Players need more tourneys to be competitive – Tennis Coach
Mr. Henry Quansah, national coach of the Ghana Tennis Federation (GTF), has said that more competitions are needed for athletes to gain exposure and experience to compete and win laurels at the international level.
Ghana reached the quarter-final stage of the International Tennis Federation (ITF), U-18 World Junior Tennis circuit held in Accra and coach Quansah was hopeful that Ghanaian athletes would improve in the ITF World Tennis tour juniors ongoing at the tennis court of the Accra Sports Stadium.
Speaking to the GNA Sports, he said he was impressed with Ghana’s performance though Ghana could not progress to the semi-final, adding that, “I believe we can reach the ITF World tennis tour two semis and ultimately win the trophy.”
He stressed that, Ghana has a bright future in tennis and that, if there were more competitions for the athletes to compete with foreign players, it would give them (athletes) more experience and exposure.
![Man United flop Antony our greatest-ever signing —Betis chief ANTONY gave a glimpse against Nottingham Forest as to why Real Betis sporting director Manu Fajardo believes the Manchester United flop might be "the most import¬ant signing" in the club's history. The 25-year-old has been reborn in Andalusia after an underwhelming stint at Old Trafford, where he failed to get anywhere near justifying the lofty fee paid to Ajax three years ago. Antony arrived for an eye-popping €95 million ($111.6m), plus a potential €5m in add-ons, but failed to consis¬tently impress and fell down the pecking order at United. The Brazil international sparkled after joining Betis on loan in January and made the move permanent after protracted talks brought a deadline-day switch for up to €25m. United included a clause that gives them 50% of any future deal for Antony, who followed a smart assist with a late goal to secure a 2-2 draw in Wednesday's Europa League opener against Forest. Betis sporting director Fajardo told the PA news agency: "I am 100% sure that maybe Antony is the most import¬ant signing in Betis' history. "Everything [about the signing] be¬cause the talent, the level of the player, the level of the club as Manchester United a big team, a big project, so I am 100% sure that Antony is the best signing in Betis' history." "In the first moment we spoke with Manchester United for Antony to stay in Betis one year more on loan. "But for Antony, for Manchester it was very, very important to recover the investment, so for Betis it was not easy. The move was so much for us. "But Manchester United made a big effort, Betis made a big effort, Antony made a big, big effort to play here again. Maybe in that situation that was the secret." Betis may not be able to compete with Premier League clubs' financial clout, but they boast talent that Fajardo hopes can see them to push for Europa League glory this season. "For Betis it is not easy to sign players from Premier League, because the dif¬ference in respect to the salary between the Premier League and LaLiga is too big," Fajardo added. "But when a player like Antony, for example, wants to come to Betis it's easier. "Antony only thought to play in Betis again, so when you have a negotiation with a big club in Manchester United, a club that paid a big amount for Antony, it's not easy. But the player wants to play in Betis."-ESPN](https://ghanaiantimes.com.gh/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Antony-220x150.jpg)
“Our players don’t have the needed exposure. Our players need help so they improve on their performance. Players need sponsors from family or corporate entities to go far in tennis.”
On Ghana’s participation at the Africa Games in Morocco this year, the coach said, he has spotted about four players to represent Ghana and believes the ITF World Tennis tour juniors would help the team.
Coach Quansah thanked the President of the Tennis Foundation Ghana (TFG), Roger Crawford for organising the event which has about 64 players from Asia, Europe and Africa participating.
The ITF World Tennis Tour juniors is organised by the Tennis Foundation Ghana under the auspices of the GTF with support from McDan, Hollard, Ann Mineral Water, Life Time Tennis, DHL and Jumia Travel.
The week-long competition is expected to end on Saturday, April, 13. –GNA
