The 39th Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Open Tennis Championship will hold at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos from May 25 to June 3, 2017, sponsors of the national flagship championship, CBN has announced.
There would be six categories of titles at stake in the tournament expected to feature no fewer than 300 players, namely Men’s singles, Women singles, Men’s doubles, Women’s doubles, Wheel Chair Men’s singles and Wheel Chair Women’s singles.
The total prize-money for the tournament is N11, 248,000 (Eleven Million, Two Hundred and Forty Eight Thousand Naira) with men’s and women’s singles winners going home with N700, 000 each while the runners-up of the two categories will get N500,000 each.
“This is the biggest domestic event in the calendar of the Nigeria Tennis Federation and we are set for a hitch-free tournament,” NTF Secretary General, Mariam Akande said.
In his remarks, the Ag. Director, Corporate Communications Department, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Isaac Okorafor said that, the continued sponsorship of the championship shows the Bank’s commitment to promoting and developing the game of tennis in Nigeria. The CBN also sponsors the Junior Tennis Tournament, which serves as a feeder to the senior championship.
The main draw for the men’s singles is round of 64 (six matches to the final) while that of the women is 32 (five matches to the final). There would also be four wild cards for the men’s main draw and two wild cards for the women’s main draw.
Meanwhile, defending women’s champion, Melissa Ifidzhen will miss the tournament as it coincides with her examination in Russia, while men’s current champion, Moses Michael who is now based in the US will not be available to defend his title.