CBN Tennis Open: coaches task NTF on advancement of junior tennis players

Coaches at the ongoing 38th CBN Senior Tennis Open on Saturday urged the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) to focus more attention on the advancement of junior tennis players.

The coaches, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, implored NTF to organise more competitions to enhance the performance of junior players in the game.

NTF’s Junior Tennis Coach, Mohammed Ubale, said that this category of players had proved that they could compete favourably with their senior counterparts.

I have watched their games and have seen how they play with so much passion, even when they lose a point, it shows in their expressions and gesture.

They have shown that they can contend with their seniors and they have also shown that they need more training to be world class.

With this, I can say that they now understand the game and what it takes to succeed in Tennis.

I am making a plea with the NTF to recommend more training competitions for these junior players,’’ he said.

Benson Isicheili, a national coach with the NTF, noted that the rate at which the junior players exhibited their skills showed the level they aspire to attain in the sport.

They are showing that they want to take charge. They are also showing commitment and improvement on the game daily.

This goes a long way to show that with more competitions, it will help to improve the level of play and understanding of tennis.I hope the federation will organise grassroots competitions to further channel these talents into superstars,’’ he said.

Abel Ubiebi, a certified International Tennis Registry (ITF) coach, said; “I am not surprised at the way these juniors are playing in the competition’’.

I had been praying for days like this to come in the tennis family, so I am glad I am seeing it come through.

I hope the federation would help rejuvenate the essence of having more competitions in order to improve the state of the sport,’’ he said