Rwanda’s Calvin Habiyambere kicked off his campaign at the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors (Grade 4) with an impressive win over Ireland’s Cillian Asante Ndilima, becoming the only Rwandan player to make it to the second round of the tournament IPRC-Kigali Ecology Tennis courts in Kicukiro. Habiyambere, 17, beat Ndilima in straight sets 6-3, 6-1 in the first round, to register his first in since playing ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors in 2024. He was among seven Rwandan players who were in the main draw of the tournament first week. The six others were all eliminated in the first round. They include Kevin Rutayisire who was outplayed by second seed American Eaden Zack Harron, in straight sets 6-0, 6-1. Harron won both weeks in the J30 tournaments held in Kigali in April-May. Edson Nshimiyimana was also eliminated by Japanese Kazuki Nakajima following defeat in two sets 6-1, 6-1. ALSO READ: Why Thierry Ntwali is the unsung hero of East and Central African tennis Lincoln Nshuti endured a challenging match against seventh seed Groet Alexander, suffering a heavy 6-0, 6-0 loss. Meanwhile, King Onyx Umuhoza, seeded eighth, showed strong resistance in a tightly contested match in the center court but eventually lost 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 to Salta Exan. In the girls’ singles category, the ITF World Tennis Tour J30 title defender Jannat Chiripal and second seed Shira Dvir both Indians advanced to the next round without having to compete, as their respective opponents failed to show up for their scheduled matches. The tournament continues on Tuesday, August 5, with more matches lined up in both the girls’ singles and boys’ doubles categories. In the girls’ singles, Rwanda’s Thierrine Ineza will face India’s Nandini Kansal, while Kenzy Kabanda will take on Israel’s Karin Ulianitsky in what promises to be a competitive round of action. In the boys’ doubles, Rwanda’s Jedekia Niyibizi and Kevin Rutayisire will play against Ariel Elisha and Itamar Ronen from Israel. Another match will see Elyse Igiraneza (Rwanda) team up with India’s Evan Saha to face the pairing of Tommaso Caucchioli (Italy) and Tyler Tani (Japan). Meanwhile, Edson Nshimiyimana of Rwanda will partner with Uganda’s Jonah Ssentongo for a first round match against Italian duo Amerigo Ambrosi and Matteo Santoro.
