She is not only the best African tennis player but also one of the top ten players in the world. I have witnessed her triumphs and defeats when it truly mattered. Ons Jabeur, hailing from Tunisia, holds the distinction of being the first Arabic woman professional tennis player. At 28 years old, she has amassed a net worth of $8 million, playing tennis. A journey she began when she was only three years old.

I vividly remember her victory over Ayna Sabalenka from Belarus, who had denied her multiple opportunities to win a grand slam title in the past. She also eliminated the defending champion who had defeated her at Wimbledon last year. Many believed that Sabalenka was the biggest obstacle on her path to reaching the finals.

Despite sacrificing my gym and tennis time this morning, I eagerly watched Ons Jabeur’s match with apprehension. In previous instances, whenever I supported certain players, they would suffer painful losses. This time she was up against an unseeded left-handed player named Marketa Vondrousova.

I hoped this would be Ons Jabeur’s best chance to bring pride to Africa and serve as an inspiration for millions of young African women across Africa. Additionally, I wanted her victory to highlight how African youths can secure automatic scholarships in overseas colleges through playing tennis—a sport that has enabled many individuals to become millionaires.

The much-anticipated Saturday morning arrived with prayers from every tennis enthusiast rooting for Jabeur—including myself—in front of Prince and Princess Wales as well as a packed arena filled with her fans. However, minutes into the game, it became apparent that something was amiss as Ons Jabeur seemed indifferent and played recklessly—almost as if she were angry with herself.

Disheartened by what I saw during the first set, I turned off my television, fully convinced that she was destined to lose. I decided to inform my daughter, Princess Amaka, who was on her way to work, that I would not be watching the entire match. My daughter had played tennis for her college team, and just yesterday, we both enjoyed a thrilling match between Carlos Alcaraz and Medvedev. We had been eagerly anticipating Jabeur’s triumph this morning.

Later in the day, when I turned on the television again, my heart sank as I witnessed Ons Jabeur in tears—weeping uncontrollably. It was truly heartbreaking to witness. This wasn’t the first time I had seen her perform exceptionally well during the preliminary rounds, only to falter in the final match. Her coaching team must address this issue before she becomes too frustrated and considers giving up.

It saddened me deeply that she once again lost in the finals.

alla-bama (Maziyke) is a NewYork-based awarding-winning singer, songwriter, producer, and media personality.

I have been watching the Super bowl for nearly twenty years, but today’s Super bowl is unique in so many ways; six talented players of Nigerian descent are taking part in this tournament.

It feels good to know that Chido Awuzie’s father hails from my hometown, Mbaise, in Imo State, Nigeria. His uncle Tony Uwakwe was the President of the Mbaise Association of New York.

 Never in the history of the Super Bowl did we see six players of Nigerian descent in both team roosters; the presence of these talented players makes it hard for me to put my money where my mouth is. 

 The Bengals parades five Nigerian-American players:-

1 Chidobe Awuzie

2. C.J. Uzomah 3. Joseph Ossai 4. Hakeem Adeniji

5. Larry Ogunjobi

6 Ogbonnia Okoronkwo Plays for the Rams of LA.

Overall, however today’s game goes, these talented players will make history—I will be blogging live. Join me

Houston-Texas. Israel Mobolaji Temitayo Odunayo Oluwafemi Owolabi Adesanya; born in Lagos, Nigeria, defeated Robert Whittaker at the UFC 271 in Houston, Texas. Sports pundits now believe his reign of dominance has just began. He is unstoppable. The 32-year-old Adesanya, alias ‘The Last Stylebender’ is a mixed martial artist, kickboxer, and former boxer with multiple championships in all three disciplines.

It was a unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 271 to defend his middleweight title and push his record over his rival to a perfect 2-0.  The two fought for 25 minutes and a unanimous decision was awarded to Adesanya, as he scored 48–47, 48–47, and 49–46 on the three judges’ scorecards.

During the post-match press briefing, Robert Whittaker, who lost for the second time to Isreal said –“I thought I did enough, I thought I did enough,” Whittaker told MMA Junkie at the post-fight press conference. “Breaking it down, I think I lost the first round. I put myself together and I beat him to every punch. I got takedowns. I thought I did enough.

“But it is what it is. That’s how work goes in the office. I’m going to go back evolve some more, get better, and fine tune the things that I’ve been working on, and come back a better man. Honestly, though, Izzy was my biggest obstacle, my biggest hurdle. He beat me in a good fashion the first time. I’ve been working and angling myself to evolve and to get better and I’ve done that. You can see it in this fight how far I’ve come. To the point that I think I beat him.

So, I’m excited. I’m excited for the future. The ceiling is nowhere in sight. There is no ceiling for me.”

 Adesanya and Whittaker are the two best 185-pound fighters in the world. Although the gap between them may have narrowed slightly since UFC 243, the gulf between Whittaker and whoever qualifies as No. 3 on any given day has only widened.

 A very big congratulation to a fellow Naija man.

NEW YORK( TNC)-Colin Kaepernick’s girlfriend, Nessa Diab, chastised the NFL on Friday for listing the former San Francisco 49ers quarterback as “retired” on the league’s official website.

Diab also tagged commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFLPA on Twitter for “lying” about Kaepernick’s status.

The league’s website changed the “retired” tag to “UFA,” undrafted free agent, later Friday.

Kaepernick hasn’t played in the NFL since 2016 when he was 29. He completed 59.2 percent of his passes that season for the 49ers, tallying 2,241 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions in 12 games. He quarterbacked the 49ers to the Super Bowl after the 2012 season, where they lost to the Baltimore Ravens, 34-31.

Kaepernick hasn’t found a job since opting for free agency in 2016 as attention around the quarterback shifted from his football status to his protests against social injustice and police brutality.