Top 9 Players Who May Be Considered For Billie Jean King Cup

About one month from now, Nigeria’s female team will be playing in Nairobi, Kenya, to try to qualify from the Group III of the Billie Jean King Cup event.

At the last outing in Kenya, the team came fifth and retained their spot in Group III after defeating Ghana in the promotional play-off.

Nigeria will be participating at the Billie Jean King Cup event for the fourth year after first appearing in the competition in 2021.

READ ALSO: Toyin Asogba: Two Months In France; Two Tournament Finals, Four Semis

And after their performance at the African Games where Nigeria’s female team won Silver and Bronze medals in the Team and Women’s Doubles events, Nigerians will be expecting the female team to go ahead and work wonders in Kenya.

Nigeria will be competing for honors in Group III against eleven other countries namely: Namibia, Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Burundi, Botswana, Uganda, South Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius and Tunisia.

Fortunately, Nigeria has a plethora of outstanding players to choose from, to represent the country at the event holding from 10-15 June, 2024, in Nairobi.

Nigeria Tennis Live will highlight some of these players and why we believe they deserve a spot on the team to prosecute the Billie Jean King Cup event.

READ ALSO:  Nigeria’s Ohunene Yakubu Reaches Highest Ever Junior ITF Ranking

Khadijat Mohammed
Known for her ferocious forehand which she takes to every tournament she participates in, this teenager is one of the players Nigerians are always talking about at tournaments.

And after her triumph at the Dala Hard Court championship in 2023, more attention was drawn towards the talented Abuja-based tennis sensation.

Mama as she is fondly called, was at her devastating best when she played across two legs of the Junior ITF events in Abuja, in 2024 as she lost only once across both legs, on her way to winning one of the J30 titles.

She recently represented Nigeria at the African Junior Championship in Algeria after reaching the final of the TPPA-UTR National Junior Tennis Championship where she lost to her rival, Bright Emmanuel.

Her invitation to train with the national team ahead of the recently-held African Games is an indication of how talented she is and how much the national team handlers rate her.

Ohunene Yakubu
Clearly one of Nigeria’s top junior players in the last two years, this 16-year-old Tunisia-based talent deserves to be in camp to prepare for the Billie Jean King Cup event.

Nene has been Nigeria’s highest ranked female junior player on the ITF for a while now, and she follows this up with consistent competitions at the ITF High Performance Centre in Tunisia, where she is currently based.

One trait this player possesses is the ability to never give up on court no matter how much the odds do not favour her.

READ ALSO: Billie Jean King Cup: It Was A Honor To Represent Nigeria – Quadre

And it was no surprise that she shone like a million enroute to winning a Junior ITF in Nigeria, reaching the final of another and doing a fine run in a J60 event in Tunisia. She was also recently invited to train with the national team ahead of the African Games.

Jumai Mohammed
At the time Jumai left Nigeria for the United States to study and play tennis, she was relatively unpopular on the national scene, but she was one of Nigeria’s top juniors.

She got a scholarship to study in America and has been slowly, but steadily stepping up her game, matching her academics with her activities on the tennis court.

Such is her ascendancy that she was recently named the rising star at her school’s end of the season gala after emerging second at the 2024 SAIC Championships alongside her colleagues.

Not only that, she was also named in the All-Tournament team for the Singles and the Doubles. The former Lagos-based athlete must have impressed those picking these teams to have gotten such accolades.

Divine Nweke
Strong, fearless and powerful are some traits that can easily be used to describe this Nigerian tennis player who will not seize to mesmerize her audience.

Not so much has been heard from the Denmark-based talented player since the African Games in Ghana where her run in the Singles event was not really as exciting, even though she showed the audience a flash of her talent. But she was superb in the team event.

She partnered Oyinlomo Quadre to win bronze for team Nigeria in the Doubles event at the Games and it was clear why she remains a regular in Nigeria’s female team.

If there’s anything, her experience at the previous Billie Jean King Cup events will surely come in handy, and the Nigerian coaches will surely know how to get the best out of her.

READ ALSO: Sarah Adegoke: Last Nigerian Female To Play Lagos Open Final

Marylove Edwards
Not often do you come face to face with a doublehanded backhand player, but we are blessed in Nigeria to witness this pristinely gifted star from time to time.

As thing stand, she remains Nigeria’s number one player, as she rose to that spot before leaving Nigeria late 2023, and no significant change has happened since then.

Marylove is being regarded within and outside the country, as she remains the player to beat by her opponents. Her reputation has also gone ahead of her.

Not much has been heard of the US-based tennis player since she returned from Ghana where she helped Nigeria to a silver and bronze medal finish, but it is believed that she is playing a number of tournaments to remain in shape.

Serena Teluwo
If there’s any player who has come of age and has grown significantly, and deserves to be on the plane to Kenya, it has to be Serena.

The silently dangerous tennis prodigy has been up and doing in the United States, where she is one of the best players for the Women’s Tennis Team at Shaw University.

Her outstanding tennis season was crowned when she was adjudged the Rookie (Freshman) of the year on the way to leading her school to a Conference win.

When she was recently asked, she confirmed that she believes that she is now ready to represent Nigeria at the Billie Jean King Cup event as she is now a more mature player than she used to be.

And having played to the level that she reached for her school this outgone tennis season, the youngster is preparing to participate in ITF events to solidify her tennis abilities.

READ ALSO: Abiodun Orimoloye: A Helping Hand Across The ‘Gold Coast’

Toyin Asogba
Asogba is another player who deserves an invite to the national team after taking France by storm barely two months after departing Nigeria for Europe.

After playing back-to-back tournaments for about eight weeks, this former Ikorodu-based talent reached four semifinals and played in two finals.

She confessed, during a chat with Nigeria Tennis Live, that the training in France is hard, but the tournaments are even harder, yet she has managed to do extremely well under very weird conditions.

Asogba is not unknown in the Nigerian tennis space, as she has always shown herself to be among the top players in the country, however, moving to France seems to have given her the exposure that her talent deserves.

Not to preempt her level of competitiveness, but the national trainers may not necessarily have to sweat to get her in shape and ready for the Billie Jean King Cup event is she is considered for the national team.

Adesuwa Osabuohien
Ade Mama, Adesuwa… the driving force behind team Nigeria at the Billie Jean King Cup events is fast becoming a ‘veteran’ of the event.

She won Nigeria’s first ever match at the Billie Jean King Cup tournament and has appeared in every single edition since Nigeria’s first participation in 2021.

READ ALSO: Nigeria’s Quadre Set To Represent American Varsity At NCAA, Here’s Why

Her composure in the face of crisis, her calmness when the chips are down, among other traits, are some of the reasons Nigerians who are close to her are endeared to her.

At the African Games in Ghana, when Ade Mama was not playing, she was cheering her colleagues on and motivating them. When she was playing, she was fighting on the court like her life depended on it even though her opponent appeared to be winning.

Adesuwa is a thorough professional and one of the most hardworking players on the team and also always leads from the front. She deserves a front row in the Nigerian team going to Kenya.

Oyinlomo Quadre
Without any form of prejudice, Oyinlomo Quadre, who, ironically, is the last name on this list, should be the first to secure her seat on the plane to Nairobi, Kenya.

Historically, she has won most matches for Nigeria at the Billie Jean King Cup tournament even though she has only attended twice before.

READ ALSO: Nigeria’s Toyin Asogba Reaches First Final In France

Her outstanding performance and consistency at the African Games in Ghana ensured Nigeria did not return home empty handed despite being sick, but more intriguing was how she returned to College and continued raising the bar.

She returned to Florida in good time to also lead her school to a back-to-back Conference USA win, and they were invited to participate at the NCAA Women’s Tennis event.

Of all her teammates at the Florida International University (FIU), Quadre was the only one selected to play at the NCAA Singles and Doubles event – with her partner, of course.

Despite being one of the more experienced players in Nigeria’s team, she still remains one of the most humble and down to earth players, and has remained a ‘staylite’ in Nigeria’s teams over the years.

Nigerians will be eager to watch their star girl, and will be looking forward to her performance at the BJK Cup where Team Nigeria will be hoping for promotion to Group II.

Now that we have made our suggestions, can anybody build their ideal team and come up with their top four (or five) players they expect to travel to Kenya?

Nigeria Tennis Live will keep tabs on the official team list which is expected to be out in the coming weeks as Nigeria intensifies plans to participate at the event.