So the saying goes, it's "out with the old, in with the new". However, the way things are going in Bermuda tennis circles, it's more like "here are the old, where are the new?"

The latest Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association rankings show that the leading players in the game are heading into their veteran years unchallenged by younger contemporaries.

It's a situation that has BLTA Rankings Administrator John Moore asking "where have all the youngsters gone?".

"The undeniable truth is that many of the top-ranked players are at an age when tennis players should be well retired," said Moore yesterday, after releasing the latest local rankings.

In the Men's A Singles, John Johnstone moves to number one for the first time in his career while Michael Way, who outclassed the former in the Heineken Open final, is now number two. Both men are in the latter half of their 30s.

Meanwhile, in the Ladies' A category, number one Donna Bradshaw, in her 40s, remains in the top slot while 35-year-old Deborah Cheng stays at number two, despite defeating Bradshaw in the Heineken finals.

Little has changed in Ladies Doubles, with the top five players remaining the same though the order changes.

Laverne Stowe is now number one following her Heineken victory with Barbara Lambert (now number six), Cheng, runner-up with number 12 Erika Handricksen, is elevated to number two. Kelly Holland and Gill Butterfield drop to three and four respectively and Wendy Gelhay remains at number five.

In Men's Doubles, Stuart Smith returns to the top over his partner Roger Marshall. Nick Frost and John Johnston jump to joint number four, behind Ricky Mallory at three.

Moore noted that in the Men's Doubles most of the top ten are in their late 30s while three are in their 50s as is Moore himself - ranked number 12 in that category.

In the Ladies equivalent, only one of the top seven - Cheng - is not a senior. Even then, Moore pointed out, "she's still 35 which is heading towards being a senior".

Referring to the BLTA's Junior Development Programme, he noted that "some (juniors) are coming through" and that there is promise among some of the girls such as Zara DeSilva, Danielle Paynter, Sasha Fisher, Ashley Brooks and Tara Lambert.

"Those girls have potential. That group could well grow into the next generation of ladies players but, personally, I don't think we have much talent in the boys though there are some fellows who are playing nicely.

"A lot of them (juniors) seem to fade out gradually. Whether they are not interested or unable or away at school, it's a factor. Still, none of them would automatically walk to the head of the rankings," said Moore.

One point the rankings boss did make in favour of younger players was that most BLTA tournaments were held outside of school holidays which meant many of the leading juniors were overseas.

However, he said this still begged the question of what happened to those who had finished studying and were still in their 20s and early 30s.

Meanwhile, according to the May 18 rankings, Zara DeSilva returns to the top Ladies' slot in Mixed Doubles. She is followed by Shonette Wilson, Laverne Stowe, and Cheng. Barbara Lambert moves from number nine to number five, ahead of her daughter, Tara, at number six.

The top male seed in Mixed Doubles is Ricky Mallory with Moore at number two. Eldon Daniels holds down the number three position followed by Maybury and Jenson Bascome, a real youngster among this crowd at age 20.

The BLTA Board has directed that for 2002, rankings are calculated on results from the Bacardi Seniors, Heineken, Colonial, Langton, Argus and BLTA Grand Prix events.