Seun Ogunsakin has moved 107 places on the latest world junior rankings to now sit as the world’s 183-ranked junior player.
The Tunisia-based Nigerian youngster won five tournaments (three on hard courts two on clay) in 2024 to reach a career-high ranking of 266 in September.
However, as the new rankings are updated and some of the ineligible players taken out of the rankings, the Ekiti-born tennis sensation moved upwards on the rankings.
He not only broke the 200-mark, he went a step further to reclaim his spot as Nigeria’s top player on the junior ITF rankings, and number 12 in Africa.
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Ogunsakin is closely followed by Prosperity Okonkwo, who is fast becoming a thorn in the flesh of opponents on the junior tennis circuit.
The Abuja-based youngster won four titles in 2024, including two J60 titles which shot him further upwards on the rankings. He ended the year ranked 320 in the world but he has now moved into 216 in the world.
Even though our correspondent is yet to confirm the tournaments the youngster will be participating in this year, he may yet be ready to break into the top 200 at the first time of asking in 2025.
Both Ogunsakin and Okonkwo are the only West Africans and Nigerians in the top 20 in Africa, an indication that the pair may be ready for an explosive season.
Joseph Franklin Jimoh (411) and Mubarak Ganiyu (446) also cracked the top 500 in the world rankings and seem to be settling into the new year looking upwards after some very impressive performances all year.
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Another Nigerian player whose year impressed tennis faithful, Lucky Danjuma, stepped up in the newly-released rankings and is eyeing the top 500 with his new ranking spot of 549 in the world. He completes the list of Top 5 Nigerians on the world junior rankings.
In the girls’ category, Ohunene Yakubu continued her unassailable lead on the log of Nigerians in the world junior rankings.
Yakubu, who played the most tournaments of the Nigerian female players, won three titles in 2024 and reached a career high ranking of 428 but with the new development, she has now risen to 394 in the world.
Of all the Nigerian and West African players on the world junior rankings, only this Tunisia-based 16-year-old is in the top 20 in Africa as she occupies the 17th spot.
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GEUF Academy’s Etoro Bassey, tipped to become another top tennis player, is second on the log as she has now moved to the 761st spot while Khadijat Mohammed (819), current national champion, occupies the third spot.
Abuja-based Success Ogunjobi (929) is fourth on the log and is followed in distant (albeit encouraging) fifth is the impressive and vastly improved Cross River-based Toluwalashe Agunbiade (1497).
Nigerians will be looking forward to the performances of the youngsters as the new tennis season serves off across different locations.