Nigerian umpire, Arinola Isa will be on international officiating duty in France in a few weeks’ time. Arinola, who’s a White Badge official, will officiate at the Métropole de Lyon Open in Lyon, France from 29 February to 8 March.

Arinola will serve as a line umpire at the WTA Tour-level event and has said her invitation to officiate is a big plus to Nigeria and to her as well.

“It’s an eye opener,” Arinola said. “It’s a big event, so for me to be invited as a line umpire is a big one for me. It’s a big plus to Nigeria and to me as well.”

She also noted that Nigerian umpires going on international duties in a way helps in the development of Nigeria’s officiating department.

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Arinola Isa

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“Advantage of it is, when we go, we come back with the experience as part of our lectures to other umpires to help them as well. Even though they’ve not been on international duty before, when they go they’ll remember what we’ve taught them.

“We see other people, how they do their things, how they are progressing, what makes them tougher, what makes them different. When we see all these things and come back, we try to implement it,” Arinola, who was as a chair umpire at the Fed Cup in Finland last year and at the 2019 African Games in Morocco, noted.

Arinola went on to laud the Nigeria Tennis Umpires Association, stating that the level of officiating in the country is “improving by the day.”

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“We are trying,” she said of the NTUA. “We are improving by the day. Now, we have a lot of us going out for tournaments. We have a lot of new ones coming up and going on chair with confidence. When we go out they see the potentials in us and it is appreciated.”

Arinola will also be at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, from July – August, where she will serve as a line umpire.