Kenyan tennis players will be hoping for improved performances in the second leg of the Confederation of Africa Tennis (CAT ) under-14 tournament at the Nairobi Club starting Sunday.
Team Kenya had a mixed performance in the opening leg of the event in Kampala. Five players failed to make it to the finals and were relegated to play the classification matches in the four-day championship.
Kenya will be represented by Nancy Kawira, Amani Gikunda and Liya Gikunda in the girls' category with Bulsara Reyan and Vihaan Bulsara featuring in the boys' category.
Lia Gikunda reached the quarterfinals in Kampala, losing to Zimbabwe's Chapapa Kuzivalasha 6-1, 6-0 while in the boys' category, Bulsara Vihaan bowed out in the second round to Byanhanga Abrose of Uganda 6-3, 6-2.
Speaking on Thursday, Kawira expressed confidence that playing at home will be a good boost for the team to make it to the finals on home soil.
"Yes, Kampala was tough and we had a mixed performance. However, playing in the second leg at home will be vital for us and we will see good results," she noted.
Vihaan said he will be aiming to go further in the tournament by at least reaching the semifinals.
"There are a couple of areas in my play I need to improve on and I have worked on them in the past two days to ensure I am sharper and quicker by the time the tournament starts on Sunday,” he added.
The week-long tournament will bring together players from Uganda, Zimbabwe, Egypt and Nigeria among others.
Tennis Kenya executive officer, Nancy Nduku, said preparations for the week-long championship are complete.
“We expect over 100 players from five countries and everything is in place to ensure we have a successful tournament for the under-14 category."
