Goodluck Tersoo from Benue State and Joy Emmanuel from Lagos State will be embarking on US training tours after winning the Adewale Isa Foundation Junior Tennis Championship in Lagos.
The organizers of the competition had earlier announced that winners in the Boys and Girls U-12 categories will embark on a training tour of the United States for a period of time, and they confirmed this gesture during the closing ceremony as well.
Tersoo, acknowledged for his impeccable ball hitting skills and techniques, defeated Kingsley Godwin to win the Boys’ U-12 title during the frantic finale held in Lagos on Saturday, 17 August, 2024.
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The Benue State player had taken the first set 6-0 before trailing 0-5 in the second set in what looked like a quick win for his opponent.
However, in a swift turn of fate, 11-year-old Tersoo started picking his points, one rally at a time, and won 7 games on a bounce, saving multiple set points, to emerge the undisputed national U-12 champion in Lagos.
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Emmanuel who also got the US training tour also defeated 7-year-old Karina Opuene in what was an unprecedented run of form for the runner-up at the championship.
Opuene who trains at the Goodluck Jonathan Tennis Foundation in Bayelsa State was said to have played the competition while treating a bout of malaria, yet, she managed to reach the final of the national tournament for the first time in her fledgling career.
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The girls U-12 winner will be pleased with her performance, however, as she left no stone unturned en route to defeating the youngster in a well-placed finale.
In the other final matches decided on Saturday, 13-year-old Gloria Samuel from Ekiti State won her first ever title at the Adewale Isa competition after defeating national U-12 champion, Mofifunoluwa Atilola from Lagos, a 10-year-old player who was moved to the U-14 category after dominating the U-12 for years.
Seyi Ogunsakin, another Ekiti State player, could not re-enact his pre-tournament form as he fell to Niger State’s Amir Mohammed in the boys U-14 final.
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Bright Emmanuel from Lagos defeated Favour Godwin from Abuja in the Girls U-16 final while Aminu Ibrahim was the better player when he played against Yohanna Yakubu in the Boys U-16 final between two Abuja boys.
Winners in all the categories at the Adewale Isa Foundation Junior Tennis Championship were rewarded for their efforts with giant trophies and two new tennis racquets each while the runners-up got a racquet each for their efforts.
Complimentary prizes of bags and socks were given to the third and fourth place winners respectively as a way of appreciating the players for participating in the tournament.
Below are pictures from other winners at the tournament:
