By Zim Sport Live Writer
Zimbabwe’s rising tennis star Rutendo Tom capped a remarkable fortnight in Zambia by winning her third title in two weeks after completing a singles and doubles double at the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors J30 Lusaka.
Fresh from lifting the Week One girls’ singles title, 15-year-old Tom successfully defended her crown in Week Two with a commanding 6-3, 6-3 victory over South Africa’s top seed Lea Dube in the final.
The triumph secured back-to-back singles titles for the Zimbabwean teenager, underlining her dominance during the Lusaka swing.
Tom was not finished there.
Partnering Namibia’s Joanivia Bezuidenhout, she went on to claim the girls’ doubles title after defeating Zambian sisters Christabel and Isabel Chisongo 6-2, 6-3 in the championship match.
The doubles success saw Tom leave Lusaka with an impressive haul of three titles from two tournaments—consecutive Week One and Week Two girls’ singles crowns, as well as the Week Two girls’ doubles title.
There was more Zimbabwean success at the tournament as Bryne Edwin Dube teamed up with South Africa’s Siyabonga Jaca to win the boys’ doubles title following a thrilling 1-6, 7-6(5), [11-9] comeback victory.
In the boys’ singles, Zimbabwe’s Makanaka Whata finished runner-up after going down 7-6(5), 6-2 to South Africa’s Tshepang Maisela in the final.
Tom’s outstanding performances in Lusaka continue her rapid rise on the ITF junior circuit and further cement her reputation as one of Zimbabwe’s brightest young tennis prospects.