Former Kenya Open champ Jean-Claude Gasigwa passes on
Jean-Claude Gasigwa. FILE PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |
What you need to know:
- The cause of death is not yet known.
- Gasigwa had dominated Rwandan tennis for the past five years.
Former Kenya Open tennis champion Jean-Claude Gasigwa is dead.
The Rwandan sports star collapsed and died on Thursday morning at Cercle Sportif de Kigali in Rwanda.
Workers at Cercle Sportif de Kigali said the 31-year-old tennis player was found dead by colleagues in a football field where he had been training.
The cause of his death is not yet known.
His body was taken to Police Hospital in Kacyiru for a post-mortem.
Gasigwa had dominated Rwandan tennis for the past five years since the departure in 2007 of compatriots Eric Hagerimana and Jean Paul Nshimiyimana to the United States.
Gasigwa won several titles in the region including the Kenya Open (2008), Tanzania Open (2011), Uganda open 2009, 2012 and 2013.
He was a regular at Nairobi Club where the annual Kenya Open is traditionally held.
Gasigwa started playing tennis in 1999 after he was adopted following the death of his parents in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.
In 2003 he was called up to the senior team at the age of 20 and his first major tournament was the Davis Cup of that year in Mombasa.
Since then he remained on the Rwandan team featuring in international events like the Davies Cup, Kenyan Open and ITF money circuit.
