Fresh from being readmitted into the International Tennis Federation (ITF) circle, the Zambia
Tennis Association (ZTA) has set out to further it’s ambitions of finding the next “ace” during
the upcoming National Junior National Tournament slotted for
31st May 2025.
The tournament will attract the youth under the age of 18 – according to ZTA this platform
takes place every year, and it is vitally used to rank the efficiency of the players.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the Zambian Business Times (ZBT) ZTA Secretary
General Joe Siame echoed that in the recent past, the tournament has garnered over a 100 youth
and this year the number is expected to increase to above 120. “The tournament has done extremely well in terms of helping us to scout for talent, and so far we can proudly mention the likes of the Mulenga brothers – Gift and Mapalo from Nkana, and Shalom Soko who was in Under 10 last year and now under who are doing extremely well.”
He revealed that even though there is no prize money, the tournament is significant “It gives us
am opportunity to gauge the level of skill of the players, and it gives them a chance to showcase
their skills and talent, we use this tournament to rank our players in terms of selection for national
team events.”
In a country which has a wide gap between skills and facilities, such platforms are essential to the elevation of players, and who knows we might have a star that will beacon at the Billie Jean Tournament or any ITF outing.
