Damani Cain and Michaela Stephens are expected to lead Jamaica’s charge in the boys’ and girls’ 18-and-under Open singles at the second staging of the Touch Tuina Blue Mountain Caribbean Junior Tennis Championships that begin today at Liguanea Club in New Kingston, starting at 9:00 am.

The other participating countries are Trinidad and Tobago, The Bahamas, Barbados, Antigua & Barbuda, St Lucia, Grenada, the Cayman Islands, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

Players will compete in different age group categories for boys and girls: 18 and under, 16 and under, 14 and under, and 12 and under.

There will also be team events for boys and girls 18 and under, with the tie consisting of two singles and a doubles. Hosts Jamaica are the defending champions in the boys’ and girls’ categories.

Jamaica’s top two tennis players in the boys’ and girls’ 18 and under singles are Damani Cain and Michaela Stephens. Other players on the Jamaican team are Jenna Harrison, Emma Dibbs, Moesha Fox, Katherine Dibbs, Keyondre Clarke, Romeo Edwards, and Selena Bird.

Then there are others who should do well in their respective age groups in the singles, such as Daniel Azar, Hayley McNair, Kobi Wilcott, Kailey Chin, Alyssa James, Abbygail Perue, Cole McNair and Carlos Wilson.

Tournament Director Llockett McGregor gave the overview of the championships and said he was looking forward to a successful championships with some exciting matches.

At the press launch held recently at Liguanea Club, Aswad Morgan, president of Tennis Jamaica, welcomed the players and wished them a very successful championships.

Meanwhile, Errol Lynch, who is the Tuina practitioner of Touch Tuina Company, said he was pleased to be sponsoring this Caribbean Junior Tennis Championships for the second-consecutive year.

“This tennis tournament is also to help young players’ development in the sport. I welcomed all the players and wished everyone a very successful tournament,” Lynch said.