South Africa-based lawn tennis whizkid Chisomo Lumeta will be the first Malawian to contest in the European tennis championships as he has been incorporated in the 2012 ITF/GSDF Under-14 Tour that will start on July 9 in Paris, France.
The 13-year-old has made it into the African team for winning bronze during the African Junior Championships in Egypt over a month ago. He will contest against European, American and Asian squads in a series of competitions in France, Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) and the Grand Slam Development Fund (GSDF) organise the tour to facilitate transition of talented youngsters into the professional ranks.
According to the Lawn Tennis Association of Malawi (LTAM) chairperson Duncan Gumbi, Lumeta will arrive in France alongside team members on July 5 for a two-day camp training before the start of the contests.
The LTAM chairperson said on Sunday Lumeta will start with the BNP Paribas Cup at Stade Francais in Paris from July 9-15 before travelling to Velp in Netherlands for the Windmill Cup from July 16-22.
Then, he said, Lumeta will return to France for Des Hauts-de-Seine event at Rueil Malmaison from July 23-29 before going to Cologne, Germany for the Under-14 Internationale Deutsche Tennismeisterschften from July 30 to August 5.
“He will wind up his European trip with the Young Champions Cup in Hasselt, Belgium from August 6-12. It will be a historic tour for him and Malawi as a nation. We are proud of him,†said Gumbi.
Currently, Lumeta is training at the High Performance Centre (HPC) in South Africa where he was incorporated in 2009 after winning gold during the Under-12 Junior Circuit Championships in South Africa.
