you compete with people from different countries and where you can earn Association of Tennis Professionals [ATP] points and improve your ranking,” he said.
Sibanda noted that he had not been in action since the Davis Cup Africa tourney held at Harare Sports Club in Harare, until last week, when he won the Mika Open played in Zambia in October.
"I did play a tournament in Zambia recently, which I won — the Mika Open was from October 21 to 26,” he said.
Talking about his major win since the Davis Cup ouster, Sibanda said winning the Mika Open boosted his confidence to play in the ITF tournaments.
“Winning obviously gives you confidence, and it's what I needed going into this next stretch of tournaments, and I'll just try to build on that,” he said.
- Injury-ravaged Zim relegated in Davis Cup
- Injury-ravaged Zim relegated in Davis Cup
- Sibanda gears for ITF competitions
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Sibanda said that self-sponsorship is a serious constraint in the sports industry, but made it clear that people should strive to make it to the end.
“It's challenging sometimes, and having a sponsor would make it a little bit easier, but you know, we make do with what we have. I'm not really one to complain much,” he said.
Sibanda revealed that he was suffering from a shoulder injury, which sidelined him for a long period.
“Since the Davis Cup, I've been nursing a shoulder injury which has been bothering me for some time now,” he said.
