Editor
It was a glorious day for the Afaramai family from Nasarawa as their two sons, Heman and Godwin, took two of the three titles available for boys at the grand finale of the Sapetro Futures Tennis Championship. The competition ended on Saturday at the Mainland Tennis Club in Lagos.
Heman, the top seed in the Boys 16s, came very close to losing to Garuba Taiwo from Ogun State, who pushed him to a final set tiebreaker in the semis. Still, it was a lot easier in the final against Dami Agunbiade from the Calabar Sports Club, who retired, trailing 1-5 in the final due to some stomach discomfort.
Godwin, playing in the Boys 12s, needed a lot of encouragement from a restless mother to overcome a very smart and resilient Ademola Adejumobi from Ogun State, 10 -8 in the final set tiebreak.
The Ogun boys made up for the painful loss in the Boys 12s with Friday Testimony beating Adesina Alaba from Oyo State in straight sets.
The Girls 12s was an all-Kwara State affair with Amira Mohammed beating her younger teammate Mariam Bello to win the title. The Girls 14s title was another exciting dog-fight with Anu Odebode from Lagos Lawn Tennis Club edging hard-hitting Barakat Ganiyu from Oyo State, while Adeshewa Olaniyan from Ondo State beat Tolu Agunbiade from the Calabar Sports Club in another close encounter to win the Girls 16s title.
The most outstanding players of the tournament awards went to Odebode for the girls and Heman Afaramai for the boys.
Among the dignitaries who watched the exciting final matches were the Managing Director of South Atlantic Petroleum Company, Engr Emeke Anagbogu, who was Guest of Honour, and Mr Akinlolu Akinyele, the Managing Director and CEO of Industrial and General Insurance Plc (IGI).
The tournament, which introduced a novel third-place competition for losing semi-finalists, was run by the International Tennis Academy.
Photo: SAPETRO Futures Championship 2026 winners
