Uganda tennis youngsters Abdul Latif Ssendyowa and Abigail Nabasinga Mulungi Nicole were recently selected to join the International Tennis Federation (ITF) 16 and under (U-16) touring team, 2023. The duo will participate in a series of ITF Junior tournaments in Nairobi City, Kenya (30th June to 22nd July 2023) before they transfer to Kigali City, Rwanda (10th to 26th August 2023).
Duncan Mugabe was the first Ugandan tennis player to benefit from ITF Tours in his teenage days. In May 2008, Mugabe, 17 then, was selected to join the ITF/Grand Slam International 18 and under (U-18) junior team for tours and competitions in North Africa. The junior top seed then had benefited from the same tours in 2007 and 2006 (held in South Africa) making him one of the consistent players in the tours. His three-year stint in the tours came after impressive displays at various African and European tournaments.
After 15 years, Uganda will have its juniors be part of the ITF Tours in the shape of Ssendyowa and Nabasinga. If the duo can capitalize on the tours, they could easily follow in the footsteps of Mugabe who dominated tennis locally and regionally having had a good foundation for his career in the ITF Tours.
Ssendyowa and Nabasinga have seemingly hit the ground running and good displays at recent events earned them tickets to the ITF Tours. Ssendyowa, 14, a P7 pupil at Shimoni Demonstration Primary School competed and had a good show at the Africa Junior championships final event for U-14 in Lome City, Togo – West Africa in March 2023 while Nabasinga, 15 and a student of Vine International School, was part of the successful Zonals Team that competed in Bujumbura, Burundi in January 2023.
The Junior Tennis Initiative (JTI) grassroots program and Academy structure supported by National Council of Sports (NCS) has enabled Uganda Tennis Association (UTA) achieve these milestones.
Duncan Mugabe after ITF Tours
Duncan Mugabe is the best and most decorated tennis player of his generation with a career-high ATP Singles Ranking of 659 (30 November 2009). In his prime days, he was the number one Ugandan and East African tennis professional, number three in Africa, medalist at All African Games, Uganda Open winner, Kenya Open winner, top performer at various circuits in and outside the country, overall winner YAA Awards, Nile Special USPA tennis player of the year and much more.
The ITF Tours in North Africa and high performance camps in South Africa laid a good foundation for Mugabe whose career looked promising right from the start. Had he not encountered financial constraints in his professional career, Mugabe would have soared to the greatest heights but never the less; he remains an inspiration to the young generation.
“The only person that can compare to Duncan is John Oduke…he (Oduke) won the Uganda Open 12 times but Duncan also won it at one time and he was always competing with himself. He had his own challenges as he failed to settle in any country…so he struggled to find footing in a country where he could launch his career as a professional tennis player,” veteran sports journalist Innocent Ndawula of Nation Media said when asked about Mugabe.
“Whenever he noticed that his power was going down, he would always come to Kampala to train with the national team boys and the other boys who were around…he was of course more talented than them. He also got serious competition from them because everyone attempted to beat him. He gave a lot to the youngsters and inspired them…many times he gave people a reason to play tennis because people liked him a lot because he always had that innocent look,” Ndawula added.
Overall, Mugabe, currently not involved in competitive tennis had a good career though his preparations for events and circuits were always dampened by financial constraints. In case of no sponsor, Mugabe would always solicit for funds especially for events outside the country. His earnings from events he performed well from would always go towards covering logistics and expenses of upcoming tournaments, a cycle that somehow derailed his progress. This is the tough reality the young generation will have to prepare for unless they can get solutions when their time comes.
How Ssendyowa and Nabasinga can capitalize on ITF Tours
Legendary Coach John Oduke has mentored many youngsters for ages having started from the bottom himself to dominating proceedings in his prime days. He has tipped Ssendyowa and Nabasinga on how to capitalize on the ITF Tours in order for them to lay a good foundation for their tennis careers.
“First of all, the ITF Tours open doors for you to excel, that’s what Duncan did, he played in the tours and that prepared him for the professional stage,” Oduke said adding that; “they now have to take this seriously, once you get such an opportunity you don’t waste it. This is important for them because they will get high class training and it really uplifts ones game. If they’re very serious, they can really go very far because most professionals have gone through ITF Tours,” Oduke said adding that the youngsters must be disciplined in order to stay on top of their game.
What the youngsters say:
Abdul Latif Ssendyowa
“I am excited for this opportunity given to me. I want to utilize this moment to further acquire special skills and learn further to develop into a great player.”
Abigail Nabasinga Mulungi Nicole
“I feel so happy because it’s not easy to make it to the touring team. I am looking forward to a good experience and playing good tennis throughout the tour.”
