{"id":2276,"date":"2013-04-17T08:43:29","date_gmt":"2013-04-17T08:43:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/disnaija.com\/nigeria-news\/i-met-my-wife-as-a-ball-boy\/"},"modified":"2013-04-17T08:43:29","modified_gmt":"2013-04-17T08:43:29","slug":"i-met-my-wife-as-a-ball-boy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disnaija.com\/i-met-my-wife-as-a-ball-boy\/","title":{"rendered":"I Met My Wife As A Ball Boy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Taiwo Owolabi is a Nigerian professional tennis player based in Ibadan. He spoke with DAMILARE OKUNOLA about how tennis has given him fulfilment in life and other issues.<\/em><\/p>\n

How has it been, playing tennis?<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s been really great for me. Tennis has been my life ever since I started and I don\u2019t think I\u2019d have ever done or being who I am if not for tennis. The game has also prevented me from being a riff-raff, I wouldn\u2019t have met the people I\u2019ve met in life if not for tennis.<\/p>\n

What informed your choice of tennis?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, if I can recollect very well, I used to stay with Rotimi Jegede, Nigeria\u2019s former number one player. He was the one who introduced me to the game. I started off as a ball boy at the Ibadan Recreational Club. I must confess, I just have been enjoying the passion I have for this attached game.<\/p>\n

\"\u2022Taiwo <\/p>\n

\u2022Taiwo Owolabi in action during a recent tourney<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Where has tennis taken you to?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I had represented the country at various tournaments such as the All Africa Games and others. I had been invited to the national camp for pereparation for Davis Cup. Though I had travelled outside the country on my own; majorly not through tennis.<\/p>\n

Which tournament brought you into the limelight?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The one that that brought me fame, glory and some money was the 2003 All Africa Games in Abuja where I won the Men\u2019s Singles, but lost out in the semis of the doubles. Tennis has been my source of income ever since. Now, I\u2019m serving as a coach, passing my knowledge to the upcoming players. I had played in other tournaments such as UNIPETROL, CBN Open, Dala Hard Court, the first ever Port-Harcourt Open, Governor\u2019s Cup and many others.<\/p>\n

Your major challenges in the game?<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is one aspect which has always haunted me. I\u2019ve never had sponsors for once. I\u2019ve been fending for myself so that my name will not be forgotten in tennis. The President of the federation, Engr. Sani Ndanusa and the Vice President, Mr. Yemi Owoseni have been of great support.<\/p>\n

How did you meet your wife?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I met her when I was a ball boy. Her sister was selling snacks at the club and from there, we became friends. We started as boyfriend\/girlfriend relationship until we both decided to tie the knot in 2006. She has two boys for me. In the beginning, I never envisaged getting married to her anyway.<\/p>\n

Did your parents support you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

They have been highly supportive. They often ask me how I\u2019ve been surviving. It\u2019s unfortunate that things aren\u2019t going the way we want in this country. If it were in a foreign country, the players would have gone far than we are today. We can only pray that things get better with time.<\/p>\n

Any role model?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I used to like Rotimi Jegede, he was a great player. On the foreign scene, I like Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic. I even got the nickname, \u2018Agassi\u2019 from my foreign friends because I play like like him.<\/p>\n

Your future ambition?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I want to become great in the future. I\u2019d love to have a big tennis Academy because I can see so many future stars in the game. People taught me to play so I have to teach others as well. Moreso, I will leave this game one day and we need great players to take over from us. You should watch out for my boys because they will soon start to hit the news.<\/p>\n

Advice to upcoming players<\/strong><\/p>\n

They should be upright, disciplined and humble. I lacked some of these attributes when I was coming up and I don\u2019t want them to be like me. Tennis is great and if they can imbibe these things, they\u2019ll go far in the game and generally.<\/p>\n

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