Five Kenyan tennis experts will travel to the 2026 Roland Garros (French Open), scheduled for May 18 -June 7, in Paris, as part of an officially signed strategic partnership between Tennis Kenya ( TK) and the French Tennis Federation (FFT), with the main objective being to create elite international pathways for Kenyan athletes.
Speaking on Thursday in Nairobi during the signing of the deal, Tennis Kenya president Wanjii Mbugua, noted that this partnership will focus on player exchange, advanced coaching seminars, and infrastructure development, with key technical components of the deal involving the transition to clay court tennis.
“It is our duty as the federations to make sure we create opportunities for our players, for our coaches, for our officials. This initiative covers so many pillars of Tennis Kenya,” Wanjii said, adding that a specialized team of five Kenyan experts will travel to this year's Roland-Garros for a one-week benchmarking mission.
These experts will study the construction and maintenance of world-class clay courts with the sole objective being to replicate those standards back in Kenya.
The program also officially flagged off its first delegation of top 16-and-under junior players, including Aum Chandarana and Jeff Okuku, who are traveling to France for high-level training and competition.
"We are delighted that we are going to see off our top 16 and under players who will go to Club East in the south of France to be able to take part in a J200 ITF event," Wanjii said.
By integrating French expertise in coaching and facility management, Tennis Kenya now aims to provide sustainable career paths for young players as this collaboration sets the stage for French experts to visit Kenya later in 2026 for reciprocal exchanges and competitions.
Additionally, the agreement will also provide opportunities for Kenyan umpires to officiate at major French tournaments, further elevating the country’s technical standing in the sport.
