Takanyi Garanganga (born 6 September 1990) is a professional Zimbabwean

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player. He was born in

Mbare Mbare is a suburb in the south of Harare, Zimbabwe. Founded in 1907 as a township, it includes an informal settlement. Mbare Musika is the largest farm produce market in Zimbabwe. History Mbare was the first township, now known as a high dens ...

, Zimbabwe, a suburb of

Harare Harare (; formerly Salisbury ) is the capital and most populous city of Zimbabwe. The city proper has an area of 940 km2 (371 mi2) and a population of 2.12 million in the 2012 census and an estimated 3.12 million in its metropolitan ...

, and began playing tennis at the age of 8. He first found success at the age of 14 playing tennis, winning the African Junior Championship at the age of 14. This success sparked the interest of Zimbabwean coach Brian de Villiers, who brought Garanganga to the United States. After a career on the junior circuit and graduating from high school at Keystone National High School in 2008, Garanganga turned down offers to play collegiate tennis at the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

and the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

to focus on a professional career. Garanganga has represented

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and ...

at Davis Cup, where he has a win–loss record of 21–21.

Career

Takanyi Garanganga has primarily spent his time on the Futures circuit, while also playing challengers some

ATP World Tour The ATP Tour is a worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals. The second-tier tour is the ATP Challenger Tour and the third-tier is the ITF Men's World Tennis Tour. The equivalent women's organi ...

qualifying tournaments. He began playing on the tour in 2008, competing in tournaments in the United States and Africa. He has also represented Zimbabwe in Davis Cup action. His most notable tournament success was winning the gold medal at the 2011 All-Africa Games in

Maputo, Mozambique Maputo (), formerly named Lourenço Marques until 1976, is the Capital city, capital, and largest city of Mozambique. Located near the southern end of the country, it is within of the borders with Eswatini and South Africa. The city has a popul ...

for Men's Singles.

Future and Challenger finals

Singles: 20 (9–11)

Doubles 3 (2–1)

References

External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garanganga, Takanyi 1990 births Living people Shona people Sportspeople from Harare Zimbabwean male tennis players African Games medalists in tennis African Games gold medalists for Zimbabwe African Games bronze medalists for Zimbabwe Competitors at the 2011 All-Africa Games Competitors at the 2019 African Games