Former African tennis champion, Sadiq Abdullahi, has called on stakeholders to see the country’s recent loss to Morocco in a Davis Cup World Group 11 encounter as a wake-up call that must lead to better outings for the country in the future.

Morocco defeated Nigeria 4-0 in the Davis Cup World Group 1 qualifying game, winning all the singles games and the doubles match played in Rabat over the weekend.

Although Nigeria was without its two best players, Daniel Adeleye (injured) and Seun Ogunsakin (who could not make the trip to Morocco), Abdullahi said the loss exposed the gap between the country’s tennis development and that of the North African country, which now has a 5-0 scorecard over Nigeria after five meetings.

Abdullahi, who was once ranked number 98 in the world by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), described the Davis Cup competition as a benchmark for many nations, adding that beyond diplomacy and business opportunities, players and nations prepare diligently for it. Tennis Nigeria will need to reset, refocus and relaunch to meet the country’s expectations.

He said: “I have been emphasising the necessity for proper talent identification in the country. The recent Davis Cup contest between Morocco and Nigeria has again rekindled my advocacy.

“Our players were obviously not lacking in talent but the fine margins provided by the relative heights of the opposing players made the difference.”

“Our sports handlers must recognise the critical roles played by anthropometry and physicality in every sport.

“I am not blaming the players or coaches. The real problem is the system. In Nigeria, we often do very little to build sustained success, but once players break through, expectations suddenly become extremely high. Then when the results stop coming, we start looking for someone to blame.”

He said that Nigeria has to raise the level of its development system to compete consistently with countries like Morocco.

“Seun Ogunsakin and Daniel Adeleye are two players who have had stronger international exposure, but unfortunately both were absent from the team. That is not disrespect to the other players. They are talented, but the system has not given many of them enough quality tournaments, competitive matches or international exposure.

“For perspective, my daughter has already played 27 tournaments this year, and I actually had to slow her schedule down because we had exceeded our original 20-tournament target.

“Entry fees alone were roughly $2,700 before travel and other expenses. That volume of competition matters.”

He agreed that every young player cannot travel around the world playing tennis like Ogunsakin because international travel is expensive and requires serious financial backing.

“The more realistic solution is to bring more international tournaments to Nigeria. Give our local players regular opportunities to compete against foreign players at home.

“Even if they do not win immediately, they gain match experience, confidence, ranking opportunities and a much clearer understanding of the international standard.

“What Nigerian tennis lacks most is not talent. It is enough quality competition and exposure.”

On the way forward, Abdullahi advised the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) to revamp its tennis development strategy. He said: “It needs an eight to 10-year plan. New players of age seven and eight should be identified and nurtured. They should be exposed to different surfaces, especially on clay. Talented Children of Nigerians in the diaspora should be identified and contacted to add to the country’s talent pool.”

Morocco’s victory earned them a place in the 2027 World Group I Play-offs, while Nigeria will remain in World Group II play-offs ahead of next year.

The defeat also extended Nigeria’s wait for a first Davis Cup victory over Morocco, having lost their previous four meetings since 1973.