Bermuda captain Gavin Manders is struggling with injury before the start of the inaugural Caribbean Pickleball Championships.

Manders is due to play in the mixed doubles with Sasha Fisher during the tournament, which starts on Thursday in Grand Cayman, but has expressed his determination to take to the court despite the niggle picked up a day before the action begins.

“I’ve strained a pectoral muscle on my chest, so it’s going to be tricky for me,” Manders told The Royal Gazette.

“The goal is to play through all the events and I just have to take it day by day. I should play on Thursday, but I just need to rest, manage the injury and compete.

“I’m just one player in the team, so I’m going to do whatever I can to get us through the tournament. We might have to get other players to step up, but for now the plan remains the same.”

The island is represented by 12 players in Cayman with six in the open division, two juniors and four seniors, with most of Bermuda’s representatives set to play on the opening day in either juniors or mixed doubles.

Jaden Jones, a promising tennis and pickleball player will feature in the juniors, while his brother Benjamin is combining forces with Imani Phillips in the mixed doubles.

“We have some junior events and mixed doubles on Thursday,” the Bermuda captain said.

“For us it will be a light first day, but it’s also a day for us to focus and get settled into the competition and the massive facility.

“We’re looking to get on the podium in any division we play. We’re looking to continue our strong standing within the region by bringing home as many medals as we can.”

At the end of the championships on Friday, the action shifts to the Nations Cup. Each Caribbean nation is competing as a team in an MLP-style tournament, an innovative pickleball format involving players of mixed genders competing as a team.

According to the rules, each team must have a minimum of two men and the same number of women, as well as a maximum of four for each gender. The teams will engage in women’s and men’s doubles, two mixed doubles and a singles tiebreaker if needed.

Group matches are scheduled for Saturday, with the top two teams in each group advancing to the play-offs on Sunday, the final day of the tournament.