While Bermuda has an excellent tennis programme, the Island should be aiming to get one player to make it to the professional level.

That will be the next big step for Bermuda, said John Goede, an International Tennis Federation (ITF) expert and coach who is also the Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association's technical director.

Goede is on a three-week visit to Bermuda assessing the game on the Island and he has been impressed with the players, coaches, facilities and programmes run by the BLTA – so much so that he will borrow a couple of those programmes when he advises other tennis associations in the Caribbean region.

But he also wants to see Bermuda tennis go to the next level.

"I think that if one player from Bermuda can enter the professional circuit, that would be the ultimate. It is going to take one player to do that and hopefully more will follow. That will take the sport to the next level in Bermuda," said Goede who runs his own tennis academy in his native Suriname.

Goede added: "I have looked at the Bermuda tennis players, all the aspects of the work of the BLTA and I have been looking at the coaches and how they work. I have reviewed the tournaments and the calendar schedule and the tournament structure. Everything from the grass roots programme up to the Davis and Fed Cup teams.

"It has been quite a package. I am looking at the whole scope of tennis in Bermuda. I have helped the coaches train the Davis Cup and Fed Cup teams as well as the Junior Davis and Fed Cup teams.

"Bermuda has some fantastic programmes and I will take a couple of the those programmes as an example when I go to other countries in the Caribbean. I have also brought other programmes to Bermuda."

During his stay so far Goede said he has noticed the talent in Bermuda.

"There is a lot of talent here – talent not only in terms of players but also coaches and the volunteers here who have been doing a great job. And I have been impressed with the facilities you have.

"Bermuda has the base and facilities to go to the next level. They have the players, the coaches, the facilities, the volunteers and people in the BLTA who are there to work. They have sponsors and a Government which is backing them up. Everything here is ready to go to the next phase of excellence.

"I have been helping with the coaching during training and added a little bit to it."

And this evening at the WEF Joell Tennis Stadium he will stage an educational forum for the Island's coaches. "I am going to try and get them to take the next step," he said.

Goede said he was also impressed with the BLTA's effort to get university scholarships for Bermuda's young talented players.

"The BLTA have done a great job in trying to facilitate that," he said, adding, "that is one of the nice things about tennis – it can help you attend university."