Nigeria Tennis Players based in the country are heading for tougher days in the new year as 2019 may prove the most difficult yet as far as international exposure is concerned.
Former Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) President Sani Ndanusa insists the upgrade of the Lagos Open to a Challenger Series will see less numbers of Nigerians because they may not even meet the criteria to play in the tournament.
“The Lagos Open usually give hope to Nigerian players, as it offers them the chance to showcase their talents.”
“With the competition upgraded to Challenger Series, that means lowly ranked players won’t have the chance to play. It’s not a good signal for Nigerian players,” Sani Ndanusa explained to Sports247.ng.
Ndanusa appealed to corporate Nigeria to step up on ‘direct sponsorship’ of the players in order to help them take part in circuits around the world and thereby earn ranking points.
“In other countries, corporate bodies rally round Tennis players and sponsor their training programs and tournaments.”
“The Corporate bodies need to do more for players which aid them to participate in Circuits and help to improve their game.”
“If they are exposed and perform well in competitions, this will help them rank higher by the ITF.”
