President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation, NTF Ifedayo Akindoju is clamouring to host the ITF World Tennis Tour J3 to accelerate players points earnings just as he was elated at the successful completion of the J5 Abuja at the Tennis Complex of MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja that featured two Nigeria-born players based in the United States of America, USA and Canada.
Players from nine countries that included the US, Great Britain, Germany, Israel, Sweden and Egypt participated, Page3news.com.ng reports.
Others are Ghana, Morocco and the Republic of South Africa as well as the host country, Nigeria.
Akindoju said getting the nod to host the ITF World Tennis Tour J3 from next year would attract top and tougher players across the globe to expose their respective talents and skills to earn higher points to climb up the ITF ladder.
“The J5 is for U18 players and the points earned is not high enough to accelerate their climbing up to join the Association of Tennis Professionals, ATP.
“But in J3 tournaments, the points earned is higher to quickly join the ATP”, Ifedayo Akindoju said at the end of the second leg in Abuja.
He was however elated at the participation of two Nigeria-born players from the US and Canada – Chetanna Amadike (Canada) and Nwaozuzu from the US. The former won the second leg after defeating Mukhtar Andu from Germany in two straight 6-3, 6-3.
“We are going to ask the ITF for more tournaments so as to spread the Tennis to other parts of the country such as Lagos, Port-Harcourt, Enugu, Ibadan, Benin City, Kano, Asaba and more other places to drum up the awareness in the junior cadre.
“All this while, it’s always been in Lagos and Abuja, and the request for more tournaments if granted, we will spread it out to more states”, he said.
