Changawa siblings crowned Kenya Open champions

Ismail Changawa (left) shares a light moment with his sister and partner Shufaa Changawa during their Britam Kenya Open Mixed doubles final match against David Oringa and Allyson Onya on June 25,2016 at Nairobi Club. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |

What you need to know:

  • Uganda’s Mugabe fined for engaging in brawl
  • Shufaa wins women’s title, Ismael declared men’s winner after his opponent is disqualified

Ismail Changawa and his elder sister Shufaa Changawa were crowned champions as the curtain came down on Britam Kenya Open tennis tournament on Saturday at the Nairobi Club.

Shufaa beat second seed Stephanie Mbaya 6-4, 6-6 (7), 6-3 in an all-Kenyan final to reclaim the Kenya Open title that she last won in 2014.

Her brother however took the men’s title without stepping onto the court, as his opponent Duncan Mugabe from Uganda was disqualified at the last minute for engaging in a physical brawl with Kenya’s Kevin Cheruiyot during men’s doubles semi-finals.

Ismail and Shufaa collected Sh90,00 and Sh80, 000 respectively, but Mugabe was fined Sh10,000 by the organisers for bad conduct.

In the women’s final, Shufaa recovered after struggling in the first set to beat Mbaya in closely-fought match.

The Mombasa-based player looked beaten after losing the first set 6-4, but she employed strong serves and swift back hand swerves in the subsequent sets, wining four consecutive games to lead Mbaya 4-2 in the second set. The two players exchanged leads in the next six games, sending the game into a tie break which Changawa won 7-6 on errors.

ShufaA, who beat Congolese player Nancy Allyson 7-5, 6-2 in the semis, subdued Mbaya who was under immense pressure to claim her first Kenya Open title.

“I didn’t expect to win because I played against her (Mbaya) in the Easter tournament and she beat me. I’m happy to have won today,” Shufaa said after the match.

Both ladies left the country on Saturday evening for an international tournament in Congo while Ismail returned to national team camp to prepare for the Davies Cup which will be held in Madagascar next month.