Nigerian Tennis Special can authoritatively report that the organisers of the fast approaching Rainoil Tennis Championship have increased the number of players in the first round of the Main Draw for women from 16 to 32.
This much was decided at the press conference held at the Lagos Country Club, Ikeja, on Thursday, December 7, to herald the commencement of the week-long tournament in its maiden year.
Our correspondent had earlier reported that the qualifiers which commences on Saturday, 9 December would be a draw of 32 as against the draw of 64 which players may be expecting while the first round draws for Women’s Singles was fixed at 16.
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| Blessing Samuel won the Dala Hard Court Championship in Kano recently, she will be one of the favourites to win the Rainoil Tennis Tournament. |
But Nigerian Tennis Live has gathered that the story about the Women’s Draw has changed from 16 to 32, an announcement which was made by the Group Managing Director of Rainoil Limited, Gabriel Ogbechie.
This much was also confirmed by the tournament director, Gift Edozie, who noted that the initial report has changed from what the organisers had planned according to the fact sheet that was made available.
Asked if the prize money for the ladies would also change with the latest development, she noted that she could not ascertain what was being planned by the organisers, but agreed that it will definitely not be the same as what was reported earlier.
“Right now, I cannot confirm the new prize money for the Women’s Singles but since the draw has changed, it is obvious that the prize money will be adjusted too. However, it is not in my jurisdiction to determine what form it will take,” she told Nigerian Tennis Live.
Meanwhile, registration for players in the preliminary stage of the tournament commences on Friday 8 December from 2-6pm at the Lagos Country Club in Ikeja, where the Main Draw of the inaugural edition of the championship will serve off on Monday.
Nigerian Tennis Live will follow up with updates from the tournament and publish reports as the competition progresses.