Nigeria’s number one female junior tennis player, Khadija Eleoja Mohammed has disclosed that her idol in the aces’ game is USA’s Serena Williama, but she wants to be a bigger star in the future.
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Khadija made this known in an exclusive interview with Sports247, during which she acknowledged that she still has a very long way to go but hopes to keep on making steady progress and eventually reach her target.
She admitted that her performance at this year’s ITF J30 World Tennis Tour in Abuja was an eye-opener for her, though not good enough, as she did well in the first leg but lost to Haolin Wang of China in the second stage semi-finals.
The fast-rising Nigerian junior tennis player, however, described her overall experience during the high-profile competition as a good experience and further affirmed that it was a great learning process for her.
“The tournament as a whole was a really good experience for me. The people were friendly, the umpires were really good and the environment was nice.
“Everything was really good, and my first partner was amazing. What I got in the second stage was not as good, but I can only hope to do better next time.
“I was sent packing in the semi-final of the second stage, but it did not hurt me so much. I still feel good, since I won the first one, and she then got her payback.
“I have a strong belief that, as the game goes on, we shall meet again one day, and I will then hope to reign,” Khadija enthused.
The Nigerian ace then spoke about major lessons she learnt from the competition that came to an end over the weekend, the most prominent of which she said is that people should not rest on their oars after winning something.
Khadija submitted philosophically, “One major lesson I’m taking away from this tournament is that, when we win the first time, we should not feel like we’ve arrived.
“Instead of resting on our oars, we should work harder to improve on what we did the first time we won so that we’ll not lose the next one. That’s my major takeaway from this tournament.
“It has also taught me new ideas that I need to adopt in achieving my aims in tennis. I have a target for myself, but I will only say that people should watch out for me.
“Serena Williams is my idol, but I hope to be better than her. Obviously, she’s an idol, and watching her inspires me. I want to be a top pro, and people will also watch me on TV. One day, I’ll lift the trophy at Roland Garros.”
