Seun Ogunsakin is leading a two-man Nigerian contingent to Luanda, Angola, for the 2025 Africa Youth Games as one of the top players.
The Africa Youth Games is the junior version of the Africa Games and is played by players between 14 and 18 years of age. This year’s edition is scheduled to be a qualification tournament for the Youth Olympic Games holding in Dakar Senegal, in 2026.
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The Nigerian wonderkid who recently returned from the United States, where he participated in the Orange Bowl event and a J300 event, is one of the players expected to shine at the international event under the watchful eyes of Coach Akinwumi Ogunsakin.
Nigeria Tennis Live gathered that Ogunsakin is the number one seed at the event, as he is the highest ranked of the players participating in the competition. He got a bye in the first round and will be playing in the second round later today.
Goodnews Aina is the other player representing Nigeria at the competition for the Girls’ event. As seen by our correspondent, she is also one of the seeded players at the tournament. She got a bye and will be playing in the second round of the event later on Monday, 15 December, 2025.
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Aina’s inclusion is reportedly at the expense of Nigeria’s number one female tennis player, Khadijat Mohammed, who was said to have been excluded from the contingent to Angola, a development which has created a lot of uproar among tennis stakeholders in Nigeria and beyond.
Unconfirmed reports say the trio of Ogunsakin, Aina and Mohammed were training in Abuja prior to the competition, but the Nigerian number one player was dropped without explanations.
Further scoops have it that Mohammed was dropped by the NTF President, Victor Ochei, and replaced with Aina, a situation which has created a lot of confusion among tennis stakeholders.
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Nigeria Tennis Live reached out to Mr. Saidu Musa, the head of NTF’s Technical Department to explain reasons for the exclusion of the top Nigerian player who just won a hat-trick of Women’s Singles titles Dala Hard Court Tennis Championship, but he kept mum over the issue.
He told our correspondent that he had no comment on the development, an indication that something may have transpired in the selection process which is not known to the public.
Nigeria Tennis Live has since reached out to the NTF President, Victor Ochei, to provide clarity on the matter, but he is yet to respond to messages sent to him.
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The tennis event at the Africa Youth Games will hold from 15-17 December, 2025, as stated on the OOP for the competition.
Nigeria Tennis Live will keep our readers updated on the latest development concerning the tournament as it progresses.