Road tennis fans were given a double treat over the weekend when both finals of two new competitions, CBC Tennis In The Pine and A Touch of Class, climaxed with some entertaining action at the home of road tennis, the Deighton “Pa” Roach Tennis Centre in Bush Hall.
Persistent rains had forced the switch of the Tennis In The Pine from the original court at the Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation’s car park in the Pine.
A Touch of Class, a women’s competition, saw a high-energy showdown between the two most successful female players in the island, Kim Holder and Sandra Bailey, whose name was attached to the tournament.
While the Barbados Defence Force duos of Sheldene Waldron and Sherene Ward and Aaron Douglas and Terry Smith captured the CBC crowns from Purity’s pair of Juliet Worrell and Shernelle Cumberbatch and Peter Moore and Peter John, respectively, the fans saw that doubles competition could be the next rave in road tennis.
Similarly, Holder’s capture of another title with an aggressive straight-sets win over Bailey highlighted the fact that women’s road tennis can stand on its own for excitement and maintaining spectator interest.
The third-place battle between Susan Scantlebury and Sheldene Waldron also continued the classy tone of the night.
The support of the sponsors in A Touch of Class saw the
fans being treated to numerous giveaways.
An exhibition between Julian “Michael Jackson” White and Mark “Venom” Griffith was fitting dessert for the large crowd which would have left well fed on Barbados’ indigenous sport at its classiest. (KB)
