No fewer than 200 young boys and girls took part in a three-day clinic/tournament organised by the Tswako Foundation in collaboration with the FCT Tennis Association in Abuja.
The event which held at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium saw participants take part in a two-day tennis clinic session from June 26 to June 27, with the tournament held on Saturday, June 28 to wrap up the event in grand style.
Coach Sunday Samuel, the Head coach, FCT Tennis Association told newsmen that the essence of the clinic/tournament was to give back to the society.
He commended the initiative and emphasized its potential to elevate the standards of youth tennis in Nigeria.
“Sadiq Tswako, the founder of Tswako Foundation was one of my boys who learnt tennis here at the stadium and was able to gain scholarship to the U.S. through the game where he has been for many years.
“So, he chose to return and give back to the community where he started.
“I started training him in 2006 when he was about 12 years old, and he went through all the junior categories and finally left for the U.S. when he was about 16 years old.
“The objective is to give back to society where he started as a child, which gave him so much opportunity.
“It also gives opportunity to young and upcoming players to learn from his experience and become better players with access to a lot of resources and opportunities to grow,” he said.
He noted that no fewer than 200 young boys and girls had benefitted from the event.
He added that aside from the rich training they received, they also smiled home with rackets, balls, strings, and shoes.
“We had nine categories for boys and girls in U-10, U-12, U-14, U-16, and U-18.
“Initially, we planned for four categories, but due to the high turn-up, we had to scale it up.
“The tournament served off at the end of a two-day clinic where we trained and taught the kids a lot of modern techniques of the game.
“The foundation has promised to continue to make the tennis clinic/tournament, an annual event with other events scheduled to take place in Niger and Lagos States respectively this year,” he said.
Sadiq Tswako, founder Tswako Foundation said that the iniative was designed to motivate young players, boost grassroots sports development, and inspire greater participation in tennis across the country.
“First of all, I am a Nigerian, and I always remember that, no matter where I am today.
“I started right on this court, just like these young players with little opportunities and access to a lot of things like rackets, balls, and tennis shoes.
“Looking back now, I felt the need to go back and do the little I can and to help the next generation of players,” he said.
He noted that he started playing tennis at the age of 9, adding that , he started his journey as a ball kid and picked it up from there.
“I watched and was passionate, consistent, and dedicated to the sport over the years and eventually got a scholarship to the U.S.
“I am currently a professional coach, and as a matter of fact, this tennis clinic/tournament is our eight edition.
“We’ve been doing this for the past eight years. We started small with a handful of people at the Abuja Country Club Life Camp, Abuja, and we just kept expanding every year.
“Last year, we made it as a regional competition where we had a lot of players from six states competing.
“So, this time around, my team thought it wise to organise not just a tournament, but also a clinic, so we can focus on teaching these young players some useful skills and basic techniques of the game, while we distribute rackets, balls, tennis shoes, and so on,” he said.
He noted that he had been getting a lot of funding from the U.S., as well as personal funds and donations from friends, family, and supporters.
He stressed that the whole idea was to see how he could get sponsorship and support from Nigeria to make the clinic/tournament a national event.
“We are also reaching out to the public and private sectors to see how they can support us in this regard.
“This is so that we can reach out to a wide range of players that will benefit from this programme. So, we have a goal to expand,” he said.
Natasha Sauerborn, American Tennis Coach, one of three members of the Tswako Foundation team from New York, U.S. affirmed the foundation’s dedication to grassroots sports development.
“I work back home with coach Sadiq, who is the founder of the Tswako Foundation.
“He told me a lot about the foundation and its initiative, and so, travelling to Nigeria to meet the kids, help teach them and see what tennis is like here was a no-brainer for me because I love and teach children tennis back home,” she said.
Sauerborn noted that the kids in Nigeria were very talented, adding that with more training and coaching programmes such as what the Tswako Foundation was doing, they can go very far.
“We are three of us from the U.S., and all three of us play, but two of us are also coaches. I play back home in the USTA League.
“The talents here are amazing. The kids work so hard, and I have learnt a lot from teaching them.
“Of course, they need more access to resources and more rackets, shoes, balls, and these kind of quality items.
“I am hoping that through the work that we are doing, we keep encouraging the kids to want to keep playing , getting better, and working hard.
“I am also hoping to keep working with the foundation to do more events like this.
“By so doing, we can be able to bring back to the kids more rackets, balls, strings, and shoes, and all the resources that they need to get better.
“The Tswako Foundation believes that every child is a potential champion, and I hope that I see one of these children become champions in the future,” she said.
The President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF), Engr. Dayo Akindoju also lauded the Tswako Foundation for the initiative and urged more stakeholders, including ex-internationals, to invest in the future of Nigerian tennis.
2025 FCT TSWAKO FOUNDATION JUNIORS TENNIS TOURNAMENT FINAL RESULTS
*1. BOYS 10 YEARS & UNDER*
Elvis Godwin BT Bright Alex 10/5(on tie-break)
*2. GIRLS 10 YEARS & UNDER*
Mary Felix BT Miracle Azi 10/1(on tie-break)
*3. BOYS 12 YEARS & UNDER*
Yakubu Miracle BT Emmanuel Bebe 4/0, 4/2
*4. GIRLS 12 YEARS AND UNDER*
Charity Felix BT Ivana Abu 0/4, 5/3, 10/6
*5. BOYS 14 YEARS & UNDER*
Ridwan Sadiq BT Onche Wisdom
*6. GIRLS 14 YEARS & UNDER*
Salvation Alex BT Blessing Peter
*7. BOYS 16 YEARS & UNDER*
Chukwudubem Amasiani BT Mohammed Amir 4/2, 4/2
*8. GIRLS 16 YEARS & UNDER*
Tolu Agunbiade BT Favour Godwin 4/1, 4/2
*9. BOYS 18 YEARS & UNDER*
Musa Mamud BT Yahuza Bello 4/1, 4/0.
