TENNIS Jamaica’s All-Jamaica Tennis Championships is scheduled to get underway this morning at the Eric Bell National Tennis Centre in the vicinity of Cross Roads beginning at 9:00 am.

This is the first edition to be held since the novel coronavirus pandemic crippled the sport for some 18 months.

It is also a welcome return of the women’s open singles which has not been held for the past 15 years.

Over $1 million in prize money is up for grabs, with a bigger portion earmarked for the men’s and women’s open singles and men’s over-45 pro event.

The All-Jamaica men’s and women’s open singles are expected to be the major events during the 11-day championships that will end on December 22.

Many of the island’s top professionals are expected to contest the men’s and women’s singles, respectively.

Speaking at a press conference at Liguanea Club in New Kingston yesterday, Tournament Director David Sanguinetti said the entries are good with a tremendous number of new players, especially from the Montego Bay, Ocho Rios, and Mandeville areas.

In the men’s open singles, current champion Roland “Randy” Phillips will be the number one seed, but tough competition should come from many-time champion Damion Johnson and Jacob Bicknell, who also compete overseas.

Blaise Bicknell, a promising Jamaican player, will not be taking part as a result of school commitments overseas.

Dwayne Pagon, Yussuf Mikogo, and Jeffery Miller are strong players who should challenge the more fancied competitors.

The top eight seeds in the men’s open singles are as follows: Phillips, Bicknell, Pagon, Duaine Miller, Damion Johnson, Yussuf Migoko, David Goldsmith, and Matthew Rodriques.

All the seeded players will be in action today except Phillips and Bicknell the number one and two seeds, respectively.

The women’s singles is not as strong as the men’s, but should be interesting nonetheless.

Top contenders are Shea-Ann Kameka (number one), Katherine Dibbs (number two), and Pauline Hylton (number three).

The men’s 45 and over-top seeds are Brenton Whyte (number one), Richard Ferdinand (number two), Ian Murray (number three), and David Shirley (number four).

Meanwhile, Tennis Jamaica President John Azar said that all COVID-19 protocols will be observed during the championships.

Meanwhile, the winner of the men’s open singles will walk away with $250,000, with the runner-up receiving $125,000, losing semi-finalists $60,000 each, quarter-finalists $30,000 each, and $15,000 for each player reaching the round of 16.

The winner of the women’s singles will collect $100,000, the runner-up $50,000, and the losing semi-finalists $25,000 each.

For the men’s 45 and over, the winner gets $100,000, the runner-up $50,000, and losing semi-finalists $25,000 each.