USTA Missouri’s Alywn Mushonga Makes Special Trip to Hometown in Zimbabwe

January 5, 2017. That’s the date Alywn Mushonga left his family and home country of Zimbabwe to make a life-altering move to the United States. Mushonga had earned a full scholarship to play tennis at Eastern Florida State College. He spent two years there before transferring to McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois to continue playing tennis and complete his degree.

Mushonga then worked two years as head tennis professional at Boston’s Weston Golf Club before being named USTA Missouri and USTA St. Louis tennis service representative in April 2022. Though he communicates with his family back home via FaceTime, Mushonga hadn’t seen them in person since he first embarked on his journey to America. That changed on January 23, 2024, when Mushonga, now 27 years old, made the 36-hour flight to Mutare, Zimbabwe.

“When I got to the airport, you’re almost like starstruck when you see your parents for the first time after that long,” Mushonga said. “It was a really touching moment for me. I definitely embraced it. I tried to enjoy every second with them. I got home and I was like, ‘I’m not leaving.’ I’m going to stay at home for a while, soak in the moment and enjoy being in my childhood home.”

Mushonga said he was filled with nervous excitement when he touched down in Mutare to visit his parents, siblings and friends. He spent about two weeks in Zimbabwe, which included trips to the primary school he attended as a child and the tennis academy that helped shape him into the person and player he is today.

“You leave your parents when you are 18. That’s young. You are a freshman in college,” Mushonga said. “You go without any family for that long. … It’s not easy to even navigate. And people ask you, ‘Where are your parents?’ ‘Oh, I haven’t seen them in seven years.’ It’s a shock. Being able to see them was a surreal moment for sure.”

Mushonga said he was fortunate in that one of his older brothers, Admire, blazed a path to the U.S. before him, earning a scholarship to attend an International Tennis Federation academy before playing tennis at Florida A&M University. Mushonga’s brother now works as director of racquet sports at The Country Club near Boston.

Mushonga took a similar route. Like his older sibling, Mushonga competed at Mantas Tennis Academy in Mutare to hone his game. Ann Martin — who launched the academy in 1987 and is Tennis Zimbabwe life president — sponsored a 5-year-old Mushonga to provide him equipment and a scholarship to attend Mantas. Mushonga had the opportunity to spend some time with Martin while visiting Zimbabwe.

“She has helped so many people come to the U.S.A., and she has helped so many people in the tennis world — in my city and the country — to be where they are,” Mushonga said. “With the academy doing so well — over 900 kids playing tennis there — it’s just phenomenal. It was amazing to see her.”

Mushonga was ecstatic to conduct some on-court coaching and share his story with the players at Mantas, a place he spent 13 years developing. Mushonga discussed his journey to becoming the No. 1-ranked junior in Zimbabwe at the Under-12 level — a ranking he held all the way through the U-18 division. He spoke about working hard to obtain a full-ride college scholarship. And he encouraged Mantas’s participants — from kindergarteners to high schoolers — the same great possibilities are available to them.

“I left some of the kids when they were 6 years old, and now they are already starting high school,” Mushonga said. “Some of the kids saw me and were like, ‘Oh, wow, this can actually happen. I can actually do this. I can take the same path.’ Which, they are taking the same path I did, working extra hard to get where they are. … It was really cool to just be with them and get back some memories.”

Mushonga also visited students and some of his former teachers at Baring Primary School in Mutare. For years, coaches from Mantas Tennis Academy have visited Baring each Thursday to provide 30-minute lessons to students. Mushonga caught the attention of Mantas coaches as a young boy, which led to his admittance to their academy.

“I got a chance to talk to the principal and some classes I had been in about life, and telling them you can do anything in life as long as you work hard in it,” Mushonga said. “I was in the same class. I had the same teachers. It was really cool to go back to my old school and share my story with the little kids.”

While Mushonga was excited to visit Mantas, swing by Baring and see the economical and infrastructural changes in Zimbabwe since he left, spending time with his family was the top priority. He cherished the quality time with his parents, one of his older brothers and younger sister. While it’s expensive to travel to Zimbabwe, Mushonga hopes to make the trek more frequently and perhaps one day welcome his parents and siblings to the U.S. for an extended visit.

Until then, Mushonga is grateful for the moments he spent in Mutare and the life he is now living in the United States.

“It was really amazing to see them after all those years,” Mushonga said. “A kid from Zimbabwe getting a full scholarship — getting everything paid for — that’s a dream. Even for my parents, they put a lot into my junior tennis career to be where I am today. A lot of kudos to them, and I owe everything to them.”