Several of Jamaica’s top professional players are expected to serve up a treat as they vie for a share of the $1-million prize money up for grabs at the Touch Tuina/Couples Swept Away Men’s and Women’s Open Clay Court Tennis Championships at Couples Swept Away Resort in Negril, this weekend.

Llockett McGregor, director of the three-day tournament scheduled to run tomorrow through to Monday, is anticipating another competitive staging of the long-running tournament which started in 1991.

The 65 entries so far, include top players from the Caribbean, United States of America (USA), Canada and Europe, who will add some international flavour to the excitement.

“This Couples Swept Away tournament has developed the reputation over the years as being Jamaica’s premier Open Clay Court Tennis Championship. It is also the only clay court tennis championship in the island, as this milestone event is the longest continuous tournament in Jamaica,” McGregor said during the launch at Liguanea Club in New Kingston on Wednesday.

Defending champion Rowland “Randy” Phillips will be aiming to repel the challenge of Canada’s Max Brown, as well as Montego Bay-based brothers and Davise Cup representatives McCoy and Marcus Malcolm, Matthew Rodriques, Jermaine Meikle, Yussuf Mikogo, David Goldsmith, and Andre Burrell.

Two of Jamaica’s leading juniors players, defending champion Michaela Stephens and Miami-based Selena Bird, will be in action on the women’s side, along with Pauline Hylton, among others.

The winner and runner-up of the men’s open singles will pocket $200,000 and $100,000, respectively, while losing semi-finalists and quarter-finalists will receive $43,550 and $21,875, respectively. The round-of-16 players will pocket $10,965 for their efforts.

On the women’s side, winner and runner-up will pocket $90,000 and $45,000, with losing semi-finalists and quarter-finalists receiving $22,500 and $11,250, respectively.

The Men’s professional category will carry a purse of $85,000 and $42,500 for the winner and runner-up, while losing semi-finalists and round-of-16 will receive $21,250 and $10,625 for their efforts. Prize money for the Pro/Am doubles category is still to be decided.

Practitioner Errol Lynch of the English-based Touch Tuina expressed pleasure about his sponsorship of the event for a second year running.

“I would like to give young people the opportunity of the treatment that I have being doing for many years to professional sportsmen and women in the various sports such as athletics, football, tennis and many other sports with massage and medicine,” said Lynch, a leading therapist in England and master of Chinese medicine.