Nigerian native helps lead FIU women’s tennis team to NCAA Tournament

Even though she is just 21 years old, Oyinlomo Quadre – a Nigeria native – has already traveled to the United States; France; Italy; Turkey; South Africa; Tunisia; Algeria; Lithuania; Macedonia and United Arab Emirates.

This weekend, Quadre can add another place to the list as her FIU Panthers women’s tennis squad will travel to Lubbock, Texas to compete in the NCAA Tournament.

FIU (15-4) will play Stanford (15-8) on Friday in the opening round. Stanford has won 21 national titles in women’s tennis.

The Panthers qualified for nationals by virtue of winning its third straight Conference USA title. Overall, the Panthers have made it to five straight NCAA Tournaments – all under coach Katarina Petrovic.

The Panthers’ top-three players are Ekaterina Khairutdinova, Quadre and Valery Gynina.

Khairutdinova and Gynina are from Russia. In fact, of the eight women on FIU’s roster, seven are from Europe.

The only exception is Quadre.

“It’s a secret,” Petrovic said when asked how she discovered Quadre. “I recruit the whole world.

“I start with the local girls. But the trend is that those girls want to go to Stanford, Cal, Duke or North Carolina.

“So, I must go international.”

Indeed, she found Quadre in Lekki, Nigeria, which is 5,635 miles from Miami.

Quadre’s story is fascinating.

At age 11, she struggled to find adequate competition in Nigeria. Recognizing her talent, Quadre’s family decided to send her to a tennis academy in Morocco, where she faced severe culture shock.

“In Nigeria, I could play tennis in shorts,” Quadre said. “But because Morocco is an Arabic country, I had to wear pants or leggings – even in the summer.”

In addition, she was not allowed to use the phone during the week and could only talk to her parents and her two older siblings on weekends.

“I cried so much,” Quadre said. “But I also made friends.”

Quadre, who speaks Yoruba, English and French, ultimately made the adjustment, and she spent six years in Morocco.

Her tennis improved as she practiced five hours per day – three hours more than she had been doing in Nigeria.

But everything changed when Quadre fell on the court, injuring her left wrist.

Surgery was recommended, but Quadre decided – at age 17 – to move to Dubai, where her brother Fuad, now 32, and her sister Aminat, 30; were living.

In Dubai, Quadre found that the rules about what she could wear were less restrictive.

As for her injury, doctors in Dubai told her she could avoid surgery and allow the injury to heal on its own.

That healing process – along with several hours of rehab every day -- took a full year, and Quadre, who is right-handed, couldn’t play real tennis during that time.

To keep in shape, she would practice with her brother, who is a former pro player.

“I couldn’t serve because that requires my left hand for the toss,” Quadre said, “and I couldn’t hit my two-hand backhand.

“So, I just hit forehands. I guess that’s why my forehand is a weapon.”

During this time, Quadre started thinking about playing college tennis in the U.S.

“I was craving stability,” she said.

Ranked No. 1 among juniors in Nigeria and top-100 in the world, Quadre drew interest from colleges such as Texas A&M, Central Florida and Arizona State.

But the Panthers won the recruiting battle, and it helped that she had two friends who at that time were on FIU’s roster: Yasmine Kabbaj of Morocco and Ines Bekrar of Algeria.

Once she arrived at FIU in January of 2023, Quadre faced more culture shock.

She lost her first-ever college match, and Quadre said it was just too … loud.

“I heard everyone screaming after every point,” Quadre said. “People were screaming from other courts.

“It was distracting. How could they focus?”

Quadre also had to get used to Petrovic.

“When my dad coached me, he always had a poker face,” Quadre said. “Katarina is very passionate. She was showing me emotions.”

Quadre was emotional, too – she cried after losing that first match.

Petrovic, though, brought her back to reality.

“She didn’t give me time to cry,” Quadre said. “She told me to go to the other courts to support my teammates.

“I went there in tears.”

As she has done various times over the past decade, Quadre adjusted.

In fact, she finished 16-2 and was named Conference USA’s Freshman of the Year and Player of the Year.

She is the first FIU player ever to win both awards in the same season, and she finished that campaign on a 13-match win streak.

As a sophomore, Quadre went 18-5 as her teammate – Khairutdinova – was named C-USA Player of the Year.

During that time, Quadre felt that the joy of tennis was slipping away because of self-imposed pressure.

Her goal is to be ranked among the top-30 USA collegians, and she has “only” made it as high as the 40s.

This year, she is 21-7 overall, but 14-2 in the spring season.

Her ultimate goal is to become a professional tennis player, but she also has a pair of options.

Quadre, who has one more year of eligibility left and is on track to graduate in the spring of 2026, has a double major – Psychology, which is her passion; and Computer Science, which was more of a practical choice.

Added Quadre: “My brother said, ‘OK, you are studying Psychology. But you are going to be broke with that major, and I’m not going to buy you any gifts.’”

However, if her history tells us anything, Quadre will make the adjustment.