Following the success of this year’s Rainoil National Tennis Open event in Lagos, organisers said they have already set machinery in motion for a bigger and even better tournament next year.
Dr. Gabriel Ogbeche, the Group Managing Director of Rainoil Group, said as much while addressing audience during the finale of this year’s edition concluded recently inside the tennis section of Ikoyi Club 1938.
He was full of excitement as he noted that the return of the tournament was a great delight to the organization.
“We are already looking forward to the 2026 edition which we believe will be a lot bigger and better than this year’s event,” he said.
Recall that Christopher Bulus won his first senior national title at the recently concluded 2025 Rainoil National Tennis Open event after defeating Daniel Adeleye in the Men’s Singles Final.
The US-based Nigerian tennis prodigy who flew into the country from South Africa where he represented Nigeria at the Davis Cup event, was a clear favourite to win the competition despite not having a national ranking.
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He won in two straight sets against his Davis Cup compatriot as he fought for every point before winning 6-0, 6-4.
Alongside a giant winner’s trophy, the Kaduna-born tennis youngster also went home with the N2,000,000 (two million naira) in prize money for the Men’s Singles winner.
In the Women’s Singles event, Nigeria’s number one female tennis player, Khadijat Mohammed, fought back against long-time rival, Bright Emmanuel, to win her second consecutive senior national title and third overall.
The Abuja-based youngster was down in the first set after trailing 6-7 in the first set. She, however, got better in the second and final sets as she won 6-4, 6-3 to deny her opponent a first senior national title.
Mohammed, who has been on the ascendancy in the seniors for two years consecutively, has consolidated on her rating as one of Nigeria’s most impressive tennis youngsters.
She was rewarded with N1.5million as well as a giant winner’s trophy for her efforts and was well commended by the organizers for putting up a good fight.