Not a single Rwandan player was able to make it past the round of 16 in the second week of the ITF Junior Tennis Tournament which is underway at IPRC-Kigali Ecology Tennis courts, with Canada’s Jay Lin Gibson not giving up on title for tournament’s second week. ALSO READ: Tennis: Hakizumwami, Gatoto win ITF Juniors doubles title A ten-player contingent—comprising eight boys and two girls—put up a tough fight in an effort to improve their performance from the first week but, despite playing on home soil, they were out of the competition. While not a single female player made it past the round of 32, four boys who made it past the same round were all eliminated from the round of 16 on Wednesday. Claude Ishimwe lost to J60 Week I winner Jay Lin Gibson of Canada, 1-6, 3-6, while Elyse Igiraneza fell to India’s Shaurya Swarup in two sets 0-6, 3-6. King Onyx Umuhoza also had a tough day, losing to Nigeria’s Mubarak Ayodeji Ganiyu 3-6, 2-6 while Melissa Ishimwe Bimenyimana was handed a 0-6, 0-6 humbling defeat against India’s Sreemenya Reddy Anugonda. Their early J60 exits follow another disappointing first week of the tournament where all 10 Rwandan representatives also failed to progress past the early rounds. Gibson and Tunisian Nadine Hamrouni, who won the singles finals during the first week ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors (Grade 4) tournament, are both still chasing glory in the second week having progressed into the quarterfinals. While Gibson ease past Ishimwe and Hamroumi had to come from a set down to beat Shanvitha Reddy Nukala of India 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 in a nervy round of 16 girls singles encounter. Gibson will face Swarup in the boys singles last eight while Hamrouni will take on Japan’s Riko Shozui in girls singles quarterfinals. The second week of the tournament began on Monday, August 19, and will run through August 24. The ITF Junior Tennis World Tour (Grade 4) event provides young athletes with the opportunity to earn valuable points towards their professional rankings. While 60 points awarded to the winner, the runner-up takes 36 points.
