Engr. Ifedayo Akindoju, the president of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) has reacted to Nigeria’s performance at the Billie Jean King Cup event in Kenya.
The NTF President commended the players who participated at the Africa Group III Qualifier event in Kenya for their impressive performance despite narrowly missing the promotion ticket to Group II.
Coach Rotimi Akinloye led the quartet of Adesuwa Osabuohien, Toyin Asogba, Divine Nweke and Oyinlomo Quadre to Nairobi, Kenya, with the aim of picking the sole ticket to Europe/Africa Group II in a battle against 11 other nations.
In Group C of the pool, Nigeria secured a 100% record, defeating Ghana, Uganda and Botswana to top the group.
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In the subsequent fight for promotion against Kenya and South Africa, Nigeria put up an inch-perfect performance to dismiss hosts Kenya, and put themselves in a place to secure promotion.
The players were, however, unable to make it past South Africa who were eventually crowned winner of the competition, and the sole team to move to the Europe/Africa Group II at the end of the one-week event.
In a press statement issued after the tournament, Akindoju said: “What happened in Kenya was a great performance by our players in what was a competition against eleven other nations.
“At the end of the day, even though we narrowly lost the ticket to make it to Europe next year, the ladies showed that we have great players in Nigeria who have what it takes to stand against the best players across the globe.
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“I am particularly proud of their demeanor in Nairobi and how they handled pressure during the competition. Emerging as the second-best team was not our desire, but we will take that and keep building on what we have at the moment.
“The players were very disappointed after their loss to South Africa, that is the stuff of champions. But I am confident that with these players, and others, we will be ready to secure the ticket next year”.
The players have since returned to their respective bases on conclusion of the Billie Jean King Cup event which ended on Saturday, 15 June, 2024.