Etoro Bassey from the GEUF Tennis Academy in Akwa Ibom is more than excited to have reached the J30 Abuja Girls Singles final.
The second highest-ranked Nigerian female player on the ITF rankings is the tournament’s number two seed, and she lived to the billing by reaching the final of the event, where she will be playing against Ohunene Yakubu, the number one seed.
According to her, reaching the final alone is a lot for her, seeing that she has never reached the final of an ITF competition before in the Singles event.
The 2023 CBN Juniors champion told Nigeria Tennis Live after the match that she had reached the finals in the Doubles event before, but she never made it to the Singles final, and this makes it even more significant for her.
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“I am very, very super happy to have reached the Singles final. This is something I’ve been really working towards for some time now and I’m really glad that I am here now,” she said during the brief chat.
Bassey added: “Reaching the final alone is a dream come true for me because I will earn some points from here and keep building up on it until I have adequate points to play in bigger championships.
“I want to play professional tennis and I believe that with steps like these, I can reach greater heights.”
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When our correspondent sought to know what she makes of the final, without flinching, the 16-year-old Akwa Ibom-based player said: “I will need to fight really hard for this one. It will be tough, I know, but I will fight and I hope to win.”
On what her motivation will be while on the court, she stated that reaching the finals alone was enough motivation and she hopes to continue fighting with this in mind.
Bassey will be playing the girls Singles final against Yakubu on Sunday, 18 February, 2024, inside the tennis section of the National Stadium, Abuja.
Nigeria Tennis Live will keep updating our followers on the latest activities from the match as well as other final matches.