Uganda and Kenya were on Sunday, May 1, crowned champions of the East African Junior Team’s Competition U-12 after finishing top of their respective categories in the tournament. The tournament attracted junior teams of Tennis players aged 12 and below from five countries including Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania and host nation Rwanda. It’s a tournament that saw Rwandan junior teams outperformed as both boys’ and girls’ teams finished fourth and fifth on the table. Uganda finished top of the boys table ranking ahead of second-placed Kenya with Burundi coming third while Rwanda finished fourth despite playing on home soil as Tanzania finished at the bottom of the table. In the girls’ category, Kenya finished top of the table ahead of Burundi, Uganda, Tanzania and bottom-placed Rwanda. The top three girls’ teams, namely champions Kenya and first and second runners-up Burundi and Uganda will represent East Africa Zone at the 12 & Under African Junior Teams’ Competition (AJTC – 12&U), that will take place in September in a yet-to-be confirmed country. Meanwhile, the Ugandan team which finished unbeaten in the girls’ category en route to winning the regional junior teams’ tournament will represent the regional one at this year’s AJTC – 12&U. The winners from each category were given trophies and medals. Théoneste Karenzi, the President of Rwanda Tennis Federation, which hosted the tourney, said he was impressed by how the tourney was organized and how it went down from the very first day. “I am glad that the tournament was a successful one in all aspects. All countries were represented as anticipated and the teams really enjoyed every moment of the tournament,” Karenzi said. Next up are the U14 and U16 tourneys, both boys and girls, which both take kick off Tuesday, May 3 and run until May 9 at the same Tennis courts in Kicukiro. Like in the U12 tourney, one best performing team from each of the boys’ U14 and U16 will represent the East African zone in the AJTC-U14 and AJTC-U16 while two best girls’ U14 teams and two girls’ U16 teams will represent the zone in the continental tournament.
