Abuja: The President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF), Ifedayo Akindoju, has showered accolades on players for their stellar performances at the recently concluded DavNotch National Open Tennis Championship.
Akindoju gave the commendation on Saturday in Abuja while addressing journalists at the closing of the tournament, which was held at Package B of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
He singled out the winners of the Men’s and Women’s Singles, Daniel Adeleye and Success Ogunjobi, for their impressive displays, while describing their performances as a testament to the growth of tennis in Nigeria.
“Adeleye’s back-to-back victories reflect his dedication and immense potential, while Ogunjobi’s dominance in the women’s singles underscores the rapid progress of female players in Nigerian tennis,” Akindoju said.
Adeleye won the men’s singles title after defeating Canice Abua in straight sets, 6-3, 6-2.
In the women’s singles final, Ogunjobi overwhelmed Bright-Essien Emmanuel 6-1, 6-1, to claim the title.
“Ogunjobi’s commanding performance highlights her growing stature in the sport. She is currently on her way to Zimbabwe to participate in three weeks of International Tennis Federation (ITF) junior events,” he added.
Akindoju expressed gratitude to DavNotch Nigeria Limited for its continued sponsorship and support of tennis development in the country.
“Our partnership with DavNotch has been crucial. We are grateful and plan to honour the company with a gold award in recognition of their contributions.”
The NTF president stated that the federation would also seek an extension of the sponsorship deal for an additional five years, citing the federation’s achievements and plans.
Akindoju said that the introduction of junior categories in the DavNotch National Open Tennis Championship was a significant step in grassroots development.
“The junior event had a draw of 32 in the boys category and 16 in the girls, which is very encouraging. We hope to expand this to 64 or even 128 participants in the future,” he said.
According to him, the long-term goal is to provide young players with more opportunities to gain competitive experience and elevate the standard of the sport.
He stated that the NTF was working to establish a supportive ecosystem for tennis in the country, through enhanced sponsorship, improved training facilities, qualified coaches, and officials.
The NTF president stated that the player selection process took into account both national and international rankings.
Matthew Abamu and Michael Emmanuel won the men’s doubles by beating Musa Mohammed and Ajang Sylvanus 6-7 (5), 6-4, 10-8 in the final on Friday.
Ogunjobi and Omolayo Bamidele won the women’s doubles by beating the pair of Blessing Omotayo and Nenrot Suwa 6-1, 6-1 in the final, also on Friday.
