Dear Editor, RWANDA’S under-18 team to the East Africa Junior Tennis Circuit that was organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) has performed dismally. The team only managed to send four players and none went past the first round of the tournament in both Bujumbura and Kampala legs. During the first and second legs in Bujumbura and Kampala, the national side performed badly and was sent packing soon after arrival. We are concerned with this worrying trend where Rwandans have been reduced to spectators as players from neighboring countries win regional honours. The third leg of the circuit began this week in Nairobi and the coach handling the junior side did not identify the areas of weakness so the same rough eliminations have fallen on our youthful players as well. What can we call this? Tennis officials should take the team’s poor show as a wake up call to put things right and stem the tide. Given that these are the players we are grooming for the future, they need to be confident and work hard. The presence of countries like Germany, South Africa, Nigeria and Egypt should instead provide a good experience. Kigali
