It is better for Nigerian tennis players to seek a way of consistent development rather than pursue exposure in the game.
This was the advice given by Jonathan Igbinovia, one of Nigeria’s finest tennis players ever, during an interview with Nigerian Tennis Live at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Court, Onikan.
The retired tennis superstar who now works with young tennis players in his academy in Arizona, USA, noted that a lot of Nigerian players have potentials, but they have failed to harness it the right way, hence their underperformance at major tournaments.
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| Jonathan Igbinovia was also a guest on Channels Television to speak about tennis development in Nigeria. Photo Credit: Google. |
While lamenting bitterly how the country has not been able to meet up with their foreign counterparts on the court, Igbinovia noted that the Nigerian players cannot defeat those come to the country for Futures tournament since they don’t train as hard as the foreign guys.
“You cannot say any Nigerian player will defeat against the winner of the Futures here when they don’t train up to her level.
“Tennis is the only sport that does not require luck. You work hard, you’ll see it. You train hard, you’ll get the result.
“For me, what the Nigerian players need is development, not exposure,” the lanky tennis superstar explained.
He noted that the mentality of an average tennis player in the country has to change, even though they lack sponsorship to get on with their tennis development.