Mubarak Adamu is a tennis player from Niger State, and was one of the players who participated at the recent Adewale Isa Foundation Junior Tennis Championship in Lagos.
The 11-year-old youngster became very passionate about tennis after being introduced to the beautiful game by one of his friends by the name Elisha Kwange.
And since then, he has not had any reason to back down from playing the game despite the expenses involved in being a tennis player.
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He was one of the many players who traveled for almost two days from Niger State, to participate in the Adewale Isa Junior Tennis event in Lagos, and despite not winning anything, Adamu still felt fulfilled.
Nigeria Tennis Live caught up with the ever-smiling tennis talent and he shared his touching story with our correspondent.
“My dad makes and sells caps, while my mum sells Massa in the morning and in the evening, she sells akara.
“I saw kids playing tennis and since I had nothing else I was doing at home, I decided to keep playing tennis.
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“I go to school in the morning, when I return, I’ll go to where I learn show cobbling. I close by 3:30pm and leave for the club where I train to play tennis.
“I have three elder brothers, one elder sister, two younger brothers and three younger sisters,” the youngster said while introducing his family.
Adamu fell completely in love with tennis but was financially unable to cater to the requirements needed to start off on a solid note.
When he was informed about the Adewale Isa Junior Tennis tournament in Lagos and that trials had begun to select players who would represent Niger State, he was ecstatic and was ready to give his all.
According to the youngster: “I told my mum that I had to attend a tournament in Lagos and that I needed 15,000 to travel down. she said it wasn’t too much for transportation.
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“So, she said she had a goat to sell, and I encouraged her to sell the goat. She did, gave me the exact amount I requested and advised me to train hard so that I could make the cut.
“During the trials, I played very well without fear. Whenever I have any tournament, she prays for me and always wishes me well.
“My dream is to be able to win tournaments so that I can buy goats for her because she sold her goat to sponsor me to play competitions. My mum bought my racquet and my shoes for me”.
Speaking about his early days in the sport, the Niger-born tennis player noted that he had doubts about playing because of the expenses involved, however, his friend Kwange encouraged him to keep at it.
“I like tennis. I wasn’t playing tennis before but Elijah Kwange advised me to start playing tennis because if I play good, I’ll make money.
“I told him my mum wouldn’t be able to help me, but he asked me to keep at it. My mum said I’d go to work in the morning and train in the afternoon and help my mum later in the day,” he noted.
His dad was not so keen on him becoming a tennis player from the onset, “but his friends prevailed over him and he agreed to allow me play tennis alongside the trade I started learning”.
Adamu’s ultimate goal in tennis is to make money, but beyond making money, he desires to help his family with proceeds from winning tournaments.
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“I want to play to make money so that I’ll be able to give my mother money. If I make 100k, for instance, I’ll give my mother 70k and give my dad the rest because there’s nothing I ask my mother that she does not give me.
“This is the reason I train twice in a day during weekends but once during weekdays and I focus on the other things that I do, especially my academics,” the Coach Bitrus Danjuma-trained youngster offered.
The resilience showed by this young tennis player is already a hallmark of his tennis career and he is ready to go all out with the sport.
His major challenge, which is the same fate many other Nigerian players suffer, is that of financial support. Only time will tell is Adamu is able to become that tennis star that he desires to be.