Team Bahamas to compete in premier team tennis events this year

The Bahamas’ premier tennis teams will be back in action this year, as announced by the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA).

Both the Davis Cup and Billy Jean King Cup competitions were postponed in 2020 due to the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic in the region. The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has confirmed that competition in both events will take place this year.

The Bahamas’ 2021 Davis Cup team is comprised of Justin Roberts, Kevin Major Jr., Baker Newman and player/captain Marvin Rolle.

Making the squad for The Bahamas’ 2021 Billy Jean King Cup, formerly the Fed Cup, are collegiate athlete Sydney Clarke, Larikah Russell, Simone Pratt and player/captain Kerrie Cartwright.

The Billy Jean King Cup was recently renamed in honor of tennis legend Billy Jean King. The American tennis great won 39 Grand Slam titles – 12 in singles, 16 in women’s doubles and 11 in mixed doubles. She is a former World No. 1.

King, as a player and coach, won the Fed Cup trophy 10 times – a record for an individual. She was appointed as the competition’s first global ambassador in 2019.

The Bahamas is in Group II Americas Event A of the 2021 Billy Jean King Cup. The event will be held in Panama City, Panama, June 23-26, 2021.

A total of seven nations, namely The Bahamas, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Uruguay and host country Panama will compete in two pools, one of four teams and the other of three teams (Pools A and B) at the competition. The winners of each pool will play each other to determine which nation will advance to the Americas Group I for 2022.

The teams will play on clay courts.

For the Davis Cup, The Bahamas is in Group III and the event will also be held in Panama City, Panama. The dates are June 30 – July 3, 2021.

Two nations will advance from the Americas Group III event to contest the 2022 World Group II Playoffs.

The nations competing include: Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Cuba, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, St. Lucia, Trinidad & Tobago, the US Virgin Islands and host country Panama.

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