The Chevron Junior Tennis Championship will begin on Tuesday, 22 – 27 October at the Race Course, Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan.

The tournament is a climax to the Chevron Junior Tennis Development Program which kicked off in Lagos in July and ended in Warri in August.

The development program was run by Chevron Nigeria in collaboration with the International Tennis Academy (ITA) and covered seven target locations: the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan, Greensprings School, Lekki, National Stadium, Surulere, all in Lagos, the Akure Sports Club in Ondo, the Chevron Sports Club in Warri, Delta State, the Port Harcourt Club, Rivers State and the National Stadium, Abuja.

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Kids at the Greensprings School, Lekki.

This tournament, which is a hard-court event for boys and girls under 12 & 16, is holding for the second time this year (first being in April), and will feature the best kids from the seven locations as well as the best youngsters from the six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.

Players will arrive on the 22nd, action will be begin on 23 – 25, semi-finals will hold on the 26th, while the grand finale will be on the 27th.

The event, which is run by the ITA, got expanded this year after the addition of the under-12 category, and will see 64 youngsters compete in a round-robin pro set format for top honours and prizes, including tennis kits such as balls, rackets and tennis bags.

In the previous edition, Salamatu Haruna (North-Central) and Seun Ogunshakin (South-West) emerged winner in the girls and boys under-12 category, respectively.

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Salamatu Haruna

Rebecca Ekpeyong and David Dawariye, both from the South South, clinched the girls and boys under-16 titles, respectively. Rebecca Ekpeyong was adjudged the most outstanding player of the tournament.

This week’s event promises to be gripping, with, Rebecca Ekpeyong, the girls 16 defending champion, going head-to-head against in-form players like Serena Teluwo and Destiny Okhinaye.

Favour Amaechi from the South South, Mary Azi from the North Central and Nene Yakubu from the South West are among those who will slug it out in the girls 12 category, while Seun Ogunshakin from the South West, Lucky Danjuma and Yakubu Yahonna both from the North Central, and Precious Ikeuba from the South South stand out as favourites in the boys 12 category.