Tennis Ja boss hails successful AJ tourney
PRESIDENT OF Tennis Jamaica (TJ) John Azar has hailed the recent staging of the All Jamaica (AJ) Tennis Championships as a major success as all the protocols and guidelines were adhered to by the participants.
The five-day tournament, which saw participation from some of the island’s top junior players, ended on Tuesday at the Eric Bell Tennis Centre in Kingston.
This was the first major tennis competition in Jamaica since the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country in March.
Azar told that his association was very pleased with the organisation of the tournament.
“I think that it was a resounding success,” said Azar. “We were looking forward to a safe and successful return to competitive tennis under difficult circumstances, and we had that, and so I must commend everyone for adhering to all the guidelines that were put in place by Tennis Jamaica,” he said.
He said that the tournament was very competitive because all the matches were very exciting.
“[I] think it was one of the most balanced events in recent years because the competition was very fierce. There were some very close matches,” Azar stated.
“There were some expected results where the favourites prevailed, and there were quite a few upsets over the five-day event,”he said.
Katherine Dibbs was the star of the tournament after she captured the girls’ Under-16 and Under-18 singles titles.
Daniel Azar won the boys’ Under-16 singles title, while Damani Cain captured the boys’ Under-18 trophy.
Daniel and his brother Jonny Azar then teamed up to win the Under-18 boys’ doubles, while the girls’ equivalent went to Dibbs and Eva Pinchas.