Blessing Otu swept past Kelvin Bebe-Emmanuella 6-1, 6-3 to reach the second round of the 47th Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Senior Tennis Championship on Saturday at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
The 18-year-old, competing in the women’s singles, dismissed the left-handed Bebe-Emmanuella whom she said she had studied carefully, in straight sets to advance to the round of 16.
“Bebe is a very good and tough player,” Otu said in a post-match interview. “But I studied her game and did the job. Though she tried to come back in the second set, I was able to counter her and win. I wish I can continue like this in my remaining matches.”
Her brother John Otu also progressed, defeating Mohammed Abdusalam 6-2, 6-7, 6-1 in the men’s singles to reach the round of 32. A third sibling, Thomas Otu, was not as fortunate, falling to Danjuma Isaac 6-0, 7-5 in two sets and exiting in the first round.
In other men’s singles results, Michael Emmanuel defeated Ibrahim Aminu; Drimiya Mevi beat Seyi Ogunsakin 6-7, 6-3, 6-1; Mohammed Dahiru stopped Toa Ruby 6-3, 6-4; Sylvanus Agang defeated Egena Peter 6-1, 6-1; and Michael Chima edged Mathew Abamu 7-5, 7-6 in a closely contested encounter.
The tournament, which opened with qualifying rounds on Friday, 12 June 2026, continues on Wednesday when men’s singles top seed Abua Cannice is expected to take to the court.
