Carine Nishimwe emerged triumphant in the 2024 Women's day tennis tournament, held at Kigali Ecology Tennis Club from March 15-17.

The three-day event, organized as part of the women's month celebrations, showcased talent across three categories: women professionals, women amateurs, and Mixed Doubles.

In a thrilling final match, Carine Nishimwe secured victory in the Women's Professionals category by defeating Sonia Tuyishime two sets to one (6-4, 6-7, 10-5) in a closely contested match . Despite lacking adequate preparation, Nishimwe expressed her surprise and gratitude for her win.

ALSO READ: New initiative to engage more women in tennis launched

"I didn't really expect to beat Sonia because I hadn't had enough training sessions before the competition," Nishimwe admitted. She gave me a hard time during the game, but I put in much effort and, in the end, I bounced back to win."

Nishimwe also extended her appreciation to the organizers, particularly Philbert Ndugu, for their commitment to promoting women's participation in tennis.

Philbert Ndugu, president and founder of Ingenzi Initiative, an NGO dedicated to empowering youth and women through various programs including sports, emphasized the significance of bridging the gender gap in tennis.

"The idea of organizing the Women's Day competition stemmed from my involvement with talent detection at the Rwanda Tennis Federation. There's a notable gap between male and female tennis players in every country, and we believe we can address this in Rwanda by encouraging more girls to engage in the sport," Ndugu said.

He further elaborated, "The competition is an annual event, and this marks our second edition. We aim to celebrate women as Women's Day falls in March."

In other categories, Aimé Sabrine Shyirambere emerged victorious over Kate Nansiima in the Amateurs final, while Sonia Ishimwe and Cyrille Kayiranga secured the Mixed Doubles title by defeating Aime Sabrine Shyirambere and Fidel Kamanzi.