The 2022 Davis Cup by Rakuten Africa Group IV that concluded in Kigali over the weekend produced incredible moments worth enjoying on and off the court. Togo were crowned champions of the tournament after beating hosts Rwanda 3-0 in the promotional playoff final on Saturday at the Ecology Tennis Club/IPRC-Kigali and were as a result promoted to the Group III of the ITF rankings. Delphine Lemsle, the ITF Event Manager, was in Kigali following closely the tournament and was involved in giving out medals to the champions when the tournament concluded in what her third experience was getting involved in organizing ITF tournaments in Africa. She spoke to Times Sport about her experience in Kigali, her impression about the tournament and her recommendations to Rwanda to be able to host more international tennis tournaments. With the Davis Cup Africa Group IV tournament coming to an end, what has been your experience in Kigali? I was in Congo in 2019 for the Davis Cup Africa Group IV event and I had another African experience in Benin in March this year and here in Kigali obviously being the first time ever they organized such an event knowing all the requirements the ITF has in terms of hosting from a sporting point of view to commercial etc. We knew it was a challenge and that’s one of the reasons I am here to help the team figure out a few of the intricacies of the Davis Cup competition and I have to say that it’s been extremely positive, a very good experience. The atmosphere has been really good but there are always a few points to improve and that’s also the reason I am here. From your experience, how can you describe the Davis Cup Africa Group IV tournament in different aspects? I’ve seen very tight balanced ties, some of them I have been very excited about, for instance I loved watching Tanzania and Botswana, the same as DR Congo and Togo, which were also balanced. There was a lot to play for. In terms of refereeing, it’s been good and exciting. The referees have done a great job and I am very happy for them. The noise was high as well, the atmosphere was noisy. It’s been really great and I am very proud that this event was a success. What areas does Rwanda need to improve to be able to host more international Tennis tournaments in the future? The main aspect that needs to be improved to be able to host such an event in the future is the provision of proper changing rooms, because at the moment there is a very small one available at the back of the [Tennis] club but is nowhere near what is required in Davis Cup and I think for any group team event there must be good changing rooms. We’ve been talking with the federation and I know they are going to look into this and we will be helping them and explain exactly what the requirements are so if they can secure the funding they can improve this wonderful venue by having very much needed changing rooms so they can possibly host another Davis Cup in the future. We’ll have proper debrief with the organizing committee here, probably next week [this week], going through all the points, all that is good and all that needs to be improved, this is very much of a collaboration as well. I think ITF is always looking to provide information and teach nations how to organize an event.
