SVGTA president looking beyond junior tournaments

President of the St Vincent and the Grenadines Tennis Association James Bascombe is not content with the fact that St Vincent and the Grenadines hosted the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) Junior Tennis tournaments, but is looking beyond.{{more}}

He wants a better positioning to be pursued, not only to ward off competition from other territories.

Since 2007, the ITF junior circuit has been staged at the National Tennis Centre at Villa, but a forward thinking Bascombe told SEARCHLIGHT recently: “We are looking beyond doing junior tournaments…. Once the facility reaches back up to that international standard, we have to look at hosting Davis Cup ties as well and even other tournaments.”

Bascombe noted that it is imperative that St Vincent and the Grenadines maintains its status as neighbours Barbados have upgraded their tennis facilities and with their recent success in the Davis Cup, they are positioning themselves as a possible host venue.

The National Tennis Centre at Villa went through resurfacing and other upgrades ahead of the ITF Junior Tournament, which closed off last Saturday.

The cost of the undertaking was put at US$80,000.

“Right now we are at a Grade Five, but there is a possibility that we could get the tournament go up to a Grade Four,” the national tennis president confirmed.

Bascombe noted as a prerequisite of the upward grading: “Part of the requirements does not come from the number of countries, but the wider (geographic spread) would be better for us.”

Twenty-three countries, including host St Vincent and the Grenadines, contested this year’s tournament.

When play was called, Garrett Johns of the USA won the Boys Under-18 singles, with the British pair of Max Benam and Andrew Rozanov – the doubles.

In the Girls Under-18, the winner was Vivien Klein of Germany, while the combination of USA’s Kianah Montosono and Zoe Rose Spence were the last two standing.

Meanwhile, in the Confederation of Tennis of Central America and the Caribbean (COTEC) Under-14 Division, Donovan Brown of the USA won the Boys Singles title.(RT)