The national tennis championship took place on the six courts of ACSA (Amicale Culturelle et Sportive d'Ambohidahy), a pleasant venue but now cramped for crowds of this scale. The first week was dedicated to veterans' matches and initiation for young players. Parents attended in large numbers, giving the event a family atmosphere that reflects the club's DNA. While the youngest enjoyed their tennis discovery sessions, the FMT (Fédération Malgache de Tennis) wisely offered coaching sessions for parents to better support potential and aspiring champions. The lovely motto "encourage effort, not score" stands out as an excellent concept.
Ambohidahy, Ampariabe, Antanimbarinandriana, Mahamasina and Anosikely form a pentagon that could be dotted with tennis courts. Barely more than 115 tennis courts across the entire island for precisely 972 licensed players: a ratio of 12 percent that confines tennis to a niche, despite its visibility potential. At Ambohidahy, the former Tennis-Club, which celebrated its centenary in 2023, could continue its already-begun opening toward other racquet sports without sacrificing another tennis court (23.77 x 10.97 m): squash (9.75 x 6.40 m) yesterday, padel (20 x 10 m) today, and why not badminton (13.40 x 6.10 m) tomorrow.
As memories fade with age, I still recall old tennis net posts and umpire chairs on the current handball courts (40 x 20 m) of Collège Saint-Michel, located in Ampariabe (from "faria," rice field or rice paddy dike), between Antanimbarinandriana (the royal rice fields) and Ampamoloana (the rice threshing and drying place), the latter having belonged to Princess Ramasindrazana, aunt of Queen Ranavalona III.
Antanimbarinandriana, an excellent downtown location and potential hub of the "sports pentagon" between Anosy and Mahamasina, has unfortunately become a traffic quagmire. As for Mahamasina's multipurpose stadium, which also had several tennis courts, its reputation is tarnished and its space reduced by that cumbersome football field that doesn't even meet international standards. Further toward Anosikely, the Cercle Franco-Malgache had three tennis courts before a telecommunications tower was installed. Nearby, except for traffic congestion, passionate players know where to find other courts at Solimotel or the former Hilton hotel now Carlton. The "Ampefiloha complex," already toward Andavamamba, had its heyday before slowly and quietly declining.
Beyond this tennis fortnight, our pentagon holds possibilities for a multisports and multi-activity district for practicing several disciplines simultaneously: the aging covered gymnasium at Mahamasina already regularly hosts handball, volleyball, basketball and indoor football. Long ago, certain generations made Mahamasina's facilities a pretext for truly sporting reunions or more charming meetings. Daily endorsement of life itself.
Nasolo-Valiavo Andriamihaja