18th October, 2012
Nigerian tennis player, Sunday Igbinovia, has said that this year’s Governor’s Cup will be the final tournament in which he will participate as a player.
Igbinovia, who could not make it to the Main Draws of the Men’s Singles, told P.M.NEWS that he felt it was high time he stepped aside in order to focus on grooming younger talents like he did with his brother, Jonathan.
He said: “This will be my last time of participating in any tennis tournament as a player because I want to focus more on grooming younger players for the future the same way I helped my younger brother, Jonathan.
“I want to set up an academy here in Lagos with the support of Jonathan, who is in the USA, where young players will learn how to play tennis and at the same time concentrate on their education,” said the Edo State-born player.
Igbinovia also explained that he participated in this year’s championship just to show the younger ones that they could still play the game to the highest level if they don’t lose concentration.
“I wanted the younger players to learn from me and understand that they can also play this game to the peak and make something meaningful out of it if only they remain focused.
“I’m in my late thirties and if I could still play the way I did, then those younger ones don’t have any reason or excuse not to perform very well even to the highest level” he said.
—Damilare Okunola