‎By Kenneth Madaki

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‎The Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) 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.

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

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‎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.

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

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

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

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

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‎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.