PRESIDENT of Tennis Jamaica John Bailey declared that the idea of his organisation hosting the Hi-Pro-sponsored All Jamaica Senior Tennis Championships has gained traction over the years.

“I think that we have made good progress; we have a very active board and various committees of the board driving their focus. Our juniors are doing very well, we have quite a few juniors who are ranked in Florida, and I think in the next few years we are going to see Jamaica regaining its place at the top of the tennis chart in the region,” he told the Jamaica Observer in a recent interview.

And, while their ultimate goal is to get the senior team at the top of the Davis Cup, Bailey pointed out that the focus now will be shifted to the grass roots level.

The Jamaican team is currently ranked in Group Three after missing out on a top two finish, which would have earned them a promotion at the recently concluded tournament in Panama.

The team of Damion Johnson, Rowland Phillips, Brandon Burke, Daniel Harris, and Captain Ryan Russell finished second in Pool B behind Guatemala, and were beaten 2-0 by Paraguay in the first to fourth place play-off.

“We really want to get back into Group Two in the next couple of years, and eventually into Group One, but our focus right now is on the junior programme here; and it’s going well. We have quite a good primary and basic school programme going with over 100 kids.

“So we are hoping that the game will be promoted and developed, and then out of that programme we will see the emerging talent coming up. And hopefully further develop them into top players in the next few years,” he explained.

Bailey, who took over the helm of the association in 2012, also highlighted the accomplishments of the world number 102-ranked Dustin Brown as a major boost in paving the way forward for the sport on a local platform.

The 30-year-old Brown, whose father

is Jamaican and mother German, sent

14-time major winner Rafael Nadal crashing out of Wimbledon with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 second round win. It was the German representative’s second win against Nadal having won on grass in Halle last year.

“It is a total gain for tennis in general, tennis in the Caribbean, and particularly in Jamaica because I think the whole world knows that Dustin Brown is Jamaican, even though he is playing for Germany. He grew up playing tennis in Jamaica as a junior and so forth, so most of his skills would have been honed here.

“So I see his accomplishment in the top 100 and beating Nadal as motivation and inspiration for our juniors here, because I believe that if Dustin Brown can do it then it is a tremendous boost for the young players in Jamaica,” he said.

The All Jamaica Senior Tennis competition, which suffered a 15-year hiatus due to financial constraints prior to last year’s staging, will once again see a number of Jamaica’s top players in action as they vie for over $500,000 in cash and prizes.

The championship is scheduled to take place from August 17-22 at the Eric Bell Tennis Centre.

Individuals will contest the Men’s Singles and Doubles, Women’s Singles and Doubles, Class Two Men’s Singles and Doubles, as well as Men’s Singles 45 and over.

“We have tennis programmes at every level, and we will continue to try and create opportunities for our juniors that excel. It’s a very expensive undertaking and Tennis Jamaica won’t be able to do it with the current resources; we will be able to assist, but we are going to have to find other ways to support the talent,” Bailey added.