Rwanda is among the 21 countries that will take part in the upcoming Billie Jean King Cup, a tennis tournament that will take place in Vilnius, Lithuania, from June 15 to 19. The competition is named after Billie Jean King, an American former World No. 1 professional tennis player who won 39 Grand Slam titles: 12 in singles, 16 in womens doubles, and 11 in mixed doubles. This year’s edition will feature a number of nations from Europe and Africa, including Algeria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Ghana, Ireland, Kenya, Malta, Montenegro, Namibia, Nigeria, Norway, Rwanda, Uganda, Zimbabwe and more. Rwanda will be represented by women national team, and this will be the first time for the women’s team to take part. Speaking about the tournament, Theoneste Karenzi, the President of the Rwanda Tennis Association (RTF) said he was happy to have the womens national team participate in such a tournament for the first time. During the tournament, nations will be divided into 6 groups. The winners of each group will progress to the playoffs, with the top two teams ultimately gaining promotion to Group II next season. The players who will represent Rwanda are: Meghan Ingabire, Chantal Mutuyimana, Olive Tuyisenge, Sonia Tuyishime and Joselyne Umulisa. The team will be accompanied by Coach Dr Ndejuru Aimable, Nshimirimana Jean Pierre and Ndugu Philbert, a technical officer at RTF. The team departs Rwanda on Saturday night.
