Nigeria’s table tennis prospect Taiwo Mati has cited financial constraints as the main barrier to reaching the next level in his international career, following a tough stretch of results at recent WTT events including the 2025 Contender Tunis.
In an exclusive interview with PUNCH Sports Extra, the 20-year-old remained upbeat despite an extended run of losses in men’s singles stretching back to January’s WTT Contender Muscat.
“Firstly, I don’t feel negative about the results,” Mati said. “I feel more motivated to keep on going and hope for the best moment.”
Mati is ranked 10th in Nigeria and 562nd globally by the ITTF, and he recently bowed out of the singles competition in Tunis after losing both group matches, 3–1 to Malta’s Kim Taehyun and 3–0 to India’s Snehit Suravajjula. In the men’s doubles event, pairing with Taehyun, Mati also exited in the round of 16 after a straight-sets defeat to Germany’s Benedikt Duda and Andre Bertelsmeier. The Nigerian-Korean pair lost 11–7, 11–8, 11–7 at the Salle Omnisport de Rades.
Although the defeats continued a challenging run for Mati, his analysis of the problem goes beyond technique.
“There’s really nothing missing specifically. All I just need is to get used to the environment, which means attending more WTT events. The more I do, the more I get better feelings and more confident,” he explained. “Also, the reason affecting my performance is inability to attend enough WTT events due to lack of sponsor and fund.”
Between October 2024 and April 2025, Mati has competed in three major WTT singles events, Cagliari, Muscat, and Tunis, losing all of his last six singles game. After a promising start in Cagliari where he defeated Switzerland’s Simon Boccard 3–1, he fell in straight sets to Germany’s Tobias Schweiger.
In Muscat, he suffered three consecutive defeats, including a tight four-setter against Lam Siu Hang, where he led by two games before being overpowered. In the Tunis opener, Kim outscored Mati 44–34 in total points, winning more return points (20 to 11) and building longer point runs. Against Suravajjula, the disparity widened, 33 total points to 18, with the Indian leading throughout all three games.
Despite the string of losses, Mati insisted he is mentally equipped to navigate this phase.
“As an athlete I’m always hoping for the worst and great results, so whichever way it goes I’m always ready to face the challenges. So mentally I’m stable enough,” he said.
Mati sees areas for growth, both tactically and physically. “There’s always room for improvements, which means I still have a lot to improve on and adjust in my game mentally and physically,” he noted.
Beyond Tunis, he says he plans to return to France to resume club duties. “My next plan is to go back to France and prepare for my club league matches.”
