BY DANIEL NHAKANISO
ZIMBABWE’S top-ranked female tennis player Valeria Bhunu is delighted to return to winning ways after clinching her first singles title on the International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis Tour in almost six years in Monastir, Tunisia, at the weekend.
The 26-year-old capped off a memorable week in North Africa by defeating Japan’s Saki Imamura 6-2, 6-2 in the final of the W15 Monastir tourney, as she came all the way from the qualifying draw to make a long-awaited return to the winner’s circle.
The win was Bhunu’s second singles title on the ITF Women’s Tour and her first since 2015 when she won her maiden title in Stellenbosch, Western Cape province, South Africa.
She attributed her success to the support of her parents and the hard work she has been putting in training at Anthony Harris Tennis Academy in Cape Town, South Africa, where she is based.
“First, it’s really great to be out here playing and competing again. I am very grateful to my parents for the opportunity. Coming into this week, the goal was to compete, work hard and enjoy myself. And I went into every match to do exactly that,” an elated Bhunu told NewsDay Sport yesterday.
“The final result was the best I could hope for of course and I am really happy with my performance. We have been working hard as a team at Anthony Harris Tennis Academy the last couple of months to get me tournament ready again. So I’m just happy the hard work is paying off.”
Despite having to start from the qualifying rounds to earn her spot in the main draw, Bhunu was in excellent form throughout the tournament played on the hard courts at Hotel Skanes Family Monastir on the central coast of Tunisia.
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Bhunu, who reached a career best WTA ranking of 497 in November 2016 before dropping to 1 208 due to lack of regular competition, did not drop a set on her way to victory as she comfortably beat all her opponents in straight sets.
After winning two matches in the qualifiers, she started her campaign in the main draw with a 6-1, 6-0 victory over Alexandra Riley in the first round before registering a 6-2, 6-1 win over Gozal Anitdinova of Kazakhstan in the second round.
In the quarter-finals, Bhunu beat Lithuania’s Andre Lokosiute 6-0, 6-3 before registering identical 6-2, 6-2 wins over the Japanese duo of Yui Chikaraishi and Imanura in the semi-finals and the final, respectively.
Bhunu’s victory in Tunisia came on the back of some impressive individual performances in the Billie Jean King Cup held in Vilnius, Lithuania, last week, where she won all her five singles matches as Zimbabwe maintained their place in the Europe/Africa Group III.
She was accompanied by rising teen stars Tadiwanashe Mauchi and Tanyaradzwa Midzi, who are both 15 and non-playing captain Fadzai Mawisire.
Bhunu, who won the Zimbabwe Open title in 2010 aged only 15, hails from a tennis family, with her father, Regis, having previously served as Tennis Zimbabwe president, while her younger sister, Kimberly, is also a budding tennis star.
Kimberly, who was previously based at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in Paris, France, where she rubbed shoulders with tennis great Serena Williams, is currently enrolled at California Polytechnic State University on a tennis scholarship.
- Follow Daniel on Twitter @danielnhakaniso
