All is now set for the 13th edition of the CBN Junior Championship to serve off at the National Stadium Tennis Centre in Lagos today.
The tournament which is featuring four age groups – boys and girls 10s, 12s, 14s and 16s – has played a major role in attracting, identifying and developing tennis talent in Nigeria.
According to the International Tennis Academy, organisers of the championship, the boys who came through this tournament and the programmes associated with it now dominate the senior category, holding eight of the top 10 places.. Notable among them are Joseph Imeh, Sylvester Emmanuel, Thomas Out, Christian Paul and Emmanuel Sunday.
“The tournament has also helped to position our girls for professional tennis and to take over from the seniors. Marylove Edwards, the 14 and under champion in 2016, reached the finals of the senior CBN Championship and is now in the USA along with Angel Mcleod preparing for her professional launch.
“Oyinlomo Quadri is at the ITF Academy in Morocco and just won a tournament in Algeria. We now have another set of eight girls featuring in this tournament who should dominate the seniors in two years maximum,” Mr Godwin Kienka, director of the ITA added.
Over 150 players have registered for the tournament but organisers say there would meticulous screening to ensure that only the right age groups are captured.
