Lekki-based Tennis Management Company Limited put its first show on the road – the recently concluded Lagos Tennis Cup. The tournament featured 16 of the best players in Nigeria comprising eight men and eight women. All participants qualified for the tournament after reaching the quarter-finals of the 2021 CBN Open. Speaking about the experience, TMCL CEO Kenneth Ezaga says stakeholders can expect bigger and better tournaments to follow as his company marches on with its vision to take Nigerian tennis to the top-end of the global game in 20 years.
Asked to rate he maiden edition of the tournament, Kenneth Ezaga said: “The Lagos Tennis Cup is designed to be annual event featuring the best Nigerian players. I think we laid a good foundation with our maiden tournament last week.
We learned a lot and I can assure you that what will follow next from our stables are bigger and better tournaments.
On whether tennis is popular enough to attract the kind of sponsorship needed to sustain this, he said, “We had a few sponsors, but we have to be patient. The Lagos Tennis Cup will take time and investment to build into a formidable product. It’s all about innovative thinking and staying power. Tennis is popular with the middle to upper class bracket.
It was one of Nigeria’s most popular sports before the collapse of the domestic sports industry in the 1990s.
Even today, go to any sports recreation club in Nigeria and you’re likely to find that their tennis sections are the biggest and most active. There are many strong brands that target these people if you have a solid product.”
The numbers could have been better surely. However, two major factors proved decisive. First, the Covid-19 situation, and second, the June 12 protests that happened over the weekend of the tournament. People were apparently scared to leave their homes.
Some even bought our tickets but chose safety over entertainment. Those who came had a blast, so going forward we expect a bigger crowd.
“We are doing the Abuja Tennis Cup next in November-December. It will be a year ending event like the ATP finals. It will involve the top eight ranked players in the country in both the men and women’s games. Sports lovers in Abuja can expect a great time,” Ezaga noted.
