Nduka “The Duke” Odizor’s competitive tennis experience began in 1978 after he was recruited to be on the Cougars tennis team at the University of Houston in Texas. Odizor was an All-American athlete in 1978, 1980, and 1981 and received the 1981 Athlete of the Year honor. Odizor’s professional career began in 1980, where he competed in two events. One of these events was the Cincinnati Open, where he reached the round of 32 in both singles and doubles. From 1982 to 1988, Odizor was ranked among the top 200 in the world.

In 1983, Odizor claimed his first singles and doubles titles. At Taipei, he defeated Scott Davis 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, and in won in doubles at Monterrey (with David Dowlen) and Dallas (with Van Winitsky). In 1984, he reached his career-high singles ranking at No. 52. Odizor’s peak doubles ranking was No. 25 in 1985.

During his career, Odizor competed at all the Grand Slam tournaments. Odizor reached the round of 16 with partner Tony Mmoh at the 1987 Australian Open men's doubles event. In 1988, Odizor and Mmoh also represented Nigeria at the Seoul Olympics in South Korea, reaching the round of 32, before falling to France’s Guy Forget and Henri Leconte.

Odizor ended his professional career in 1992. Today, he remains active in the tennis community as the founder of the Duke Odizor International Tennis Foundation, or “DOIT.” DOIT is a nonprofit organization that provides tennis equipment to children in Nigeria.