The semifinal pairings for the ongoing CBN Junior Tennis Championship is making tennis followers in the country excited and hopeful.
The draws were conducted on Thursday evening, after all the round robin matches had been concluded, and the pairings for the next phase drew a lot of interesting reactions from the parents and players alike.
Nigeria Tennis Live reports that the week-long event has been a display of raw and generational talents among some of the most exciting junior tennis players in the country.
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Players from about 13 States of the federation, including the Federal Capital, are participating in the Boys and Girls’ U-12, 14 & 16 categories in what has been an eye opening championship.
In the Boys’ U-12 semifinals, Ashim Ghazal from Oyo State, kept his spot as the player to beat, winning all his group matches to set up a clash against Emmanuel Ogungbe while Excellency Ogoniba from Bayelsa will tackle Taiwo Korede for the second final spot.
Karina Opuene, the odds-on favourite to reach the final of the Girls’ U-12, will have to overcome Ghana-based Whitney Orimoloye in their first ever meeting, to advance while Mabubat Rasaki, the other tough talent in the U-12, will have to defeat Adesinmi Olaniyan, another gifted player.
For a spot in the Girls’ U-14 final, Mofifunoluwa Atilola will have to outplay newcomer, Anuoluwapo Odebode while Opuene, upgraded to the U-114 category, will have her hands full against Success Godwin in the second semifinal clash.
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Atilola, another player in two different categories, will also take on Gloria Samuel, in a repeat of their final match at the 2024 Adewale Isa Foundation Junior Tennis Championship just as Goodnews Aina and Favour James from Akwa Ibom will slug it out for the second ticket to the final of the Girls’ U-16 event.
Meanwhile, Goodluck Tersoo will square up against Joel Godwin for a chance to reach the Boys U-14 final just as Yahaya Isa will battle Garuba Taiwo from Ogun State, for a spot in the final as well.
The Boys’ U-16 semifinal matches are another round of matches to look out for on Friday as Seyi Ogunsakin and Isa will face each other in one of the pairings while Onyekachi Ogumjiofor and Gbolahan Olawale will go into another fierce contest.
Ultimately, Nigerians are assured of some top-of-the-table tennis action on Friday, 2 May, when the gladiators take to the tennis facility inside the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos from 10am.
Nigeria Tennis Live will keep all our readers informed on the latest developments from the competition which climaxes on Saturday, 3 May, 2025, inside the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan, Lagos.