Nigeria’s team to the Billie Jean King Cup competition will have the baptism of fire when they take on hosts Lithuania in one of the opening matches on Tuesday morning.
The team landed in Lithuania for their first ever participation in the tournament which used to be Fed Cup, the female version of the Davis Cup tournament.
Nigeria’s number one female tennis player, Oyinlomo Quadre ; Sarah Adegoke and US-based Adesuwa Osabuohien are Nigeria’s representatives in the charge for honors.
Coach Rotimi Akinloye, the head of Nigeria Tennis Federation’s technical department, is the Team’s Captain and they are accompanied by Engr. Dayo Akindoju, the President of Nigeria’s tennis Federation.
The first match is a WS2 tie against Lithuania at about 10am Nigerian time, while the WS1 will follow before the Doubles match to end the day for the Nigerian team.
21 nations including Nigeria, Ghana, Namibia, Kenya, Bosnia Herzegovina, Malta, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Iceland and hosts, Lithuania will compete for promotion from the Euro/Africa Group III.
The tournament which runs from 15-19 June at the SEB Arena in Vilnius, Lithuania, will also feature an array of tennis stars from these countries, one of whom is Nigeria’s Quadre, ranked 955 on the WTA World Rankings.
Nigerians will also hope to see Adegoke, a former champion, and National Sports Festival gold medalist, at her very best in the tournament after her recent run of form.
Also, US-based Osabuohien is expected to shine in Lithuania as her wealth of experience from playing in the United States will come in handy.
Nigeria Tennis Live will keep monitoring the activities of the players in the competition which has excited a lot of Nigerians since it was first announced that Nigeria will be participating.