JAMAICA National (JN) Bank will serve up $1 million as the main sponsor of the 10th staging of the Men’s and Women’s Open Tennis Championships, which is scheduled to be held from December 2-9 at the Liguanea Club in New Kingston.

Janice Robinson Longmore, chief operations manager of JN Bank, made the announcement at the press launch which took place at the Liguanea Club yesterday.

Longmore said the Jamaica National Group is interested in the development of Jamaica and also sports.

“Jamaica National is passionate about honing and recognising the talents of our young tennis sportsmen and women and, by doing so, further encouraging the growth of this sport in Jamaica,” Longmore said.

She added that since their association with this annual tournament they have witnessed the wealth of talent the local players possess, and the level of impact it has on their journey as they become competitive and professional players.

“At the last staging, we witnessed what tennis really represents; heart, soul and digging deep to achieve that winning performance,” she added.

Longmore said it’s moments such as these which help to solidify their vision and continued support of the development of local sports in Jamaica. “We, at JN Bank, believe in stimulating opportunities that will allow for wholesome and holistic development, whether it is in sports, business, or academics.

“We, at JN Bank, continue to serve up full support for sporting activities, which are pivotal to developing players as they advance their skills,” said Longmore.

“Our history reveals our footprint in areas such as netball, track and field, and football at the national and community levels, including cricket and special golf tournaments,” Longmore added.

Meanwhile, tournament director Llockett McGregor said the competition is expected to have over 100 participants and entries close on Thursday.

“We are expected to have many of Jamaica’s leading senior and amateur players participating, including the defending champions,” McGregor said.

Damion Johnson and Michaela Stephens are the men’s and women’s singles defending champions, respectively, while matches will be played in the Class Two and Three men’s amateur singles. Leighton Burton is the Class Two champion, and Ricardo Livingston the Class Three defending champion.

McGregor said similarly to last year there will also be a tennis clinic for young players where 75 players participated. The tennis clinic will be held on Saturday, beginning at 9:00 am.

The winner of the Men’s Open singles will walk away with $200,000, with the runner-up receiving $100,000, losing semi-finalists $50,000 each, quarter-finalists $25,000 each, players reaching the round-of-sixteen will get $12,500 each.

For the Women’s Open champion, the winner will collect $70,000, runner-up $35,000, losing semi-finalists $17,500 each.

The winners of the men’s and women’s doubles will receive $20,000 with the losers collecting $10,000.