Zimbabwe's Lock Brothers Plan to Lure International Athletes to Harare's New Estate
A fascinating intersection of elite sport, luxury property and destination marketing is emerging on the outskirts of Harare. Benjamin Lock, one of Zimbabwe's most accomplished tennis exports, has publicly committed to bringing his international tennis and golf network to experience The Hills Luxury Golf Estate, a large-scale lifestyle development that is rapidly taking shape in the Zimbabwean capital. For the African travel trade, this is a story that touches on sports tourism, high-end property investment and a fresh approach to destination positioning that deserves close attention.
Benjamin and his brother Courtney Lock, both professional tennis players who have competed on the international ATP circuit, have signed on as ambassadors for the project and partnered with developer Westprop Holdings to establish a tennis academy within the estate. The facility will feature world-class tennis courts alongside paddle courts, drawing inspiration from global benchmarks including the recently opened Morotobi Tennis Centre in Bali, which Benjamin visited during an invitational tournament. The academy sits within a broader lifestyle offering that includes a championship golf course, swimming facilities, paddle tennis, five-a-side football and wellness amenities.
What makes this development relevant beyond the sports pages is Benjamin Lock's stated intention to use the facility as a draw for international athletes during the ATP pre-season, specifically targeting November and December when professional players are preparing for the new tour year. His argument is straightforward — Harare's climate and altitude make it an excellent training base, and the combination of elite tennis facilities and championship golf on a single estate creates something genuinely distinctive. Players would train, play golf, and experience Zimbabwe, all within a setting designed to meet the standards they are accustomed to globally.
The vision extends well beyond visiting athletes. Lock has spoken openly about bringing property investors to The Hills, noting that professional sports personalities are increasingly interested in investing across multiple destinations. This positions the estate not just as a sports venue but as a lifestyle investment proposition aimed at a global audience with high spending power and international networks. For Zimbabwe's tourism economy, attracting this calibre of visitor and investor represents exactly the kind of high-value, reputation-building activity that can shift perceptions and open doors to broader market interest.
The development itself is ambitious in scale. The Hills Luxury Golf and Lifestyle Estate is being developed by Westprop Holdings in Harare West and includes residential properties, sporting facilities, commercial elements and extensive green spaces built around the golf course. The rapid progress on the golf course has impressed even Lock himself, who described the emerging layout as beautiful and expressed excitement about seeing the finished product.
For travel professionals across sub-Saharan Africa, there are several angles worth considering. First, the concept of combining sports tourism with luxury property is a model that has worked effectively in destinations such as Dubai, the Algarve and parts of Southeast Asia. Seeing it take root in Zimbabwe signals growing confidence among developers that African destinations can compete for this market segment. Second, the Lock brothers bring genuine international credibility and a network of contacts in professional sport that money alone cannot buy. Their personal commitment to giving back to Zimbabwe through tennis development adds an authenticity to the project that resonates with the growing demand for purpose-driven travel experiences.
Third, and perhaps most practically, a world-class training facility in Harare creates a potential anchor for sports tourism packages that agents could build around — combining training camps or invitational events with wildlife excursions to Hwange or Mana Pools, cultural experiences in Great Zimbabwe, and even extensions to Victoria Falls, which is set to host major UN Tourism events in April. Zimbabwe is building a portfolio of reasons to visit that goes far beyond its traditional safari appeal.
The Hills is still a work in progress, and delivering on the full scope of the vision will take time, continued investment and sustained commitment. But the direction is clear. Zimbabwe is positioning itself as a destination where sport, lifestyle and investment converge — and in the Lock brothers, it has two ambassadors with the international reach to make that message heard well beyond the continent's borders.
