Rwandan duo Junior Hakizumwami and Gisele Umumararungu were crowned champions of the 2023 Cogebanque Tennis Open that concluded Saturday, July 15, at Cercle Sportif de Kigali (CSK).
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Hakizumwami, 16, was declared winner of the tournament after his opponent Ernest Habiyambere was forced to walk off the court before the end of the third set of the men singles final after suffering a should injury.
Habiyambere had started brilliantly in the final, taking the first set 6-2 but Hakizumwami bounced back to win second set 6-4 to level the tie.
Tennis lovers were witnessing an entertaining final from the national team duo as they played the first two sets with taking home a set and while they were waiting to watch who would take home the decisive set, it was Hakizumwami who took it and was hence crowned champions after Habiyambere sustained a shoulder injury that forced him out of the court.
The youngster, however, didn’t celebrate the win as part of showing respect to his injured opponent.
"I can’t say that I’m happy at my maximum because my colleague went out injured but I hope he will be fine for the upcoming Davis Cup,” said Hakizumwami.
"It’s was difficult for me in the first set because I didn’t start well but in the second one I tried to cope with the game intensive and manage to comeback,” he added.
Umumararungu, meanwhile, won the title in women’s category after beating 2022 champion Olive Tuyisenge 2-0 (6-3, 6-3) in the final.
"I’m happy for this win,” said Umumararungu. "I played against a tough player but I managed to win. Tuyisenge is my friend, she won last year, so today was my turn and it was an amazing competition... thanks to Cogebanque.”
Organized by CSK Tennis Club in partnership with Cogebanque, the annual Tennis tournament, which was in its seventh edition, kicked off Friday, July 7, and concluded Saturday, July 15, attracting over 150 Tennis players from different national tennis clubs and three regional clubs from Uganda, Burundi and Kenya.
Clubs represented at the tournament include CSK Tennis Club, Nyarutarama Tennis Club, APR Tennis Club, Remera Tennis Club, Kanombe Tennis Club, Butare Tennis Club, Musanze Tennis Club, CIMERWA Tennis Club, as well as clubs from Uganda, Burundi and Kenya.
Besides men and women’s professionals, there were also participants who competed in mixed doubles (amateur and professional), juniors (men and women) and wheelchair categories.
Marie von Kirchman and Karel Van Roey won the singles amateur trophies in men and women categories.
Mimi and Christian won doubles amateur while Emmanuel Hakizimana and Yvonne Imanishimwe emerged victorious in wheelchair category.
Winners from each category were given trophies and medals.
This was the seventh time that Cogebanque Tennis Open was happening which bank CEO Guillaume Ngamije Habarugira described definitely a success.
"It was a great week of sports and entertainment. Our ambition goes with the well-being of people that’s why we organize this tournament every year to meet and interact with our customers,” said Habarugira.
"We thank Cercle Sportif de Kigali Tennis Club for this important partnership and we look forward to future collaborations. I encourage Tennis players and supporters to use Cogebanque inclusive financial services that are accessible, essential, and affordable,” he added.
Eric Kabeza, the tournament director, hailed the bank’s continued partnership and the contribution it plays to the development of Tennis at large.
"This is our seventh time partnering with Cogebanque in organizing this tournament. It has been a success on every detail, we had many people who wanted to compete in this year’s edition but only 150 qualified after passing some preliminaries and we expect an even bigger number next year,” Kabeza said.