13-year-old Marylove Edwards from Nigeria is tipped for future international success by top tennis coach Nick Bollettieri.
Born on March 18, 2005, Marylove who started playing tennis at age four resides in the Agege suburb of Lagos with her family.
At 12 years old, she already has her name in the women singles tennis ranking 4th by Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF). She was just recently ranked fourth, and no player her age has ever come this close.
Nigeria has recorded little success when it comes to tennis game. In this country, tennis is still regarded as an elitist sport and no doubt, capital intensive.
Little wonder, Nduka Odizor’s fourth round feat at the 1983 Wimbledon is still a reference point, 33 years after. However, 13-year-old Marylove Edwards looks good to turn things around for Nigeria.
With about 17 titles in her kitty, both locally and internationally, and heading for the famous America tennis camp (IMG) in Florida, that produced such stars as Andre Agasi, the Williams sisters (Venus and Serena) Marylove sees herself playing her first Tennis Grand Slam in the next five years.
Her father, Eddy, projects that the next eight years will see the first African winning a Grand slam title with his daughter. Though, just an 13-year-old Secondary School, her confidence is rousing.
For young Edwards, her father has been the brains behind her success. โMy father has been very supportive; he has invested so much in developing me. He hired the services of a coach at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos to train me, while at home; he spends time to train me daily after school. He has been very encouraging, ensuring that I attain the height I want to as a player. The training kits such as shoes, soft balls, rackets, and sportswear are provided by him. The tennis circuits I have attended have been sponsored by him. My father has been everything to me,โ she said.
According to her coach, Kayode Savage, it was as if her development has been fast-tracked.
โThe level at which she is developing is tremendous and unbelievable. She won her first tournament at eight and we felt that by the time she’s 12 or 14 maybe she will be playing U-12 but she’s already rated eighth in Africa; already in the Under-14. She has great determination and her never say die attitude is one of her greatest strength. Even when she’s down, she keeps fighting on and this is very good considering her age. She trains four to five hours daily,โ Salvage said.
With 17 titles in the kitty at a young age, it is not surprising therefore that the Nigerian tennis prodigy is already targeting playing in a Grand Slam in the next five years.
Edwardsโ dream of becoming a tennis superstar may come to fruition, thanks to the involvement of Temple Management Company, TMC, an event firm involved in the entertainment, sports, media and arts, which was magnetised by her ingenuity.
Before TMC came on board, Marylove’s major challenges had been travelling worldwide for tournaments due to the unavailability of tournaments in Nigeria, but she is looking beyond the continent after the TMC deal.
On how the girl has been able to cope with tennis and education, the father said: โMost parents thought it’s not possible but with proper planning it could be worked out. Because I am self-employed, I have been able to manage my time. I’ve been able to keep my life and time for her. After school, there is somebody on ground to pick her to the tennis court for her training byย 3:30pmย and byย 6:30, she is done with her training. When she gets home, she does her assignments and that is how we have been operating in the past seven years without interruption. We have been steady and focused without getting tired; and have been pushing and pushing to make her the best.โ
Older Edwards, however, admitted it’s not all Uhuru, especially in such situations when she had to go for tournaments outside the shores of the country while school is in session.
โNothing could be perfect, but as much as possible to balance things, I have a kind of mutual agreement with the school management, so that when she goes for competition, on her return, the school tried to update her on things she had missed. The school and I tried as much as possible to make things up for her,โ he noted.
For those who are of the opinion that he might have been inspired by the father of the Williams sisters- Richard Williams, who was their first coach while they were still kids, he said: โI was not inspired or influenced by anybody. My first intuition was to allow my children to toe the line of sports and be the best. Her younger sibling is into football and doing very well.
Marylove who doesn’t have a role model but wants other people to copy her style of play says she doesn’t listen to the shouts of her fans when playing but has her focus on winning.
