Williams and Djokovic named 2015 ITF World Champions

The ITF announced today that Serena Williams of the United States and Novak Djokovic of Serbia are the 2015 ITF World Champions. Williams is named Women’s World Champion for the sixth time, while this is the fifth occasion that Djokovic has received the honour.

Martina Hingis of Switzerland and Sania Mirza of India become Women’s Doubles World Champions, while Jean-Julien Rojer of Netherlands and Romania’s Horia Tecau are Men’s Doubles World Champions. Hingis is an ITF World Champion 15 years after last being named World Champion in singles in 2000, while Tecau was previously World Champion in boys doubles in 2002.

Dalma Galfi of Hungary and USA’s Taylor Fritz are named ITF Junior World Champions, while the ITF Wheelchair World Champions are Jiske Griffioen of Netherlands and Japan’s Shingo Kunieda, who becomes men’s champion for the seventh time.

The ITF World Champions will receive their awards at the 2016 ITF World Champions Dinner on Tuesday 31 May, in Paris, during Roland Garros.

Serena Williams came within two matches of achieving the Grand Slam in 2015, winning the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, and held all four Slams at the same time for the second time in her career. She won five titles overall, and finished No. 1 in the year-end rankings for the fifth time on the back of a 53-3 win-loss record.

Williams said: “It means a lot to me to be named the ITF World Champion for the sixth time. I am proud to have achieved my second Serena Slam, in what has been an amazing year for me. Thank you for this recognition and for the undying support of the tennis community.”

Novak Djokovic at Us Open
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Novak Djokovic won a career-best 11 titles in 2015, ending at No. 1 in the year-end rankings for the fourth time. He won three major titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open, and was runner-up at Roland Garros. He was in commanding form on all surfaces, boasting a career-best 82-6 win-loss record during the year.

Djokovic said: “It is an honour to be named ITF World Champion for the fifth time. My season was the best of my career with many highlights. It inspires me even more to keep on going, and I hope to continue to play at this level in 2016.”

Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau enjoyed a breakthrough season which saw the Dutch-Romanian pairing capture their first Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. They also won Rotterdam and the ATP World Tour Finals, capturing the season-ending title without losing a set to clinch the year-end No. 1 doubles team ranking. Both players have received support from the Grand Slam Development Fund.

Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic won same award in 2014

Tecau said: “It is very rewarding and fulfilling to end the year as an ITF World Champion for the second time in my career. We have been improving all areas of our game, and are happy to be moving in the right direction. This is what we dream about, and it’s very motivating to carry on and try and push our limits again.”

Rojer said: “I’m extremely happy and glad with how the whole year went. It is very satisfying to have achieved these results with my partner Horia after putting in so much hard work.”

Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza only joined forces in March but proved a force to be reckoned with in 2015, winning two Grand Slam titles at Wimbledon and the US Open, and seven further tournaments. They won their last 22 matches from the start of the US Open through wins in Asia at Guangzhou, Wuhan, Beijing and the WTA Finals, ending the year with a 55-7 record.

Hingis said: “It is a great honour to be named ITF Women’s Doubles World Champions. Sania and I have enjoyed every minute of the season and we hope to continue in 2016 in the same fashion. We are set to join a long list of champions and it is a privilege to be recognised alongside them.”

Mirza said: “I am very honoured to receive this award from the ITF after what has been a great year for me and Martina. It is incredible that we have achieved so much in such a short time playing together. I am grateful to everyone that has helped me throughout my career and I hope that my success can inspire other girls in India.”

David Haggerty, ITF

ITF President David Haggerty said: “Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams, who repeat as ITF World Champions, turned in exceptional performances in 2015, each winning three Grand Slam titles and dominating the rankings. In doubles, there are two new teams to receive this honour, Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, and Martina Hingis and Sania Mirza. Both Rojer and Tecau are beneficiaries of the Grand Slam Development Fund, while both Tecau and Hingis are previous ITF World Champions.”

The ITF’s selection of its senior World Champions is based on an objective system that considers all results during the year, but gives special weight to the Grand Slam tournaments, and two ITF international team competitions, Davis Cup by BNP Paribas and Fed Cup by BNP Paribas.

Dalma Galfi is the first-ever Hungarian player to receive the ITF World Champion honour in any category. In a competitive girls’ season on the ITF Junior Circuit, the 17-year-old won the US Open and secured the year-end No. 1 ranking in the very last tournament of the year.

Galfi said: “I’m very happy and proud to be World Champion in 2015. I’m the first Hungarian to achieve this and it means a lot to me. I hope that the up-and-coming Hungarian players can follow in my footsteps, as there are a lot talented young players in our country.”

Taylor Fritz is the first American boy to be named ITF Junior World Champion since Donald Young in 2005. The 18-year-old reached two Grand Slam junior singles finals in 2015, winning the US Open, and after taking over the No. 1 ranking in June he held on to the top spot for the rest of the season.

Fritz said: “It feels amazing to be the ITF Junior World Champion. It’s been a goal of mine for many years and it feels great to actually achieve it. I loved ITF junior tennis and I hope I can build on the great foundation it has laid for me.”

As ITF World Champion for the seventh time, Shingo Kunieda is now the most decorated man in the wheelchair men’s category. The Japanese had another outstanding season, collecting seven titles on the UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour, including all three Grand Slam singles titles, and achieving a 30-2 singles win-loss record.

Serena Williams
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Kunieda said: “I am really happy to be World Champion for the seventh time and set a new record. I am grateful for the support of my team who have helped me a lot this year, and my goal is now to win my third consecutive gold medal at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.”

Jiske Griffioen of Netherlands had a breakthrough 2015, winning her first Grand Slam wheelchair singles title at the Australian Open, and following up with a second major title at Roland Garros. Having been ranked continuously in the Top 5 since September 2010, the 30-year-old finally reached the top spot in June and stayed there for the rest of the year.

Griffioen said: “It was an amazing year for me. In January I won my first Grand Slam singles title, and then in June won my second Grand Slam title and took over the world No. 1 ranking for the first time in my career. This was a great reward for a lot of hard work.”

ITF President David Haggerty said: “I would like to thank all the 2015 ITF World Champions for their contribution to another memorable year for our sport.”

Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis: Nigeria’s Emmanuel Upsets America’s Reed In First Round

Nigerian players taking part in the 15th Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship began their quest for honours with victories in the first round of the competition with Sylvester Emmanuel making the headlines following his 7-6(3), 6-3 win over American Anderson Reed at the Lord Rummen Centre Court of the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan.

Emmanuel, a wild card entrant, clinched the men’s singles title at the Dala Hard Court Championship two weeks ago and he seems to have saved his best for the Governor’s Cup as he could only watch his Team Kalotari managed a third place finish at the NCC Team Tennis Final on Saturday.

An elated Emmanuel said after the match that he was not surprised with the victory over Reed who is ranked 1488 in the world, adding that hardwork and experience he gained while traveling around the world to play in different circuits won the match for him.

“I feel great winning this match. I went into the match with a great confidence that I would win. This is because I played more ATP tournaments than Reed. He is a good player but I’m better than him,” said Emmanuel, who in the past few months had played in ATP ranked competitions in the USA, Togo and Benin Republic.

The Nigerian star, however, said that this year’s Governor’s Cup will be different for the local players as they are battle ready to give their foreign counterparts a good run for their money.

Other Nigerians who made a headway in the first round of the men’s singles are Mohammed Mohammed, who defeated Ghana’s Bernard Dugbah 4-6, 5-3, 5-3, while Albert Bikom also edged Swiss Jessy Kalambay 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, all in the men’s singles.

Some Nigerian ladies won their respective matches of the first round, moving on to the second round. Ronke Akingbade beat compatriot Christie Nwankwo 4-6, 6-2, 6-1, while Blessing Samuel lost to Osariemen Airhumwunde 6-4, 6-2.

Men singles final 2014
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The duo of Mohammed Mohammed and Joseph Imeh beat the pair of Alexei Filenkov of Russia and Aldin Setkic of Bosnia to progress to the second round.

It was not a smooth sailing for Nigeria as Aminat Quadri lost 6-0, 6-0 to Frenchwoman Tessah Andrianoafitrimo while Kyra Shroff of India also crushed Nigeria’s Rita Obasigie 6-0, 6-0 in the women’s singles.

In other results, Tadeja Majeric of Slovakia beat Eden D’Oliveira of USA 60-3, 6-1. Ester Masuri of Israel defeated Olena Kyrpot of Ukraine 6-0, 6-3. Germany’s Andiyo Inwang, who was given a wildcard was beaten by Mara Schmidt of USA in straight set of 6-1, 6-3.

Zimbabwe’s Valeria Bhumu beat Usina Sumail of India 6-1, 6-2, while Alexandria Riley of the USA defeated Nina Kolar of Slovakia 5-3, 6-0 all in the women’s singles.

2015 Governor’s cup Lagos Tennis serves off….Nigeria gets large Wild card slots

The 15th Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship will formally serve off on Monday at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan, with no fewer than 20 matches on the card in the Men and Women singles main draw.

As hosts, Nigeria, understandably was given the privilege of having the largest number of Wild Card slots as no fewer than eight of the country’s players move into the main draw due to the fact that precious few of its players are in the ATP and WTA rankings.

Leading the nation’s quest for glory in the $80,000 prize-money tournament is Moses Micheal, the reigning champion, who took advantage of the abridged version held last year due to the Ebola virus scourge which restricted participating players to Africa.

The Trophy Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship
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Micheal is the highest-ranked Nigerian player in the ATP and after helping Tombim to win the NCC Team Tennis title on Saturday, he is expected to have his hands full as players from Europe, Asia and The Americas will all be featuring this time around.

Another player that will be on the spotlight is Melissa Ifidzhen, the Russian-Nigerian player who has been making waves both home and abroad.

The 18-year-old took Nigerian tennis by storm by winning this year’s Central Bank of Nigerian Open women’s singles, Women’s double and the mixed double titles.

The former Russian junior champion also comes into the championship in good form as she ended up as women’s doubles finalist at the ITF Circuit in Egypt two weeks ago. She has also won two women singles titles in Russia prior to her remarkable display in Egypt.

“I’m hoping for another memorable experience in Nigeria. The first time I played here was very successful and I’m looking forward to a good tournament. Hopefully, I will get my first WTA singles points right here in Nigeria,” she said after a training session on Saturday.

Melissa Ifidzhen,

Meanwhile, the LOC has urged tennis fans to turn out en masse and fill the stands stating that the Governor’s Cup is gradually becoming synonymous with renowned international tournaments in tennis.

Tournament Coordinator, Prince ‘Wale Oladunjoye, pointed that the next generation of world stars will be coming from the tournament; a fact he highlighted with India’s Sania Mirza, the 2004 champion, who is the current Wimbledon and US Open doubles title holder.

Bosnia and Herzegovina player, Aldin Setkic is the highest ranked star in this year’s tournament. He is ranked number 231, while French player, Sherazad Reix is leading the female player. She is ranked number 247 in the world.
Players from more than 50 countries will be taking part in the double-phase fortnight-long tournament.

2015 Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Melissa arrives from Russia As NTF sends Angel McLeod to ITF Centre in Morocco

Russian-born Nigerian tennis star, Mellissa Ifidzhen is scheduled to arrive Lagos today for the 15th Governor’s Cup Lagos Tennis Championship which will hold from 5th-19 December at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan.

The reigning Central Bank of Nigeria Open Women Singles champion will be making her debut in the $80,000 prize-money event which will see players from about 30 countries across the world battling for honours.

Secretary-General of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF), Gloria Ekwempu-Chinwuoko informed on Tuesday that the former Russian Junior champion, who won silver at the last All Africa Games in Congo, Brazaville has confirmed her participation at the two weeks-long tournament which has been identified as a leading top-grade event on the continent by the International Tennis Federation.

Melissa Ifidhzen

The Governor’s Cup has served as a springboard to the successful careers of some global tennis stars notably among is Indian Sania Mirza, who won the tournaments two legs in 2004, a year after she turned professional.

She is the reigning Wimbledon and US Open women’s doubles champion having paired Swiss Martina Hingis to win the two grand slams this year.

Meanwhile, the NTF has revealed that it has reached an advanced stage in sending Angel Mcleod to the ITF High Performance Centre in Morocco.

Angel Mcleod, daughter of the deceased Beauty Mcloed

The 13-year-old national junior champion has been in the cold as a result of the death of her mum, Beauty, who was killed by a mobile policeman in Lagos in October.

NTF President, Engr. Sani Ndanusa told the media that the federation is about to conclude arrangements with the ITF to see her shift her base to the north African country in order to help her achieve her dream in tennis after losing her mum in a pitiable circumstances.

“I’m looking forward to going there (Morocco) to play tennis. My mum’s dream has always been for me to play tennis and become a star and I believe I can make that dream come true by going to a place like Morocco to develop my career,” Angel, who until last year was based in Dubai, said.