Twelve (12) Junior Tennis players forming two national junior teams for both boys and girls have been elected to represent Uganda at this year’s edition of the ITF/CAT Eastern African Junior Individual & Team Championships, taking place in Nairobi, Kenya from January 14-22, 2026.
The athletes are Samuel Okello, SebbiMuzamil Rajab and Cillian Asante Ndilima forming the 16 & Under Boys Team, while the Girls Team includes Lilian Ayee, Faith Florence Aber and Mary Tendo. The 14 & Under Boys Team has Abbey Damba, Faraje Ali and Daniel Ogen, while the Girls Team includes Michelle Amito, Florence Nabulime and Anena Angel.
The contingent was flagged off for Nairobi over the weekend by the Assistant. General Secretary of the National Council of Sports, Milton Chebet.
“You know, when you go to Nairobi, you are going to promote tennis. The press is not going to cover you when you’ve not won any medals. But should you start getting gold medals, that’s when they will now start profiling you; so, my request to you is please work very hard so that we promote our association. And of course, hopefully, like I’ve said, the government is slowly, slowly working on increasing your funding.
“Then secondly, I always tell people who represent Uganda that you are our ambassadors. So likewise, when you represent our country, speak well about our country, and love your country. Be patriotic,” said Chebet.
Mary Tendo, the Girls Team Captain, says that the target is to represent the country at the highest level.
“Our target as a team is to get to the top to win so that we can travel to other countries and represent our country, Uganda, so that it can be known worldwide.”
At this edition of the championships, Uganda will be defending the Boys 14 & Under Trophy they won in 2024 and also looking for maiden trophies in the 16 & Under events.
“The team is really set up and ready to put up a very good fight and have the victory in Nairobi. But remember our 14 and under team are the defending champions, so that means we are not just going there to play around. We have some young entrants in the team that are really very promising; part of these players are the ones we target at to play at the Davis Cup and the Billie Jean King Cup. The most important thing and assurance here is that we are going to put up a very big fight in Nairobi,” said Edward Odokchen, the Team Head Coach.
The junior competition is organized by the Confederation of African Tennis (CAT) in conjunction with the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and Tennis Kenya (TK) and is expected to have 12 countries participating in this year’s Zone Championships, for a slot in the Africa Junior Championship and ranking points.
The countries are: Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Seychelles, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, Djibouti, Mauritius, Comoros and South Sudan.
The championships will feature singles and doubles events for both girls and boys, with the top two teams qualifying for the African Junior Teams’ Championships (AJC).
The Individual Zones’ Championships for 14 and 16 years & under will also serve as an evaluation for an eventual selection for potential players to take part in the 1st AJC for 14 & U 2026 and for the AJC for 16 & U 2026.
“We have got a very strong team and it’s from these juniors that we shall get the seniors who will play for Uganda in the different categories, Davis Cup, Billie Jean Cup. It’s these juniors who will rise to that occasion,” said Daniel Kyazze, the Vice President of Uganda Tennis Association
In the team events, only one (1) team per age group and per gender will automatically qualify for the Final Event of the African Junior Team Championships, which will take place in May 2026 (14&U) and July 2026 (16&U).
At the end of the Junior Championships, a final country ranking will be determined based on the accumulation of points in the boys’ and girls’ singles and doubles events.