Top 5 Most Talked About Nigerian Tennis Players In 2024
The 2024 tennis season will officially come to an end in a matter of weeks, but the intrigues that trailed the Nigerian tennis players will not end in a haste.
Throughout the tennis season, however, some players were like the ‘talk of the town’ for different reasons, most of which centred around performances and events or incidents that shaped the Nigerian tennis scene.
This article will torch the light on four of these players and why they were among the most talked about tennis players this year.
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Michael Emmanuel aka Akpan
Many Nigerian players could have sworn that they knew about Akpan, especially when he was selected to join the Africa Games camping.
Fate would, however, stop the Abuja-based tennis youngster from making the final team selected to represent Nigeria at the Games in Accra, Ghana. But he had become a mainstay on Coach Benson Ishicheli’s mind and list.
When the next opportunity came, Akpan made it to the Davis Cup camp and subsequently reached the Davis Cup proper. And it was at the event that he eventually showed the world what stuff he was made of.
Not only did he go unbeaten in his first ever appearance at a Davis Cup event, he won matches convincingly and made sure that people who never believed in him became his biggest supporters. Akpan became an instant hit with Nigerian tennis players, followers and lovers.
In the pecking order of the Nigerian players who were selected to represent the country at the Davis Cup event, he was the least ranked, and coincidentally, Nigeria was the least ranked nation among the participating countries.
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But he not only proved to be a change maker, he carried the team with so much grace, elegance and humility, resulting in the coach trusting him even more as the competition progressed.
David Ekpenyong aka Mr. Lanky
Nigeria’s number one player became the most searched name on Nigeria Tennis Live‘s website for three consecutive months after being left out of the Davis Cup team that helped Nigeria gain promotion to World Group II playoffs.
It was initially an unbelievable piece of news that the US-based talented Nigerian tennis star would not be gracing the occasion after being initially drawn in the list of players to participate in the Tennis World Cup event.
Word reaching Nigeria Tennis Live was that he was suspended by his Academy over certain actions which were not particularly made public.
Nigerians were first confused about how an academy had so much power to suspend a national team player, but when the Davis Cup non-playing captain, Benson Ishicheli confirmed the news, it became obvious that it was no longer a joke.
Journalists also asked the NTF during the press briefing to herald the Davis Cup event and there and then, it was confirmed that he would not be taking any part in the competition.
But the player, unperturbed by the situation, took up a fresh challenge in his school, and became the first player in their history to reach the finals of an ITA Regional Championship. This feat was a big deal for his school and has since elevated his status at the institution.
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Prosperity Okonkwo
Not many people every knew or heard about this youngster until the start of the year when he started showing glimpses of greatness in the matches that he performed in.
Although he had already established himself among some of the best junior players, representing the country at the African Junior Championships, and winning laurels in the process, not many people were familiar with this Abuja-based youngster until the junior ITF events in the Federal Capital.
Not only were spectators stunned by his seamless performances that left his opponents wishing they didn’t face him, many people were forced to ask “who be this boy?”
Such was his bravery, ability and absolute mastery on the court that many people started touting him as the next big thing in Nigeria.
He has since won several junior ITF titles, including back-to-back J60 events in Ghana, where he outlasted Nigeria’s number junior player – Daniel Adeleye, on both occasions.
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Christopher Bulus
Especially on the social media, a lot more Nigerians got to know the magical Chris Bulus, as he continued to shine bright on the global stage.
Prior to the Davis Cup Africa Group III Qualifying event in Abuja, not for once did Nigerians take their eyes off his schedule as everyone could not wait to have him at the event.
Only Benjamin Lock of Zimbabwe had competed in more tournaments than Bulus ahead of the tennis event and it drew more attention to the former Lagos-based Kaduna-born tennis star.
He proved to be the difference maker in all the matches he played in, losing only once out of the five Singles he played as he ended the match against Namibia with an injury, but the most amazing part of his competition was defeating Benjamin Lock, a player who came into Abuja from a major tournament.
Not only did he entertain Nigerians, such was his performance that they graced the official Davis Cup social media pages across the world. Indeed a star had been born.
After the competition, Bulus continued his fine form on tour and was rewarded with more ATP points, as he moved into the top 900 players in the world. Nigerians will be expecting more from their US-based golden talent.
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Oyinlomo Quadre
For more than three consecutive years, Barakat has consistently been the cynosure of all eyes across the globe.
She is one of the few consistent Nigerian players who keep putting the country’s name on the map for the right reasons. From Lagos to the Florida International University (FIU) where she remains the institution’s highest ranked player, Quadre is a treasure.
At the African Games in Accra, Ghana, she was the only Nigerian player to reach the quarterfinal of an individual event, after narrowly missing the semis only after a final set encounter against her Egyptian opponent against whom she staged a massive comeback from 0-5 to win the second set 7-6.
Not only Nigerian players at the tournament, but other Africans at the Games would not stop hailing the bravery of the Nigerian superstar as they kept calling her world class.
On her return to Florida, Quadre kept up with her stellar performances, anchoring her school to a second consecutive Conference-USA title and a subsequent qualification to play at the NCAA as the only ranked player from her school.
She would later return to help Nigeria finish second in the Billie Jean King Cup competition, where we narrowly missed the ticket to World/Africa Group II to South Africa.
Her accolades are too numerous to reveal and she keeps raising the bar for other Nigerian players to follow. Little wonder she is generally recognized her as one of Nigeria’s most talked about tennis players.
Now that the list has ended, tell us, in the comments, whom we missed out whom you could have added to our list of Nigeria’s most talked about tennis players of 2024.
