Tennis starlet Tyler Smith hopes to showcase her budding skills at this summer’s Bank of Bermuda Foundation ITF Junior Circuit Tournament.Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) announced this week that the grade five tournament is back following a one-year absence and is to be held June 24-30 at the WER Joell Stadium.Smith, 16, raised eyebrows by reaching the semifinals in the Under-18 age group during the previous tournament an impressive achievement she hopes to surpass this time around if given the opportunity to do so.“The last time I made the semis so hopefully I can win it this time,” she said. “Hopefully I can get further than I did last time.”The former Caribbean Under-13 champion said the Bank of Bermuda Foundation ITF Junior Circuit Tournament is vital for the development of the sport in Bermuda.“This is a vital tournament for development because if it wasn’t for this tournament I would not have gone away because my coach (Bill Adams) comes here every single time and he normally scouts out people,” she said. “The young kids also get to see the different level and stuff and the difference between tennis in Bermuda and abroad.”Smith admits having the event cancelled last year after the BLTA failed to secure accommodation for overseas players prior to the ITF’s deadline was a bitter pill to swallow.“I was disappointed they didn’t have the tournament last year,” she said. “But it was okay because instead of coming back home and playing in the tournament I played in other tournaments in Philadelphia on grass which was really fun.”Smith has mapped out a busy schedule this year that will see her compete in Africa, the Caribbean and North America prior to June’s Bank of Bermuda Foundation ITF Junior Circuit Tournament.Her ultimate goal, she says, is to secure a ranking high enough at the above events to qualify for September’s US Open Junior Championships.“The goal is for me to get in the US Open so hopefully these tournaments will give me some more points,” she added.Smith will kick-off the new year when she competes at a grade two tournament in South Africa in March. She will then travel to Costa Rica to compete before playing in as many as four tournaments in USA.The Laurel Springs High school student underlined her enormous potential last year competing at the international level.She finished runner-up in Under-18 girls singles and doubles at the Barbados Junior International Tournament in the Caribbean. The unseeded player lost to Switzerland’s Danielle Spielmann in straight sets (6-3, 6-1) in the singles final. She and Korean partner Jeung Won Yang then lost to Spielmann and Mariana Humberg in the doubles final which was decided on a third set tie-break.Prior to competing in Barbados Smith surpassed her own expectations in South Africa where she reached the semi-final of a grade two event featuring junior players ranked as high as tenth in the world.“Last year when I went to South Africa I had to qualify to get in the tournament and just qualifying for me was a big deal because it was a high level tournament,” said Smith, who is currently ranked 344 in the world at the Under-18 level.