Luanda - The third edition of the Kikuxi Tennis Open, in 2025, will be part of the International Tennis Federation (ITF) competition calendar, allowing participants to score in the world ranking and raise Angola's prestige.
The initiative belongs to the Angolan Tennis Federation (FAT) and the Kikuxi Villas Club Academy (KVC) in Luanda.
The confirmation was announced by the Minister of Youth and Sports, Rui Falcão, at the end of the second edition, Sunday.
According to Rui Falcão, the tournament will raise the competitive level of national practitioners, in contact with those from other countries.
He added that it is an honor and pride for the country to host an international level event, which is part of the competition calendar of the ITF and other world bodies. 'Therefore, it will be a sporting asset and the organizers are on the right track, counting on our institutional support,' he said.
As for the 2nd edition held from the 19th to the 25th of this month, in both genders, the winners were the Burundian Gui Iradukundan and the Nigerian Adesuwa Osabouahien, after defeating, in the final, the Paraguayan Henando Isnardi and the Kenyan Cynthia Wanjala, by 6-3 and 6-4, 6-2 and 6-0.
With four tennis players each, male and female, in addition to Angola, the event had representatives from Burundi, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Brazil, Portugal, France and Paraguay.
Under the responsibility of KVC and FAT, the international tournament, which brought together about fifty players from 12 countries on various continents, had a higher number of athletes than 2023.
In addition to the ITF, the event's mentors intend to fit it into the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and its women's version (WTA), so that Angolan practitioners can acquire skills and world scores.
Angolan Chris André and Zimbabwean Rufaro Margarira were winners of the 1st edition, in 2023, absent this year, for unknown reasons.
In the men's class, the 25-year-old tennis player, residing in Germany, defeated in the final, the also Angolan Daniel Domingos, 16 years old, by two sets to zero, with partials of 6-4 and 6-2. In women's, Rufaro Margarira beat the Twanese Kolebogile Mannayoo, by 6-1 and 6-0. GVA/DOJ
