International Junior Tennis returns to St Lucia tennis courts with Sagicor as lead and title sponsor

Castries, St Lucia: On August 6th, 2022, international junior tennis action will return to the tennis courts in Beausejour when the Sagicor Junior International Tennis Tournament serves off there. For five days, tennis players from all over the world will compete in the Under 12 and Under 14 categories for a chance to win trophies, prizes, and points to cement their place in the tennis ranking system.

The tournament, which was not held in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic, returns with Sagicor as the lead sponsor as was the case in 2018 and 2019 and a new name as Sagicor is also the title sponsor this year. It was previously the COTECC tournament.

Stephen McNamara, President of the St Lucia Tennis Association, was pleased to welcome the return of the tournament and thanked Sagicor for partnering with the Association once again to provide hte opportunities for our athletes and by extension the rest of the region. He said, "several things happened over the past five years that led to this significant name change. Due to the level of participation by the region and the rest of the world St. Lucia was able to attract athletes and coaches  from outside our sub-region, this was as a result of the tournament being changed to a grade 3 to a grade one".

Donald Austin, Chief Executive Officer for Sagicor Life (Eastern Caribbean) Inc said Sagicor was delighted to continue supporting youth tennis. He said, "We are excited to see the players in August and we would also like to recognize the hard work and the dedication of the coaches, referees and other administrative staff who make this tournament such a success. The fact that this tournament has direct impact on the development of the athletes and the sport in St Lucia and the region should not be taken lightly.

Mr. Eon Phillips, Assistant Vice President, Eastern Caribbean Operations and Branch Manager for St. Lucia commented "It is our hope that we will see strong support for this tournament over the next week, not just from the friends and families of the players but also from lovers of sport, and St Lucia in general. This is a regional tournament, so I encourage you to come out and support our young people as well as cheer on the St Lucia team!"

Matches will begin on Saturday 6th August. Thus far the Federation has confirmed registrations from athletes from St Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Grenada, Martinique, Suriname, Guyana, The Dominican Republic, United States of America, Mexico, Canada, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, St Kitts & Nevis, The Bahamas, and El Salvador.