Rwanda’s top-ranked player Claude Ishimwe and Sonia Tuyishime claimed the men’s and women’s professional singles titles at the 2026 I&M Bank Open Tennis Tournament, which concluded at Cercle Sportif de Kigali on Sunday. ALSO READ: I&M Bank Rwanda takes diaspora engagement to Poland and Côte d’Ivoire Ishimwe overcame Etienne Niyigena in a gruelling three-set encounter, with his opponent retiring midway through the deciding set. The match ended 5-7, 6-4, 4-0 in favour of the top seed, who secured the men's professional singles crown. It was a tough game. I think we played for over two hours, and I sweated every minute to secure this victory. However, I cannot fail to congratulate Niyigena for putting up such an amazing performance in the final, Ishimwe said. In the women's professional singles category, Tuyishime secured the title after defeating Carine Nishimwe in straight sets, winning 6-4, 7-5 in the final. The I&M Bank-powered tournament, which began on October 26, attracted 177 players who competed in several categories, including men's amateur singles, men's doubles, mixed doubles, boys' and girls' Under-16, and men's and women's professional singles. Richard Munyaneza and Alphonse Uwizeye won the men's amateur doubles title after defeating Jean Emile and Antony Hanchez 6-3, 6-4 in straight sets. In the amateur mixed doubles category, Antony Hanchez and Elise Fetas claimed the title after overcoming Eric Pohlman and Margaret Vernon 6-1, 7-6(3). Speaking at the awards ceremony, I&M Bank Rwanda Chief Executive Officer Benjamin Mutimura commended the participants for their performances and reaffirmed the bank's commitment to supporting tennis development in the country. I thank all the players for their resilience throughout the tournament. As I&M Bank, we also reaffirm our continued commitment to supporting tennis, Mutimura said. ALSO READ: I&M Bank takes business skills, affordable loans to Muhanga women entrepreneurs Rwanda Tennis Federation (RTF) President Théoneste Karenzi said tournaments that bring together players from different categories provide an important platform for identifying and nurturing emerging talent. As a federation, we are delighted to see tournaments that bring together players from all categories, starting with juniors and including amateurs. With partners like I&M Bank supporting Rwandan tennis, taking the sport to the global stage is possible, Karenzi said. In the men's amateur singles category, Innocent Rukundo defeated Cole Karekezi 6-4, 6-2 to claim the title, while Tono Mayumi dominated Sophia Kaufmann 6-0, 6-0 in the women's amateur singles final. In the Under-16 category, Maombi Ishimwe won the girls' title after beating Sheja Mugabo 6-4, 6-1. Meanwhile, Ganza Izere claimed the boys' Under-16 title after overcoming Remmy Ndizeye in a three-set encounter, winning 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.
