Source: The Herald – Breaking news.
Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
THEY are called the “Williams” sisters in their hood after the iconic American tennis siblings Venus and Serena.
Yet the Tom sisters Ruvarashe (16) and Rutendo (12) are nowhere nearer the mega-rich global superstars.
But there is no doubting their potential, which is underlined by the incredible achievements they have posted at this stage of their young careers.
Just last week, Rutendo inspired the Zimbabwe Under-14 girls’ team to an historic gold medal in the CAT/Southern Africa tournament in Windhoek, Namibia.
And for the Kadoma folk, the Toms represent pretty much what the Williams represent at a global scale.
While Venus and Serena were taught the game at the age of four by their father Richard, who would drill them for six hours a day, six days a week, Ruvarashe and Rutendo did not have the same privilege.
Their father Peter is an avid football fan and naturally always pays a subscription to access international matches on television.
One day, seven years ago, he went out to attend some personal business leaving Rutendo, then just five-years-old and Ruvarashe (then nine) at home alone.
The two sisters were following an Indian series on television when Ruvarashe decided to briefly go outside.
Rutendo took the remote control and started navigating the channels leading her to a sports channel where there was a tennis match featuring Serena Williams.
“I just decided to watch a bit when Serena scored a point in remarkable fashion. She was nearer the net and she volleyed down to catch her opponent flat footed. That amazed me a lot,” recalls Rutendo.
“When my sister returned, she was surprised to see that I had changed the channels. I told her to have a look at how Serena had scored the point because it was now on replay. She was in awe too…”
That changed the sisters’ story for good.
“I then went outside and took a wooden plank which I asked my sister to help carve into the shape of a tennis racket as we had observed from that match featuring Serena.
“It didn’t come out perfect but it was usable. I destroyed my hand-made plastic kite and used the material to shape something resembling a tennis ball although it didn’t have the bounce.
“My sister and I would take turns to hit the plastic-made ball against the wall using that badly-carved racket and in the process destroying our garden in the backyard.
“In no time, we picked a tennis ball and we started using it really got very interesting”.
Their father was not aware until one day when he returned from his errands unannounced and saw his girls playing the game.
He was touched.
“I noticed that both of them had a burning passion and I just decided to remove the garden and secure some cement to construct a make-shift tennis court. I thought that way would at least save my house walls. I also bought a damaged racket from some boys…,” said Tom.
“After noticing that my daughters were now almost always at that make-shift tennis court playing the game, I started asking around if there was a place where I would enrol them for tennis lessons.
“That’s when I was told of a newly-established academy called A1 Tennis Academy where I met coach Pride Tsiko”.
But as soon as they joined the nursery and just months after they had won their first gold medals in national tournaments in Bulawayo and Mutare, the country plunged into the Covid-19 enforced lockdown.
Encouraged by the girls’ success stories in their initial national tournaments and using earnings from his poultry project, Tom hired some semi-professionals to improve the backyard tennis court to allow his girls to continue training.
“When Ruvarashe and Rutendo were brought to my academy, I thought I would start with them from scratch. I was very surprised to see that their technique was far ahead of those who I already had at the academy,” said Tsiko.
“I refused to accept that they were training on their own using a substandard ball and some make-shift court”.
During the two years that the Covid-19 pandemic halted sport in this country, Tsiko would, at times, visit the sisters and drill them in their backyard court.
And at the end of 2021 when normalcy returned, Tsiko decided to start taking the sisters to more tournaments.
They have proven to be forces in this game with Rutendo winning 45 gold medals in domestic tournaments over the past five years while Ruvarashe has also accumulated up to 38 medals of different colours over the same period.
Father’s toil to fund daughter’s love for tennis
However, for their father Tom, life has not been easy as he goes out of his way to fund his children’s passion.
In 2022 both Ruvarashe and Rutendo qualified to represent the country for a Southern Africa tournament in Mozambique. He thought that was his children’s breakthrough.
“But I was told by Tennis Zimbabwe to foot all the costs for both my children including paying a certain amount which would go towards paying the national coaches’ allowances and bonuses,” said Tom.
“Since I was not prepared for that, I didn’t have the money and I was left with no option but to pull out my children”.
In October last year, Rutendo was picked to represent the country in Morocco and Tennis Zimbabwe quoted Tom US$2300 to enable his daughter to fly.
“I am a poultry farmer and don’t realise much from the venture. So I shared my predicament with the Kadoma community who chipped in and helped me raise the money.
“Her school Munro Primary also chipped in and she was able to fly to Morocco. She did very well there as well. This January, she qualified to go to Namibia for the CAT/Southern Africa tournament in Namibia where the Under-14 national team which she was part of managed to win gold.”
Tom said he has used at least US$10000 just to fund his children’s training and tournaments including when they are on national duty for the past three years only.
Tennis Zimbabwe manager Kupakwashe Mukurumbira confirmed that parents are required to fund for their children’s foreign trips since his federation sometimes don’t have the money.
And Peter is praying that his two daughters get sponsorship or scholarship to enable them to pursue both sport and academics.
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