The tournament, which Zimbabwe last hosted in 2005, runs from tomorrow until August 6 at Harare Sports club.
The 16-year-old Valeria Bhunu, who is seeded first in the tournament, goes into the championships having won the Namibian leg of the circuit last week after defeating Pauline Chawafambira 6-0, 6-4 in an all Zimbabwe girls final.
At the South African leg of the tournament that finished yesterday, Bhunu and Chawafambira however, could not go beyond the quarterfinals in the singles competition, losing respectively to South Africans Dane Joubert and Ilze Hattingh.
Hattingh, who is seeded fourth behind Chawafambira could prove to be an obstacle to the Zimbabwean’s search for glory, having beaten Chawafambira in the South African edition.
However, the absence of top Under 18 players, who chose not to take part in the event as it is a less prestigious Grade 5 event, has seen young players such as Nicole Dzenga (14) coming in the reckoning.
Dzenga goes into the tournament riding on the crest of a wave as she has managed to maintain her number one position in the Under 14 age group on the continent.
The teenage sensation is on top of her game and was recently rewarded by being named in the 2011 Wilson Elite Team to be co-sponsored by Nike and tennis sports equipment manufacturer Wilson. She is seeded 12th at the forthcoming tournament.
In the last tournament that she took part in at the Harare Sports Club, Dzenga surprised her compatriots, winning the Zone Six Africa Junior Championships in the Under 14 age group .
