2013 was a successful year, says tennis body

RWANDA Tennis Federation (RTF) is proud of its accomplishments in the year 2013 and is looking forward to more success in the coming year, according to a top federation official.“We have achieved a lot this ending year, we are proud of the success we have had. It is also a good opportunity for us to sit down, reflect and set targets for 2014,” federation technical director Fidele Kamanzi Bayama told Times Sport on Sunday.Among the achievements registered in 2013, Bayama said, is the introduction of the Junior Tennis Initiative (JTI) programme that seeks to detect young talent across the country.He also said that the federation managed to successfully host international tournaments, including the IFT Money Circuit and ITF Men’s Futures, in August and October, respectively, during which Rwandans performed fairly well.Money circuit was won by Rwanda’s top ranked player Jean Claude Gasigwa, while Men’s Futures was claimed by Gerard Melzer, from Austria.The sensational rise of the 14-year old star Ernest Habiyambere, who competed at the African junior championships (AJC) earlier this year in Nairobi, Kenya (Where he finished third and earned a one-year scholarship at the high performance centre in Morocco), is also worth celebrating, added Bayama.The youngster joined the North African centre in May.Also, in 2013 Gasigwa won Uganda Tennis Open (in May) and his 7th ITF/CAT money circuit title.However, it was a different story for Davis Cup team who failed to qualify from Africa Group III in Egypt. Rwanda was represented by top seeds Gasigwa, Dieudonne Habiyambere, Mubarak Harerimana and Hamissi Gatete, with former Rwanda number one Slyvain Rutikanga acting as coach.

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2013 was a successful year, says tennis body