Rwandan representatives Olive Tuyisenge and Chantal Mutuyimana put up dominant displays against Angola’s Gabriela Martins and Miriam Tuluca on Thursday to restore Rwanda’s hopes of securing a top finish in the ongoing 2023 Billie Jean King Cup, Africa Group lV tournament. Rwanda dropped points in Group A table rankings on Tuesday after Gisele Umumararungu and Mutuyimana each slumped to shock defeats against Tanzania’s Martin Shana Mao and Mohamed Ester Nankulange respectively in singles category before Tuyisenge teamed up with Umumararugu to win the doubles 2-1 (6-2, 4-6, 7-5) against Tanzania. The results saw Rwanda drop to third in the table, behind Ethiopia and Tanzania. Tuyisenge came back to the Kigali Ecology Tennis Club clay court in a positive mood on Thursday, beating Martins 2-0 (6-1 6-2) before her teammate Mutuyimana also proved too dominant against Tuluca with a 2-0 (6-1, 6-1) comfortable victory in Rwanda’s Game 2 of the day. The presence of the home crowd became the duo’s source of motivation and they repaid their fans’ support and faith with victories. READ ALSO: Billie Jean King Cup: Rwandans struggle against Tanzania “It was not an easy game, we played well and that’s why we got this victory,” Tuyisenge said after the game. “We coach told us to play our game, so we can enjoy it, the crowd was amazing and we are confident because of this first game victory. It is very encouraging to win the first game rather than trying to come back from behind,” she added. A total of 11 African countries are in the country for the Billie Jean King Cup 2023 which is taking place on the African continent for the first time. Officially opened on Monday, June 5, the one-week long tournament attracted female tennis players from Angola, Congo, DR Congo, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mozambique, Senegal, Tanzania and Rwanda who won the hosting rights for the tournament’s inaugural edition.
