THE Tanzania Tennis Association (TTA) has called for increased investment in youth tournaments to help the sport grow across the country.

TTA president Francis Mwaniwe made the appeal last week in Dar es Salaam at the conclusion of a two-week junior tennis tournament held at the Dar es Salaam Gymkhana Club (DGC).

Mwaniwe emphasized that investing in youth development is crucial not only for tennis but for all sectors of national growth.

“Today we have seen many young players from across the country competing in tennis, but the number could have been even higher if there was more investment in youth programmes. I call on the corporate sector and other stakeholders to support youth tournaments,” he said.

The Under-14 tennis tournament attracted 37 players from clubs across the country.

In the girls’ doubles category, Gracious Shayo and Janet Massawe emerged winners, while Faraja Mbise and Highness Mfinanga, both from Arusha Gymkhana Club (AGC), finished second.

In the boys’ doubles, Masatu Isaya and Haqqi Hassan of DGC clinched the top spot, followed by their clubmates Daniel John and Daniel Ngole in second place.

In the girls’ singles, Janet Massawe of AGC took first place, with Gracious Shayo (AGC) finishing second and Alexavia Kamara of the TTCL Club in third.

In the boys’ singles, Ali Rajabu (DGC) won the title, followed by Masatu Isaya (DGC) in second and Daniel Ngole (DGC) in third.

Mwaniwe thanked all those who contributed to the success of the tournament, noting that it is part of TTA’s ongoing efforts to keep young players active and competitive.

“We really appreciate everyone who made this event a success. Our aim is to keep juniors engaged throughout the year. We had a similar event in Arusha and plan to organize another one in December,” he said.

TTA technical director Nicholas Leringa expressed satisfaction with the level of competition, saying it demonstrated that Tanzania has great potential to perform well in future international tournaments.