Photo: PIXABAY
No fewer than 50 players have registered for the maiden DavNotch Senior Tennis Championship scheduled to hold from May 12 to 22 at the Tennis Complex of the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) President, Dayo Akindoju, who revealed that information about the DavNotch Championship was just sent to the various states of the federation, said yesterday that efforts were being made to attract more sponsorship for the players to improve on their standard.
“Apart from the tennis event in the recent National Sports Festival in Benin, Edo State, our players have been idle for some time now. The COVID-19 pandemic, which restricted movement, adversely affected our players both from travelling to participate in some of the international tournaments they registered for, just as International Tennis Federation (ITF) ranking tournaments were put on hold as well as some of the local tournaments even with the sponsors readily available.
“This time, we were lucky to have DavNotch Nigeria Limited responding to our request for a senior championship.
“With this DavNotch Senior Championship in our kitty, the federation will go all out to its sponsors to revive the tournaments, especially since COVID-19 restrictions are gradually being relaxed,” Dayo Akindoju said.
On the DavNotch competition, Akindoju said the technical officials are considering a draw of 64 for men and 32 for the female.
“To be specific, the draws would depend on the number of entries received. For now, 50 players have confirmed their participation and many have been calling to indicate interest. Those calling would only be admitted after receiving their registration,” he added.