It is no longer news that there is a synergy between the Tennis Innovators Academy and Nigeria’s only ATP player, Christopher Bulus.
The US-based Academy has done little to hide their admiration and support for the Nigerian player who has been on tour, showing his opponents what it means to be properly funded and supported to participate in tournaments.
One may have to look back a couple of years to see any Nigerian boldly wielding ATP points as it has been increasingly difficult for the Nigerian players to travel for tournaments or compete in ATP events on home soil.
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It was, therefore, a breath of fresh air to see Bulus, now ranked 1218 in the world, stake a claim and keep the flag flying for others to follow.
Not only is this former Lagos Lawn Tennis Club player motivating other Nigerians off the court, he is also showing workings on it.
He went undefeated at the Davis Cup Africa Group IV qualifying event in Rwanda in 2023 and was one of Nigeria’s brightest shining stars at the African Games in Ghana in 2024, narrowly failing to reach the quarterfinals of the Men’s Singles event in the 128-draw event.
Bulus, notorious for his ferocious forehand and never-failing backhand, packs a lot of power and precision in his execution of double-handed backhand and is a delight to tennis fans.
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Even though the results have not quite gone his way as frequently as he would have loved them to, the Nigerian export always holds his own against players rated above him on the rankings.
He is never shy to go up against these top ATP players when there’s a tournament, continental or intercontinental- as the case may be.
One of the reasons players are able to consistently focus on their matches and give in their best is when they have some sort of backing for their competitions.
And Cesar Andrade, the Director of Operations at the ITA, told Nigeria Tennis Live that there is no telling the amount of support Bulus enjoys from the Academy.
“Look, there are no boundaries to the support he enjoys from the academy. He has the full support of the academy and the sponsors.
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“For the budget, there are specifics with him, but we cannot make that public.
“However, there’s no telling how far he can go in terms of support, he has the full backing of the academy for all his programmes,” Mr. Andrade told our correspondent from his base in the United States.
Nigeria Tennis Live believes that a huge part of Bulus’s charge for the top is the unflinching support he gets from the Tennis Innovators Academy, which from all indications, is ready to keep pushing this young man towards his dreams.
If there is any player who stands a chance of playing a Grand Slam event in the nearest future, Bulus has a big shout, and this, is in no small part due to the synergy between him and the Tennis Innovators Academy.
The talented Nigerian tennis star is surely destined for the top and Nigerians will be hoping to see their only ATP player rise to very peak of his tennis career.