Bright Emmanuel recently reached the final of the Rainoil National Tennis Open where she lost to Khadijat Mohammed, in a final set encounter.
It was her first final in a senior national tournament and it was a scene to behold for the spectators who were eat the Ikoyi Club 1938 for the finale of the event.
Not only was she impressive during the encounter, she was at the brink of winning the tournament after taking the first set 7-6 (5) but she succumbed to her opponent in the last two sets, to settle for the runner-up medal.
Despite not winning the title, her club, the Apapa Tennis Club, was extremely impressed by her outing and could not hide their excitement at her feat during the competition.
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Bright played the competition from the preliminary rounds and reached the final of the tournament, a situation which raised eyebrows during the event which was held inside the tennis section of Ikoyi Club 1938, Lagos.
One of the people who could not hide his surprise and amazement at the youngster’s feat was Samuel Inalegwu, President of the Apapa Tennis Foundation, where Bright was discovered and taken care of.
“I am particularly happy and excited about Bright, that she could reach the final of a senior national tournament brings me joy that I cannot even explain,” Inalegwu, Founder of Essex Grassroots Tennis and Education, an NGO in New Jersey, stated.
“You know, the Apapa Tennis Foundation took this girl from obscurity and ran her through the basics she needs in tennis, and she has risen to this stage. It is so exciting and words fail me in describing how our members feel about her.
“We are really happy about her growth and this is something that we are sure will only keep moving forward and onward from here,” the tennis enthusiast added.
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Her coach, Michael Okopi was also full of praise for the player whom he brought into tennis from the very beginning.
According to him: “As Bright’s foundational coach, reaching the final of the Rainoil Senior National tournament was very special for me.
“I always knew she would become a great player and I am not surprised by her growth and progress over the years”.
“Her rivalry with Khadijat, whom I also coached alongside Bright to victory at the CAT/ITF Junior ITF event in Togo in 2022, is a very good one.
“Khadijat is above Bright in their head-to-head, but that is one of the things that make our tennis even more interesting. They are both my girls and I am proud of both of them as junior players ruling and dominating female tennis in Nigeria,” Coach Okopi told Nigeria Tennis Live.
Already, Engr. Ifedayo Akindoju, President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF), has promised to develop more talents like Bright for Nigeria, therefore, Nigerians will be looking forward to seeing this happen.
Nigeria Tennis Live will keep tabs on the activities of the youngster and report all the updates about her to our teeming audience.