Meet Dubem, The Nigerian Tennis Sensation Likened To Carlos Alcaraz

Chukwudubem Amasiani keeps showing the world that they are yet to see the best of him and what he is capable of doing with his tennis.

At the weekend in Lagos, this youngster made sure to show the spectators who came to watch the Sapetro Futures Tennis Championship something to go home with and talk about.

Inside the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan, Lagos, Duby as the 12-year-old is fondly called, won the Boys 12s and Boys 14s titles, with tongues wagging over the prospect of this talented player becoming a world class tennis superstar in the nearest future.

‘Dubem, who had only recently led team Nigeria to a remarkable victory at the recently concluded ITF/CAT West and Central African Qualifiers in Ghana, returned to feature in the annual junior tennis event in Lagos, with the same winning mentality.

The competition featured  singles events in boys and girls 12s, 14s and 16s with the top two seeds in the lower age groups given wild cards into the next age group to fast track their progress.

The precociously gifted tennis talent guided by his mother, Judith, achieved a similar feat three weeks ago in Bayelsa where he also won the Boys 12s and 14s at the SNEPCo Junior Invitational Masters.

Amasiani brushed aside his younger brother Ikem  9-1 in the Boys 12s and then out-rallied a former 14 and under champion, Onyekachi Ogumjiofor from Oyo State 9 – 3.

Godwin Kienka, Director of the International Tennis Academy which runs the ITA Junior Tennis Circuit said: “Dubem is a real world class tennis star loading. He is pretty much in the mold of Alcaraz and if they stay focused and get the right guidance and support, which I am sure he would get, it will be only a matter of time.

“To put the significance of Dubem’s victory in perspective, Gbolahan Olawale he beat in the Boys 14 in Yenagoa was moved to the Boys 16 in this tournament and defeated the defending Boys 16 champion, Henry Aina, in the finals.”

Other winners in the weeklong tournament include, Lorelay Holzendorff from Benin City, who defeated Gloria Samuel from Ekiti 9-4 in the Girls 14s and Mofifunoluwa Atilola who again bested her rival Roseline Nana 9 – 5/in the Girls 12s singles.

The grand finale was attended by several former national champions including 1990 national champion  and international coach Gabriel Otu who said the junior players he saw “have better skills and are much smarter players than we were … including (Nduka) Odizor who reached the round of 16 at Wimbledon in 1983s.”