Rwanda will soon introduce the sport of road tennis on the streets of Kigali, following an agreement reached with Barbados on Wednesday, November 9. The signing ceremony was presided over by the Minister of Sports, Aurore Munyangaju, and Barbados’ Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Kerrie Symmonds, in Kigali. The sports development agreement, Munyangaju explained, reflects Rwanda’s ambition of becoming a sports tourism hub for the region. The Minister said that at least four places were earmarked to host road tennis courts in Kigali. As noted, Rwanda’s capital city expects to receive various experts in the sport who will be tasked to train Rwandans with interest in the game, as part of the partnership. Road tennis is a variation of tennis invented in Barbados in the 1930s by primarily local working class Barbadians who could not afford to play lawn tennis. Though mainly concentrated in the island nation of Barbados, it was introduced to California and the wider Caribbean. It is often played on public residential roads or at schools, community centers and recreational areas around the island where most road tennis courts are located, either on asphalt or concrete pavement surfaces.
