Rwanda's Junior Hakizumwami and Burundi's Allan Gatoto clinched the men’s doubles trophy at the ITF world juniors' tennis tour after defeating Poland's Wiktor Jez and Juliusz Stanczyk in a thrilling final held on Friday, August 16, at the IPRC Kigali court. The dynamic duo showcased remarkable resilience, winning the match 7-6(5), 7-5. ALSO READ: Tennis: Burundi’s Gatoto advances to ITF juniors’ semi-finals In the singles category, Gatoto continued his impressive run, reaching the final after a hard-fought semifinal victory over Wiktor Jez. Gatoto edged the Polish player in a marathon match, prevailing 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-5. He will now face another Polish contender, Juliusz Stanczyk, in the final on Saturday. Stanczyk advanced to the final by defeating Canada’s Jay Lin Gibson 6-2, 5-7, 4-6. On the girls’ side, Turkey’s Nadine Hamrouni and Belgium’s Anouk Vandevelde will battle it out in the singles final. Hamrouni earned her spot by overcoming Russia’s Leila Akhmetova 6-4, 6-2, while Vandevelde dispatched India’s Ishi Maheshwari in a three-set contest, winning 6-2, 4-6, 6-1. The ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors, a Grade 4 tournament for players under 18, runs from August 12 to 24, with matches scheduled over two weeks—August 12-17 and August 19-24. This tournament provides young athletes the chance to earn valuable points toward their professional rankings, with 60 points awarded to the winner, 36 points to the runner-up, and descending points for other top finishers. Rwanda’s contingent, consisting of ten players—eight boys and two girls—unfortunately saw an early exit, with none advancing past the first preliminary round.
