World Stars Arrive, as Lagos Open Tennis Begins

Lagos will play host to players across the world as the International Tennis Federation (ITF) approved circuit, the Lagos Open Tennis, begins this weekend.

Already scores of emerging tennis players from different countries of the world have been arriving ahead of the event, which will be played in the next two weeks at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, TBS, Onikan.

Some of the players who have arrived are Tucker Vorster, Paulina Jastrzerbrska, Claudia Coppola, Diana Maria Mihail, Phillipe Gelade, Zoe Kruger, Rico Gore, Nigerian-born British player,Tiffany William, Valeriya Siskova, Fiona Codino, Alexandria Riley from USA; Jesman Jebawi from Germany and a host of others.These players came into Lagos with their coaches and parents.

The tournament is made up of two Futures, the F5 and the F6, while players will compete in four events- Men’s Singles, Men’s Doubles, Women’s Singles and Women’s Doubles with total prize money of $100,000.

Qualifying matches for Futures 4 (first leg) starts on September 29 with the main draw commencing on October 1 and the final on October 6.

The main draws for Futures 5 (second leg) will commence on October 8 with the grand final set for October 13 where Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, is expected to declare the tournament closed.

The breakdown as published by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) shows that 60 players registered in the men’s event, while 65 players are taking part in the women’s category. They are coming from 47 top nations of the world. Some of which are USA, Brittan, Slovakia, Kenya, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, China, Cameroon, India, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Ecuador, Poland, Thailand, Egypt, Serbia, Mexico and a host of others.