Newton says a lot of players are coming home to compete in the event
- Simba French
- 9 hrs ago
- 0
The annual Giorgio Baldacci Open National Tennis Championships is back, set for December 18-21 at the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association’s (BLTA) National Tennis Center.
The tournament is a key one as the top two finishers in both the men and women’s divisions qualify for the respective national teams. Two of the four spots on each team will be filled. The men’s national team participates in Davis Cup competition while the women’s national team competes in Billie Jean King Cup tournaments.
“We don’t know exactly what it is going to be like until after this coming Monday, but we are looking forward to this year’s tournament. It’s also an exciting time where we begin our first preparation for 2024 with the Davis Cup and Billie Jean King Cup teams and we’re working hard toward that,” Newton said.
The defending champions are Denali Nottage in the men’s division and Elana Mackey in the women’s division. Newton is expecting a lot of athletes to come home for the event, particularly junior players.
“We always want to have the most competitive event. We have a lot of people who will be coming to attend this tournament,” Newton said. “We expect some of our
collegiate players to be back in town. I got confirmation that Baker Newman is going to be attending this year’s tournament. It is going to be a very intense tournament. We had some good matches last year. Nottage is a player who has been playing some good tennis and we’re expecting him to come and compete hard.”
Newton said he is looking forward to seeing new players compete in the tournament.
“We’re going to have some new players playing. Some of our upcoming junior players are going to be vying for spots. For the last two years, we had at least one junior player on the Billie Jean King Cup team with Sapphire Ferguson last year and Sierra Rodgers the previous year. It is good for them as they prepare for college and a good opportunity for them to compete at a high level.”
Players must be at least 14 years of age to play in the tournament.
Before the tournament gets underway, Newton said that they will host an awards dinner. That dinner is set for Saturday December 16.