TEN years from now, the best female tennis player in the entire world could be a Ugandan.
And that is not just because there is a mathematical probability that a world number one could emerge from the dozens, possibly hundreds, of girls with Ugandan roots who also happen to play tennis.
It is simply because there is an eight-year old Ugandan who is so prodigiously talented it is almost obvious she will attain tennis greatness if she makes it to the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tour.
For now, it is safe to assume no other eight-year-old can do more with a tennis racket than the England-born Ugandan Vanessa Mutiibwa. She is so good, watching her slash a cross-court forehand with a Serena-Williams follow-through, one cannot help but want to peep into the future just to see how much time remains before she makes her arrival on the world stage.
“I want to win the French Open,” the young girl vows in an urbanite London accent. "I want to win Wimbledon, I want to play (Maria) Sharapova and Serena...”
It all might sound like toddler’s twaddle but this is a child who is being trained to dream big from the start and in fairness, her talent deserves nothing less. Incidentally, Mutiibwa's tennis journey was born through her desire to meet the United Kingdom's most prominent citizen.
“She told me she wanted to meet the Queen of England,” narrates Robinah Ssebuliba, Mutiibwa’s mother and the force behind this tennis dream.
“But I told her, ‘you haven't done anything for the country, you can’t meet the Queen. The only way you can meet the Queen is through sports, if you are successful’. And that is how she started playing”.
That was two year’s ago. Neither the daughter nor the mother had had any history in the game outside the fact Ssebuliba was a great tennis fan.
“I like tennis very much, that is why I chose it for her,” Ssebuliba explains.
“I want her to be the first Ugandan girl champion - the first great thing to come out of Uganda.”
The mother of four moved with her family to England in 1989 and this is Mutiibwa’s first visit to Uganda. She is still getting used to the tropical sun but she likes it here because of the jack fruit and staying up late.
Today Mutiibwa has been brought to the Lugogo Tennis Club and after the interview the youngster takes to the court for a casual back and forth with a male club trainer. A short distance into this relaxed session, it is easy to see why of the four tournaments Mutiibwa has played thus far, she has won two, finished second and third.
The adult trainer is playing to script here but every now and then the youngster plays a shot that solicits his approval.
“She is really good,” he says afterwards.
The mother, eager to prove her child is worth the hype, hastily arranges a more serious first-on-five-points contest with an 11 year-old boy who plays tennis here.
With Ssebuliba cheering her daughter's every movement, the little girl triumphs 4-1, at which point the mother recaps how her child has embarrassed many an older competitor before.
Last month, Mutiibwa was offered a scholarship by a Swedish academy after putting a few older boys to the sword while on a tour of the country.
But the offer was ultimately turned down because the family was not prepared to relocate from England.
However, she is open to moving back to Uganda because she wants her daughter “to be known here” and because “if she is in this country, she can get support”.
For the amount of recommendations her tennis ability has received, Ssebuliba has been less than pleased by the assistance her daughter has been given in England. For instance, of her 10 hours of weekly training, Mutiibwa only spends one hour with a real coach.
The trouble of course is that while Ssebuliba has struggled to find backing in Mutiibwa’s country of birth, in Uganda it is almost pointless to try. The game is hardly a national pastime and even then, getting state support for sports projects can be like squeezing water out of a rock.
The one man who has been successful in getting his son a tennis scholarship understands the struggle involved in the making of a champion but today it is all about basking in the revelation of the wondrous Mutiibwa.
James Kasumba, father of men’s tennis national number one Duncan Mugabe, has seen his fair share of talented kids but even he concedes Mutiibwa could be something extra special.
“For her age, she is good,” Kasumba observes, before delivering the ultimate seal of approval.
“In ladies tennis, it is not as tough to get up there as it is for the boys. For the girls, you can get there.”
In other words, there is every possibility Mutiibwa will get there.
And that is not just because there is a mathematical probability that a world number one could emerge from the dozens, possibly hundreds, of girls with Ugandan roots who also happen to play tennis.
It is simply because there is an eight-year old Ugandan who is so prodigiously talented it is almost obvious she will attain tennis greatness if she makes it to the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) tour.
For now, it is safe to assume no other eight-year-old can do more with a tennis racket than the England-born Ugandan Vanessa Mutiibwa. She is so good, watching her slash a cross-court forehand with a Serena-Williams follow-through, one cannot help but want to peep into the future just to see how much time remains before she makes her arrival on the world stage.
“I want to win the French Open,” the young girl vows in an urbanite London accent. "I want to win Wimbledon, I want to play (Maria) Sharapova and Serena...”
It all might sound like toddler’s twaddle but this is a child who is being trained to dream big from the start and in fairness, her talent deserves nothing less. Incidentally, Mutiibwa's tennis journey was born through her desire to meet the United Kingdom's most prominent citizen.
“She told me she wanted to meet the Queen of England,” narrates Robinah Ssebuliba, Mutiibwa’s mother and the force behind this tennis dream.
“But I told her, ‘you haven't done anything for the country, you can’t meet the Queen. The only way you can meet the Queen is through sports, if you are successful’. And that is how she started playing”.
That was two year’s ago. Neither the daughter nor the mother had had any history in the game outside the fact Ssebuliba was a great tennis fan.
“I like tennis very much, that is why I chose it for her,” Ssebuliba explains.
“I want her to be the first Ugandan girl champion - the first great thing to come out of Uganda.”
The mother of four moved with her family to England in 1989 and this is Mutiibwa’s first visit to Uganda. She is still getting used to the tropical sun but she likes it here because of the jack fruit and staying up late.
Today Mutiibwa has been brought to the Lugogo Tennis Club and after the interview the youngster takes to the court for a casual back and forth with a male club trainer. A short distance into this relaxed session, it is easy to see why of the four tournaments Mutiibwa has played thus far, she has won two, finished second and third.
The adult trainer is playing to script here but every now and then the youngster plays a shot that solicits his approval.
“She is really good,” he says afterwards.
The mother, eager to prove her child is worth the hype, hastily arranges a more serious first-on-five-points contest with an 11 year-old boy who plays tennis here.
With Ssebuliba cheering her daughter's every movement, the little girl triumphs 4-1, at which point the mother recaps how her child has embarrassed many an older competitor before.
Last month, Mutiibwa was offered a scholarship by a Swedish academy after putting a few older boys to the sword while on a tour of the country.
But the offer was ultimately turned down because the family was not prepared to relocate from England.
However, she is open to moving back to Uganda because she wants her daughter “to be known here” and because “if she is in this country, she can get support”.
For the amount of recommendations her tennis ability has received, Ssebuliba has been less than pleased by the assistance her daughter has been given in England. For instance, of her 10 hours of weekly training, Mutiibwa only spends one hour with a real coach.
The trouble of course is that while Ssebuliba has struggled to find backing in Mutiibwa’s country of birth, in Uganda it is almost pointless to try. The game is hardly a national pastime and even then, getting state support for sports projects can be like squeezing water out of a rock.
The one man who has been successful in getting his son a tennis scholarship understands the struggle involved in the making of a champion but today it is all about basking in the revelation of the wondrous Mutiibwa.
James Kasumba, father of men’s tennis national number one Duncan Mugabe, has seen his fair share of talented kids but even he concedes Mutiibwa could be something extra special.
“For her age, she is good,” Kasumba observes, before delivering the ultimate seal of approval.
“In ladies tennis, it is not as tough to get up there as it is for the boys. For the girls, you can get there.”
In other words, there is every possibility Mutiibwa will get there.
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