ANGUILLA--The Anguilla Tennis Academy (ATA) hosted the first round of the inaugural Friendly Islands Junior Tennis Unification Cup Tournament on Saturday.
Despite the rain delay, the tournament got off to a successful start with competitive single and doubles match play throughout the day.
The Marigot Tennis Club (St. Martin) led by Coach Juergen brought a team of 8 players and 2 coaches. The Timothy Rozenblad Tennis Program (St .Maarten) led by Coach Tim, brought a contingent of 11 players, 2 coaches and 7 supporters. The Anguilla Tennis Academy was represented by 15 players and four coaches. The atmosphere was electric and filled with excitement as spectators and teams cheered for their colleagues during the close matches where the players demonstrated their athletic skills and excellence in sportsmanship.
The six doubles matches were played first. St. Maarten took the lead winning 3 matches followed by Anguilla with 2 wins and St Martin with 1 win. The doubles were followed by 12 single matches. The players were eager to compete to score additional points for their various tennis clubs. The single matches concluded with St. Martin winning 6 matches and Anguilla and St. Maarten each securing 3 victories. Some special Pee-wee matches for children ages 6 - 9 were also conducted to expose the younger players to competition. At the end of the inaugural tournament, St. Martin (team captured the first round victory with a total of 7 points followed closely by Anguilla and St. Maarten with 6 points each.
Coach Timothy Rozenblad extended special thanks and appreciation to the coaches and parents at the ATA. He also commented, “It was awesome! My players and parents enjoyed the experience. It will motivate them to work harder.”
Shridath Rey, ATA Tournament Organizer said,“The first round of our Unification Cup Tournament was a huge success. The support from all three participating teams were on full display and this is definitely what we needed to kick-start the competitive sport of tennis between the three tennis programs.”
Founder of the Anguilla Tennis Academy and Mitchelle Lake praised his coaching staff for conducting a successful tournament and extended congratulations to the Marigot Tennis Club players and coaches for being the round one champions.The next event in the series will be held at the Marigot Tennis Club (St. Martin) on April 29th, 2023.
St. Martin tennis coach, Juergen summed up the event by stating, “ It was a wonderful start and I have the feeling we have developed something big and unique. All had a good time, great competitive level and a good setup from the home team organisers. We already have new ideas for the next event.”
