Ekpenyong Wins 2022 Rainoil Tennis Tournament

The one-week Rainoil Tennis Open ended with glamour on Sunday at the Ikoyi Club 1938 in Lagos, with sixteen-year-old David Ekpenyong emerging as the winner of the men’s single by beating his opponent, Uche Oparaoji, 7-6(4), 6-1, and winning the grand prize of N1.5 million. Ekpenyong and Oparaoji had earlier won the men’s double, beating Biron Albert and Madueke Nonso 6-3, 4-6, 10-8.

In a similar trend, seventeen-year-old Marylove Edwards won the women’s single by defeating her opponent, Anu Ayegbusi, 6-0, 2-0 rtd, as Ayegbusi bowed out of the game during the second round. The women’s double was also won by Edward and Ayegbusi, who defeated Toyin Asogba and Blessing Omotayo 6-0, 6-2. The tournament, which was co-sponsored by Stanbic IBTC Bank, had a total of 144 top players selected from different parts of Nigeria.

The Chairman of the Tennis Section of Ikoyi Club 1938, Mr. Akeem Mustafa, commended Rainoil Limited for the successful outcome of the event and the support of the game of tennis by Rainoil. According to Mustafa, Rainoil Limited has over the years demonstrated unusual passion and support for tennis and has consistently increased the winnings of the tournament, thereby building interest in the game. He urged the management of Rainoil not to relent in their support of the game.

Congratulating the winners, the Group Managing Director of Rainoil Limited, Dr. Gabriel Ogbechie OON, said the investment of Rainoil in lawn tennis is born out of his passion for the game and the desire to provide platforms for young ones to love the game and make a decent living from it. Ogbechie said tennis is a game that is capable of lifting the young ones out of poverty and bringing them into prosperity. He said top tennis players in the world have won over $100 million in prize money alone, and Nigerians can rise to that level in the game if they are well developed.

Ogbechie further submitted the game of tennis deserves all the support it can get and decried the absence of officials of the Nigeria Tennis Federation at the tournament. The Rainoil boss stated that the Nigeria Tennis Federation, as the custodian of the game in Nigeria, should show support and encouragement to any organization that shows any iota of interest in the game, and that as the highest paying tournament in Nigeria, the Nigeria Tennis Federation should have shown support for the Rainoil Tennis Open with their presence.

The Managing Director of Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr. Wole Adeniyi, expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the game and congratulated the winners, players, and Rainoil Limited for the ingenious initiative. He expressed hope that the tournament will produce a grand slam winner in the future and assured Rainoil of the bank’s continuous support for the tournament.