Hi, my name is Takanyi Garanganga and I’m a professional tennis player. I am 23 years old and am from Harare, Zimbabwe, now based in Atlanta, USA.

I am Zimbabwe’s number 1 men’s tennis player and 3rd highest ranked African on the ATP. I am ranked 291 in the world and have climbed over 200 spots since 2013.  Although this is a good start, my ambition is to be  ranked in the top 10 and ultimately world number 1. Some of my achievements include winning a Gold Medal at the 2011 All-Africa Games, winning five Futures tournaments, as well as reaching two Semifinals and four Quarterfinals on the ATP Challenger Tour. As a junior, I won the African Junior Championships and competed at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. I ultimately reached a career high junior ranking of number 17 in the world.

I was born and raised in a very impoverished part of Harare, known as Mbare. At the age of 7, I was introduced to tennis by my father, and immediately fell in love with it. I began playing regularly and competed in lots of local junior tournaments. At 14, I was very fortunate enough to be awarded an opportunity to move to the USA and develop my game. I had no idea how much work it would be, but enjoyed every bit of it and eventually realized my goal of being ranked in the top 20 of the world junior rankings.

Unfortunately, money has been a serious struggle for me throughout my professional career. Because of limited support and funding, coming solely from friends and family, I can’t play the full schedule of events I need to, as I simply cannot afford to do so. Thankfully, it’s been through a strong group of supporters that I am where I am today – but there is only so much they can help, and the tether has now pretty much been exhausted. I have to cover my training and competition expenses on my own, which at this level puts a lot of strain on the amount of time I can actually dedicate to my training. Tournaments on the Challenger and ATP Tours take place on pretty much every continent in the world, and it’s necessary to compete and perform well in as many as possible to climb in the rankings.

I believe I will ultimately reach my goals sooner rather than later but it’s within a well resourced and developed program that I can maximize this fantastic opportunity and talent I have been given. With my current ranking inside 300 and a few tournaments in line my childhood dream to play in the grand slams is finally becoming more of a reality. I am improving everyday and have never felt so energized and determined!

Any support you can give me will be used towards travel costs such as flights and accommodation, training expenses, equipment and competition entries. I need to raise at least US$10,000 which will partly cover some of my expenses to compete at the 2015 Australian Open, in January. If I could raise 5K here it would make a massive difference.

I feel I really have a chance to achieve my goal of making it this year and know it will make my country, continent and supporters proud. Representing Zimbabwe and the continent of Africa at the grand slams has always kept me driven, but i still need your help!

Please help me reach my goal and I won’t let you down! Thank you for taking the time to read my campaign and thank you in advance for any contributions big or small. Please share this page anyway you can, especially with your friends, families and colleagues.

Website: www.takanyigaraz.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/takanyigaraz

Twitter: twitter.com/takanyigaraz

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