Tennis
Former Nigerian Ace, Odizor Cries For Tennis Revival –
Former tennis player, Nduka Odizor is saddened by the state of the sport in Nigeria and wants those saddled with the responsibility of administering the sport to wake up to their primary duties of developing the game.
Nduka “The Duke” Odizor as he was fondly called during his playing days blames the retrogression of tennis in the country on a lack of continuity and consistency on the part of the Nigeria Tennis Federation.
Odizor started playing tennis as a school boy in Benin city, Edo State and went on to feature in the national sports festival and the national tennis team as a teenager.
He was part of Nigeria’s Davis Cup team and represented Nigeria at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea.
He won several singles and doubles titles in Lagos and at the popular Ogbe Hard Court in Benin City.
He went on to win international tournaments in Taiwan, Mexico, Dallas, New York, Tokyo, Sydney and other cities.
At the peak of his tennis career, Odizor reached the fourth round of the Wimbledon Open in 1983 and was the only Nigerian to play on centre court at the All England club.
He featured in the U.S Open, the French Open and Australian open and was rated number 52 in the ATP world ranking in 1984.
Despite his vast experience, expertise, exposure and knowledge of the sport as a former player and member of important global tennis organisations, Odizor is yet to impact the administration of tennis in Nigeria.
He said he made several efforts with the intentions to administer Nigerian tennis but was never welcomed.
“I made moves and I tried to help, but the bad system in Nigeria would not welcome people like me who know and understand the game but not ready to play dirty politics.
“It’s been difficult to get into the tennis federation because those of us who are based overseas have been shut out. You wouldn’t believe that several years after being voted into office, nobody in the Nigeria tennis federation has reached out to me to seek my contribution. it’s a shame.”
Odizor who had a part of his secondary school education at the famous New Era secondary school in Benin City, featured and won titles at the Ogbe Hard Court tournament in Benin.
The once popular and glamorous tennis championship has been extinct for many years, but Odizor is keen on collaborating with the Edo State Government to resuscitate the event.
“It will be quite busy for me this year, because I had a meeting with Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki and we are making plans to restart the Ogbe Hard Court Tennis Championship in Benin.
“Besides that, I will be running and funding at least six different tournaments in all the geo-political zones of Nigeria and that will be my little way of helping Nigerian tennis”
Duke Odizor established a tennis foundation in 2004 which he runs from his base in Houston, the United states and his office in Abuja and Asaba in Nigeria. Through the foundation, Odizor returns to Nigeria often to hold tennis clinics and teach Nigerian children how to play the game.
Argentina’s 36-year-old Marco Trungelliti proved tennis dreams do not come with an expiration date when he became the oldest first-time tour-level finalist in the Open Era after beating the top seed at the Grand Prix Hassan II semi-finals in Marrakech on Saturday.
Trungelliti, who came through the tournament’s qualifiers, upset Italy’s defending champion Luciano Darderi 6-4 7-6(2) to break the previous record held by Victor Estrella Burgos of the Dominican Republic, who reached his first final aged 34 years in 2015.
Darderi, ranked 19 in the world, was only six-years-old when Trungelliti turned pro in 2008. With the victory, Trungelliti secured just his second career top-20 win.
“Of course, I believed it, that’s one of the reasons that I’m here. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible,” Trungelliti said in the on-court interview.
“I’ve worked a lot, me and my team and also my wife, my kid. We all believed in breaking the record basically and that’s exactly what we have done now.”
The milestone caps a remarkable journey for Trungelliti, who made his first ATP Tour semi-final in 2018 in Umag, Croatia – 402 weeks ago.
Having entered the tournament ranked 117 in the world, Trungelliti’s breakthrough week has already guaranteed he will crack the top 100 for the first time. He is currently ranked number 75 in the live rankings.
“It’s been happening the whole week, leaving the court with a victory,” added Trungelliti, who has dropped only one set at the tournament. “So hopefully (there) is one more to go.”
He will face Rafael Jodar on Sunday after the Spaniard prevented an all-Argentine final with a 6-2 6-1 victory over Camilo Ugo Carabelli.
-Reuters
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Serena Williams has been listed as eligible to return to tennis by the sport’s drug-testing body (ITIA) as of February 22, though it remains unclear whether the 23-time Grand Slam champion will make a stunning comeback to the women’s tour.
The 44-year-old raised eyebrows late last year after rejoining the tennis anti-doping testing pool, though she denied at the time the move signalled she was preparing to return to the sport she dominated for nearly two decades.
She reignited speculation last month when she deflected questions about a possible return during an appearance on NBC’s “Today” show.
The Women’s Tennis Association did not immediately respond to a request for comment outside normal business hours.
Williams, who won her last Grand Slam singles title in 2017, has not competed since the 2022 U.S. Open.
-Reuters
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Serena Williams has re-entered the tennis anti-doping testing pool but the 23-times Grand Slam champion denied on Tuesday that the move had anything to do with her making a return to the sport she dominated for nearly two decades.
The International Tennis Integrity Agency confirmed to Reuters that Williams, who has not competed since the 2022 U.S. Open, was among the list of players in its testing pool, which requires individuals to provide their whereabouts at any given time, every day, and participate in random testing
But as the story of 44-year-old Williams’ inclusion on the list, first reported earlier on Tuesday by The Athletic, gained traction and sparked talk about her potential return, the tennis great took to social media to deny a comeback was in her plans.
“Omg yall I’m NOT coming back. This wildfire is crazy,” Williams wrote on X.
Her agent did not immediately respond to an email from Reuters asking why the player had re-entered the testing pool.
Williams’ name appears on the ITIA website’s list of retired players and would be able to return to a sanctioned event after making herself available for out-of-competition testing for at least six months.
Last week former world number one Williams posted a series of photos on Instagram showing herself on a tennis court with her youngest daughter, Adira River, whom she gave birth to in August 2023.
In August 2022, ahead of her final U.S. Open, Williams announced in a Vogue article that she was “evolving away from tennis.”
Williams, who won her last Grand Slam singles title in 2017, had been chasing an elusive 24th crown that would have drawn her level with Australian Margaret Court, who holds the record.
The American came tantalisingly close to achieving that feat, featuring in four major finals since giving birth to her first daughter, Olympia, in 2017.
-Reuters
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