Holiday Clash tennis tournament reaches exciting climax after weather delay
Some of the island’s most promising juniors will pick up where they left off in pursuit of honours when the Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association Holiday Clash resumes at WER Tennis Stadium today on Friday.
Poor weather wreaked havoc on the AXA XL-sponsored event at the weekend with the start being delayed from Saturday to Sunday as a result of strong gales.
After making the necessary adjustments to the schedule, organisers were then dealt another setback when rain brought proceedings to an early end.
“Weather has been very challenging over the past week with high winds to start followed by periodic showers,” Sophie Campeau, one of the tournament committee members, said.
“Several matches had to be delayed or postponed and at times players could not finish their matches on the same day. For example, the girls under-12 final started on Sunday and unfortunately players had to stop in the middle of the second set due to a minor passing shower.
“Obviously, safety is always paramount. The BLTA tournament committee was pleased to see the players being flexible and how well they have coped thus far with these challenges outside our control. We are also very thankful for the parents supporting us in all the scheduling changes.”
Organisers now hope to complete semi-final matches in the various age categories as well as the under-12 boys and girls finals today and the tournament will conclude with the under-14 boys main draw and consolation finals.
Among the top contenders still in the hunt for success are Tristan Pettit, Zach McGuire, Jaden Jones, Sebastian Pukk and Nyla Samuels.
“We definitely have some exciting match-ups over the next two days and we are looking forward to wrapping up another successful tennis event for our juniors,” Campeau added.
The tournament is the second in the BLTA’s efforts to revitalise the sport at youth level. The first event, Back to School, was held in August