As the 17th Governor's Cup Lagos Tennis Championship draws near, the International Tennis Federation, ITF, has fixed Thursday, 21 September as the deadline for players willing to participate in the pro circuit competition to register for the tourney.
This was contained in a notice published on the website of the ITF with other instructions on how the players could register for the two weeks event in Lagos after payment of $40 entry fee.
The ITF also directed that Tuesday, 26 September will be the deadline for withdrawal for any player who is not willing to play in the competition after registration.
The ITF said that the qualifying matches for the first leg (Futures 4) of the tournament will be played from 7-8 October, while the Main Draws will hold from 9-14 October at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan.
For the second leg (Futures 5), a deadline of Thursday, 28 September has been fixed for registration, while 3 October date has also been fixed for withdrawal. The second leg will end with the final matches and presentation of trophies on 21 October.
Nigeria's number one male tennis player, Sylvester Emmanuel, has promised to attend this year's Governor's Cup Tennis Championship.
Meanwhile, Tournament Director, Prince Wale Oladunjoye has hinted that the $100,000 prize money championship is going to be bigger this year with lots of attractive packaging that will make the tournament more glamorous.
He said the Local Organising Committee (LOC) headed by Chief Pius Akinyelure in conjunction with the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) will leave nothing to chance to ensure that the 17th Governor's Cup Lagos Tennis lives up to its billings.
This year's competition will likely attract more players across the world than the previous editions going by the interest shown by the emerging world tennis players' to visit Lagos. They are coming not only to win the dollar prize money, but they will play in the competition pick points to enhance their rating in the world.
The Governor's Cup Lagos Tennis Championship has been a tournament staged every year to celebrate the sitting Executive Governor of Lagos State, one of the emerging mega cities of the world.
Governor's Cup has been staged every year since the administration of Asiwaju Ahmed Tinubu. The incumbent, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, on resumption as the state governor, showed exceptional interest in seeing that the annual competition meets up its dates on the ITF calendar.
"This year is not an exception," said Prince Wale Oladunjoye - the tournament director - who commended the governor for the support and other friends of the governor who have over the years showed their unflinching support for the Governor's Cup Lagos Tennis.
“This competition started with Asiwaju Tinubu, who we all know as a great leader. Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola succeeded in improving on this tournament and we are so happy that Governor Ambode, with his love for sports, has ensured that the Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis becomes a bigger tournament that will attract more players to the city of Lagos,” Oladunjoye said.
