Team Nigeria have stepped up preparations for their Davis Cup World Group II tie against Uzbekistan by relocating their training camp from the National Stadium, Surulere, to the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan—the venue for the February 7–8 encounter, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.
The Davis Cup, the world’s premier international men’s team tennis competition organised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), is structured across multiple tiers, with World Group II representing a highly competitive level where nations battle for promotion to World Group I.
Nigeria’s opponents, Uzbekistan, also arrived in Lagos on Sunday and held their first on-court training session on Monday.
The Uzbek delegation arrived with three players and four officials, while their key player, Khumoyun Sultanov—fresh from winning the ITF M15 tournament in Kuwait—was expected to join the team on Monday.
The 27-year-old reached the second round of the Australian Open qualifiers in 2025 and attained a career-high ATP ranking of 216 in January. He is joined in the squad by Ilya Ignatov, Abdulaziz Usmonjonov and 17-year-old Sukrob Saidov.
Nigeria’s number one male player, Daniel Adeleye, leads the home team against the Uzbeks, with Canice Abua and Michael Emmanuel also included based on their national rankings.
Uche Oparaoji returns to the squad, while Abubakar Yusuf earns his Davis Cup debut, having previously represented Nigeria at the Africa Games in Ghana.
The Nigerian team has been in camp since Wednesday, January 21, initially training at the National Stadium before moving to the match venue.
The Lagos tie will be contested over two days and will comprise five rubbers—four singles matches, and one doubles encounter.
Ranked 74 in the world, Nigeria will be hoping to upset Uzbekistan, who are ranked 49, when both nations clash on the centre court of the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club this weekend.
President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation, Victor Ochei, described the hosting rights as a significant statement of Nigeria’s growing stature in international tennis.
“This hosting opportunity reflects Nigeria’s steady rise in global tennis following consistent performances in recent years,” Ochei said. “It also demonstrates the confidence of the International Tennis Federation in our organisational capacity, infrastructure and security arrangements.”
He added that the National Sports Commission is providing institutional backing to support the funding and delivery of the event.
To ensure smooth execution, the federation has constituted a 15-member Central Planning Committee, chaired by Victor Hembah, working in collaboration with the ITF, the National Sports Commission, the Lagos State Government, security agencies and the host club.
On venue readiness, President of the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Dr Adeyinka Adewusi, assured that the historic club is fully prepared to host the Davis Cup tie.
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