The Rwanda Tennis Federation (RTF) has organised a tournament for only female players as part of the celebration of the International Women’s Day.

The five-day tournament, scheduled from March 8-12 at IPRC KICUKIRO Tennis courts, is open to women who play amateur Tennis and young women aspiring to play Tennis as part of the federation’s efforts to encourage women to pursue the game as a career.

The tournament is expected to attract between 20 and 30 participants who include new players.

Philbert Ndugu, the Technical Director of Rwanda Tennis Federation and the tournament coordinator, told Times Sport that the tournament seeks to encourage inclusion and promotion of Tennis among women.

"The main purpose of this event is to promote gender balance and equality in Tennis,” Ndugu said in an interview.

A similar tournament for only female Tennis players was organised in December and it motivated the federation to organise more tournaments for female tennis players. 

"We organised a small event in December and it became a success. For that reason, we thought of using the tournament to celebrate women,” he said. 

The event will be closed with a prize-giving ceremony including awarding a trophy and medals to best performing players.