The Nigeria Tennis Federation has apologised to DavNotch Nigeria Limited over the disruption of matches at the sixth DavNotch Open Tennis Championship in Abuja, following a protest by players.

The matches were temporarily suspended on Monday after some players boycotted their opening-round matches to protest over prize money and welfare concerns.

The protest, held at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, the championship venue, saw players demanding a review of the tournament’s prize structure and welfare allowances, and rejecting deductions from prize earnings.

Speaking on the development, NTF secretary-general, Shammah Makpa, described the incident as unfortunate and contrary to the federation’s code of conduct.

“First of all, I want to apologise to DavNotch Nigeria Limited on behalf of the Nigeria Tennis Federation.

“The DavNotch Open is one of the top-rated championships in the country and has been successfully organised for the past six years.

“It is unfortunate that we are witnessing this kind of experience and disregard for the rules and code of conduct,” Mr Makpa said.

The protesting players expressed dissatisfaction with the N35,000 allocated to first-round losers, describing it as inadequate given rising transportation, accommodation, feeding, and equipment costs.

They also criticised the deduction of a 10 per cent withholding tax from prize money and the increase in registration fees from N1,000 to N5,000.

The players noted that the winner’s prize of N500,000 had remained unchanged since 2017 despite prevailing economic realities.

Responding to the concerns, Mr Makpa said players had the right to seek improvements in tournament conditions but must do so through established procedures.

“Players are free to request a review. There is nothing wrong with asking for better conditions, but whatever they request must be within the rules governing the competition,” he said.

Mr Makpa explained that the subsidy provided by the federation during tournaments was intended to cushion some expenses incurred by players and was separate from the prize money structure.

“This is a prize-money tournament. From the first round to the champion, prize money is paid. The subsidy the federation provides is only to cushion certain challenges, such as feeding and other tournament-related expenses,” he said.

Mr Makpa also defended the federation’s practice of deducting a percentage from prize money, describing it as a standard procedure in professional tennis.

“Players demanded that the federation abolish the deduction made from prize money. This is a standard practice in tennis.

“Even on the ATP Tour, a certain percentage is deducted and paid to the organisers or federation. It is not something peculiar to Nigeria,” Mr Makpa said.

The secretary-general, however, faulted the decision by some players to boycott matches until their demands were met.

“It is one thing to make a request, but it is another to impose conditions and insist that you will not step onto the court unless your demands are granted. We are not going to continue experiencing this kind of rascality,” he said.

Mr Makpa said the federation would review the incident and determine appropriate sanctions for players found to have violated the code of conduct. He added that an official statement from the federation would be issued in due course.

The NTF official also expressed confidence that the disruption would not affect the federation’s relationship with DavNotch Nigeria Limited.

“I do not think this will affect our relationship with the sponsor. They understand what happened, and we have apologised to them.

“Discussions are ongoing with the sponsor to expand support for grassroots and junior tennis development. The DavNotch Championship is unique because it combines junior, senior and wheelchair events under one tournament.

“Going forward, we have agreed with the sponsor that greater attention will be given to grassroots and junior tennis development,” he said.

The championship, which is expected to end on June 27, began on Sunday with preliminary matches, while the main draw commenced on Monday.

(NAN)