By Franklin Ohaegbu
Lagos – Mohammed Ubale, the National Junior Tennis coach, says his players will perform better in 2017, having shown much improvement in their games, following their credible performances in 2016.
Ubale told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos that the players had been consistent, winning local and international competitions.
“In January, we hosted the All Africa Junior Qualifiers for West and Central Africa, where we came out in the second and third positions in the event.
“We also went to South Africa to play in their junior league championships in the U-14 and U-18, and we came out in the second position.
“The just-concluded Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) Tennis League saw the Quadri team winning the league after she defeated a top national female player in the semi-final stage.
“With these achievements, I can only say that next year will be better and the sky is just a stepping stone for these young players,” he said.
According to him, the national team has had a good year and it has recorded many successes, which is why the players’ have improved.
“This is because we were playing the game in and out of season, whether there are competitions or not, we definitely continue to play.
“Now, it has paid off, even with the just-concluded NCC tennis league, we saw how the junior players defeated their seniors.
“It is not just one junior player that has stunned us but quite a few in their various teams have also defeated their senior colleagues.
“That is a very big step for the juniors and it shows that they have really stepped up their game and it is taking us to the next level in 2017.
“Watch out for Oyinlomo Quadri, MaryLove Edwards, Michael Osewa and Ayoola Michael for next year because they are the future of tennis in Nigeria,” he said.
The coach said that his rating for the junior players is high because they have proved that they could also take up the challenge, even as juniors.