After a successful hosting of the second Azimuth Shipping Lines Junior Tennis Tournament in Lagos, Captain S O Martins, sponsor of the competition, has told Nigerian tennis players that they can now be expecting a new national competition in the nearest future.
The tennis lover who said he was once a player himself, had informed Nigeria Tennis Live correspondent during a brief chat that the junior tournament will keep getting better with each new year, as he noted with excitement that this year’s event was even better than the first edition.
According to Captain Martins, “We are starting with the kids because that’s the foundation for tennis development.
Captain Martins has promised Nigerian tennis players a national tournament in the nearest future.
“And if you have observed keenly, you’d have noticed that the way the tournament was last year is quite different from what we’re having this year. The recognition we are getting is also good.
“As soon as we are able to get this tournament into the kids very well, we can now look at incorporating everybody.”
When asked to be specific about the incorporation of ‘everybody’ for subsequent tournaments, the tennis aficionado noted that Nigerians can expect a national tournament alongside the junior tennis competition.
“Yes, Nigerians can expect a national tournament from us, maybe in the next one or two years. We shall definitely look into it.
“All we are doing is borne out of the passion we have for the game and not really because of some dividends which may be in it for me. I see it as a CSR, honestly, and that’s what keeps us going,” he noted.
Recall that Captain Martins had in an exclusive interview with Nigeria Tennis Live, asked Nigerian tennis coaches to try to improve on their skills in order to aid the development of the players in the country.
Even though his comment did not go down well with some of the coaches, several others believe that the training is sacrosanct to aid tennis development in the country.