Azah Gbugu, the middle child of “Cog” and Chimmie Gbugu, is the #1 ranked tennis player in the state for 12U girls. The nine-year-old is also ranked #470 in the country! We caught up with proud mom Chimmie for details on Azah’s love of the court, and recent competition at the Ozaki Cup in Georgia.

Azah was one of the 24 kids that represented Louisiana in the USTA Southern Ozaki Cup against 8 other Southern states, held in September in Rome, Georgia. “She was the youngest child there and fought hard despite her age, limited resources, and being the only one with her 'non tennis pro' mum as her main coach,” laughs Chimmie. Azah’s participation in the tournament was based solely on her ranking due to results from previous tournaments.

“Azah definitely put Zachary on the map at Ozaki,” Chimmie says proudly. “Loads of people came to ask me about Zachary because the other Louisiana folks were mostly from Baton Rouge, New Orleans or Lafayette,” she says. They had never had anyone from Zachary qualify for the tournament before. 

The Gbugus can most often be found on the tennis courts at the Americana YMCA, where Azah and her two siblings take lessons with Tennis Pro Chris Anders twice a week for 30 minutes to an hour, and high-performance tennis clinics twice a week. "Chris is amazing with teaching them techniques based on his wonderful experience," says Chimmie.  

Chimmie takes the kids out to practice and play independently daily at the courts regardless of the weather, sometimes going to Baker (due to the Y hours) and LSU, for indoor training on rainy days. 

Though it sounds like a lot, it’s pure fun for someone who loves the sport. “She talks about it, writes school essays on it, includes it in school activities (she’s in the gifted program at Zachary Elementary), and overalls does really well in it,” Chimmie says. “She’s super active and loves sports,” Chimmie says, naming half a dozen other sports Azah tried before falling in love with tennis and deciding to make it her main sport two years ago. 

Congrats, Azah! Way to make Z proud!