Nigeria’s Chukwudubem Amasiani has bagged an instant scholarship after hitting giant strides during his visit to the United States of America.
The youngster who has been on a training tour of the United States participated in a couple of tournaments at different locations, recording impressive results in the process.
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Amasiani played quite a number of sanctioned and unsanctioned tournaments, especially in the U-18 categories where he distinguished himself. He reached the final in Dallas Showdown which drew a lot of attention to the Nigerian youngster who had already won a USTA 18 event.
Nigeria Tennis Live gathered that the number one U-14 youngster in West Africa is now on scholarship with Banners House Academy in Dallas.
Mrs. Judith Amasiani, the player’s mum, told our correspondent that the 14-year-old youngster “now trains alongside young talents like him, Dylan Meineke (15), Texas no 5; Tristan Ascenzo (14), Orange bowl Champ for his age category and runner up in the last Les Petit As in France; among others, including college players”.
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“We are grateful to the Adewale Isa Foundation for facilitating this trip to McKinney Tennis Courts, because it was during this period that Duby was discovered and picked for this scholarship,” she added.
Coach Jim Moortgat, a Co-Director at the TBarM Racquet Club/Tennis, who worked closely with the Nigerian tennis sensation, described him as a very coachable and respectful young man.
According to him: “It’s great to have Duby here. First of all, he’s a great young man. He’s coachable, he listens, looks you right in the eyes; he’s very respectful which I think is very important. If someone doesn’t have a character, it’s difficult to make him a champion”.
Speaking about the player’s potentials, Coach Jim noted that “Another thing about him, he’s got a great game, he’s a good physical body, hits a very heavy ball. The things he needs to get better at in his game to play at the highest level; his serve has to get better and his moving forward has to get better.
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“He’s a smart kid, his tennis IQ is getting there… He’s chosen a very tough sport. It’s really hard to make it in tennis, but there’s no reason why he can’t be the guy that makes it”.
The Nigerian tennis wonderkid who has been compared to world number one tennis player, Carlos Alcaraz, is expected back in the country to play tournaments before returning to the Academy for more trainings and competitions.
Nigeria Tennis Live will keep tabs on the development of the tennis youngster and update our readers scattered across the globe.