Rwanda’s Claude Ishimwe is set to test his home clay court when he opens his fourth consecutive Rwanda Open appearance at the RP Kigali College Tennis Courts on Tuesday, September 29. The 2026 edition of the Rwanda Open will see Ishimwe and fellow Rwandan Etienne Niyigena return to the tournament after securing wild cards that earned them places in the main draw of the tournament being held as a professional M25 event. Ishimwe, 21, will face American Preston Brown on Centre Court at 10am as he looks to make a strong start to his campaign. The day will also feature second seed Florent Bax of France, who will face American Noah Schachter on Court 1 before 11am. ALSO READ: Holders Denolly, Houkes back in Kigali for title defense Rwandan players have struggled to progress deep into the Rwanda Open in recent editions, with reaching the second round proving difficult. Ishimwe was eliminated in the first round last year after losing in straight sets to American prospect Dillon Beckles, while Niyigena also suffered a first-round defeat against Corentin Denolly, a three-time Rwanda Open M25 champion. Both Ishimwe and Niyigena are making their fourth consecutive appearances at the tournament, and they will be looking to use their experience from previous editions to advance beyond the first round and make a deeper run this time. The Rwanda Open will feature two consecutive M25 events, with the first running from September 28 to October 4 and the second from October 6 to 11. Each event carries a $30,000 prize purse, equivalent to approximately Rwf45 million. Tuesday's fixtures Centre Court Claude Ishimwe vs Preston Brown — 10am Allan Gatoto vs Lawrence Bataljin — before 11am Court 1 Yshai Oliel vs Courtney John Lock — 10am Noah Schachter vs Florent Bax — before 11am Court 2 Manuel Plunger vs Cem Christopher Kucukhuseyin Dev Javia vs Lenny Petit — before 11am Court 3 Mayank Sharma vs Toufik Sahtali — 10am
