July 26, 2008

Cara Black - Getty Images

Cara Black, proud Olympian

In the moments of chaos Zimbabwe has seen during the latest presidential elections, Cara Black represents a pride of joy to a troubled country.

The top-ranked doubles player in the world along with her American partner Liezel Huber, the 29-year-old Zimbabwean holds six Grand Slam doubles titles – four women’s and six mixed.

Despite being ranked 1,057th in the world in singles (she was actually ranked 31st in 1999), Black was invited to play in the Beijing Olympic Games to represent her country in singles. A tripartite committee consisting of representatives from the International Olympic Committee, national Olympic committees and the International Tennis Federation had the right to allocate two women’s singles spots and two men’s singles spots to outstanding players. Cara Black – who wore her country’s colours for the Sydney Olympics in 2000 – is part of this select list.

Black is in Montreal, not only in an attempt to win the doubles title but also to qualify in singles. She received a wildcard from organizers to participate in the qualifying draw.

In Saturday’s first round, she started off on the right foot, topping 16th seeded Bulgarian Sesil Karatantcheva 7-6(6), 7-5. The Rogers Cup will certainly serve as an Olympic preparation for this courageous athlete and as comfort to the population of a country hit by political strife.