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Nigeria’s junior
tennis team – the 14 and under and the 16 and under – will be leaving
for Ghana in the second week of the new year to begin another quest to
try and wrest the West and Central African Championship title from
Ghana, who claimed the team trophy last time out in Accra.

Coach of the team, Mohammed Ubale, said 12 players for all the categories have been invited to camp for the event.

“The camping of the
players will start next week and Kaduna has been chosen as camp site
because we will be competing on clay courts in Ghana and in Egypt,
where the African championship will take place.

Ghana won the team
trophy at the 2010 ITF/CAT West and Central African Junior
Championships, courtesy of victories by Elisabeth Kapari and Francis
Akpese over Nigerians in the girls’ and boys’ 14 categories. Kapari
beat Sarah Adegoke 6-3, 6-0 while Akpese defeated Emmanuel Idoko 6-0,
6-0.

Nigeria thus came
second with Umoru Balami, winning silver in the boys’ 16 and under
category. Balami had been defeated by Tunde Segodo of Benin in the
final.

Better prepared

For the 2011 edition, Ubale believes Balami is better prepared and equipped.

“He has been at the
ITF Tennis Academy in Pretoria for the past seven months and because of
his excellent performances during that period, he has been granted a
full one-year scholarship. His game has improved so much that I believe
he will win the event in Ghana.”

Emmanuel Idoko also
performed creditably in last year’s boys’ 14 and under category and
Ubale is also hopeful for a better outing for the youngster.

“We will be better
prepared for this one and the issue of first time travellers which was
the case for our team last year is no more the case. The players are
now better equipped to deal with the pressure of playing away from
home.” He also added that only eight players will make the trip to
Ghana.

“We will trim the team as we get over our one-week camping. There will be two representatives per category for the tournament.”

Nine countries are
expected to participate in the week-long competition, scheduled to take
place at the Winneba Sports College, Ghana.

Players called to camp

Boys 14 and under Girls 14 and under: Sylvester Emmanuel, Sarah Adegoke, Joseph Imeh, and Zainab Oladimeji.

Boys 16 and under Girls 16 and under: Umoru Balami, Ann Okoro,
Emmanuel Idoko, Miracle Sunday, Mohammed Mohammed, and Ramota Adeyemi.