Professional tennis players Quadri Aruna and Taiwo Mati, both from Nigeria, are the two male African players competing at the ongoing World Tennis Championships in Durban, South Africa.

Aruna, ranked world number 14 by the International Table Tennis Federation, will on Tuesday evening be squaring it off against Spanish player Alvero Robles, who is ranked number 44 in the world.

Taiwo Mati, ranked world number 99, will also face off against Lam Sui Hang from Hong Kong, ranked number 81.

Both players hope to defeat their opponents and earn points to gain a spot in the knockout stages.

In 2022, Aruna suffered a shocking defeat in the men’s singles of the WTT Champions tournament in Xinxiang, losing 3-0 (11-2,11-9,11-7) to Chinese Taipei’s Lin Yun-Ju, at the Pingyuan Sports Centre’s Infinity Arena.

The 2023 World Table Tennis Championships in South Africa is the 57th edition of the World Table Tennis Championships.