Rwanda’s top tennis players are due to compete in the inaugural Umubano Tennis Open Championships slated for the August 9-15 at Umubano Hotel courts. The week-long competitions will include three categories namely; professionals (male and female), amateurs (men) and juniors (boys and girls). According to organisers, there is a plan of making the tournament an annual contest in a bid to increase the number of competitions for local players. “We want to make this competition an annual event, local tennis needs more competitions and this is how we want to contribute to the growth and development of Rwandan tennis,” Innocent Rukundo, one of the organisers explained. He says the competition is open to only local players and registration started yesterday and will close on Sunday. The Umubano Tennis Open Championship is expected to attract over 100 players. Some of the top players will use the tournament as part of their preparations for this year’s Britam Kenya Tennis Open Championships scheduled for August 16-22 at the Nairobi Club. Rwanda’ top three ranked players Dieudonne Habiyambere (1), Olivier Havugimana (2) and Mathieu Uwizeyimana (3) have confirmed their participation. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
