Rwanda Tennis Federation(RTF) president Theoneste Karenzi has said that his office is only aiming to turn the Rwanda Open into a big tournament with a big brand that will, sooner or later, be recognized by the International Tennis Federation. Organized by Rwanda Tennis Federation in partnership with the Ministry of Sports, the just-concluded third edition of the tournament was dominated by Kenyans who took home trophies in men’s singles, women singles, doubles and wheelchair categories. Each winner walked away with USD2500, a prize money that the federation could increase next year, given the fact that more sponsors are interested in sponsoring the tournament. Karenzi said that there are high chances that the prize money will increase because there are sponsors that are interested in sponsoring the tournament. “We are now going to talk to ITF (international Tennis Federation) to recognize our tournament where participants can play for points just like other recognized tennis tournaments. And if ITF allows it, then Rwanda Open will be able to attract more players of high level performance,” he said. “All these are efforts intended to make Rwanda Open a big brand that we hope will grow over and over until it becomes a renowned elite Tennis tournament that can attract big Tennis players. This is how world's big tournaments like the US Open started and now... look how big they’ve become,” he added. A staggering USD30,000 budget worth prizes was allocated in the tournament and the RTF boss revealed that they have enquired the Ministry of Sports to increase the support they give the federation to help them prepare for the tournament.
