Sports
Chevron Junior Tennis Championship To Hold In Warri
The inaugural edition of the Chevron Junior Tennis Championship, an invitational tournament, will commence later this month at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
The tournament, which is a part of the International Tennis Academy (ITA) Junior Circuit and run by the ITA, will have four categories, the Boys’ 12 & Under, the Girls’ 12 & Under, the Boys’ 16 & Under and the Girls 16 & Under. All categories will feature 16 participants each except the Boys 16 & Under, which will feature 32 players.
In December last year, the Chevron Junior Tennis Development Program kicked off in Warri with a tennis clinic and enlightenment talk for aspiring tennis stars.
The programme which covered five cities, Warri, Lagos, Akure, Port Harcourt and Abuja, gave participants the basic tennis skills, information to enable them take up the sport, competitively or for recreational purposes, and knowledge to follow the game at the highest level.
Additionally, they got tips on how to succeed in life and be good citizens.
According to the director of the ITA, Godwin Kienka, the five major strokes of tennis, serve, forehand, backhand, volley and overhead, were taught in the sessions in all the target cities, and the participants can now demonstrate and attempt to play that.
Other junior tournaments on the ITA Junior Circuit set to hold this year are the NNPC/SNEPCO tournament, the 19th edition of the NNPC/Chevron Junior Tennis Masters, the 13th edition of the CBN Junior Tennis Championship, and the Zenith Bank ‘Next Gen’ Junior Tennis Masters. The director stated that dates for the tournaments will be confirmed when the country’s elections are over.
Winners in all categories in these tournaments will take home rackets, tennis shoes, tennis bags and many other tennis kits.
This system has produced players who are now on the national scene. Marylove Edwards, Angel McLeod, Oyinlomo Quadre, Christopher Bulus, are among those to have come through such.
In a statement released by the league, the competition is scheduled to take place from Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 14, 2026, with six clubs set to battle for the league title at the end of the 2025/26 season.
NWFL Chief Operating Officer, Modupe Shabi, said the choice of Port Harcourt reflects the Rivers State Government’s continued support for women’s football and its successful hosting of the league’s Annual General Assembly last year.
The Super Six tournament will feature the top three teams from Group A and Group B of the regular season competing in a round-robin format, with each club playing five matches over nine days.
Qualified teams for the competition include defending champions Bayelsa Queens, Edo Queens, Rivers Angels, Robo Queens, Nasarawa Amazons, and debutants Abia Angels.
The NWFL Premiership has produced four different winners in the last five editions, with Rivers Angels winning in 2021, Bayelsa Queens claiming the title in 2022 and 2025, Delta Queens triumphing in 2023, and Edo Queens emerging champions in 2024.
The league also urged participating clubs to comply with all competition regulations and directives ahead of the championship. The Super Six will determine Nigeria’s representative for the WAFU-B qualifiers for a place at the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League and ultimately the 2027 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup.
Teams are expected to arrive on Friday, June 5, when the draw ceremony and pre-match meeting will also take place. Matchdays are scheduled for June 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14, with rest days in between before the tournament concludes with the trophy presentation ceremony.
