KIGALI, March 3, 2025
Tennis is a truly global sport, with tournaments spanning all five continents. However, events in Sub-Saharan Africa remain a rarity. This month, the ATP Challenger Tour has returned to Rwanda for the second time, marking another milestone for professional tennis in the region.
For some of the Rwanda Challenger participants, the tournament week started with a unique experience—an exclusive safari in Akagera National Park. The tennis professionals had the rare chance to witness Rwanda’s breathtaking wildlife up close. Instead of rackets and competitive matches, the day was all about lions, elephants, and stunning landscapes, making for an unforgettable start to an exciting week.
Exploring Akagera National Park
Located about two and a half hours from Rwanda’s capital, Kigali, near the Tanzanian border, Akagera National Park is a biodiversity hotspot. Covering an area of 1,120 km², the park features a stunning landscape of vast plains, tree-lined lakes, evergreen papyrus swamps, and rolling hills.
Thanks to successful conservation efforts, Akagera is once again home to the Big Five—lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and buffalo—as well as giraffes, zebras, and antelopes. The Akagera Lake is particularly impressive, attracting a rich variety of bird species. The European players were thrilled by the diverse flora and fauna they encountered.
I have never started a tournament week by going on a safari… but Akagera National Park was definitely worth a visit!
Murakoze! #TravelTheTour #Kigali #Rwanda @visitrwanda_now @AkageraPark @RWAChallenger pic.twitter.com/11BO18OBem
— Florian Heer (@Florian_Heer) March 3, 2025
Tennis Professionals on Safari
“It was fantastic. Right at the start, we saw a pride of lions that had just taken down a buffalo. We were told that this is very rare to witness,” said Germany’s Maik Steiner, who competed in the Rwanda Challenger qualifiers. “We also saw rhinos, hippos, and zebras. It was a truly diverse experience. I’m very grateful for the opportunity provided by the tournament. Normally, tourists have to pay a lot of money for a safari in Rwanda. We saw everything except for leopards, but they seem to be more nocturnal.”
A Spanish group of players also joined the safari as a team. “It’s my first time in Africa, and I had to take this opportunity. It was incredible,” said World No. 250 Oriol Roca Batalla. “Even the drive to Akagera was special. You get a sense of how people in the countryside live. You see many people walking on the streets, children going to school—it was very interesting.”
Alex Marti Pujolras, ranked World No. 337, was equally impressed. “Seeing the animals in the wild was amazing. The scale of the park is enormous, and the diversity of the landscape is remarkable. But what impressed me the most were the elephants,” he explained.
Carlos Taberner, the No. 3 seed of the tournament, also appreciated the chance to step away from the daily grind of professional tennis. “It was wonderful because we were able to see almost all the animals. If I get the chance again, I will definitely go,” he said.
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