January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Tennis Classic a smashing success
Organizer David Lambert said the classic - which saw former grand slam winners Hannah Mandlikova and Wendy Turnbull as well as Katrina Adams and former New York City mayor David Dinkins visit the island - had been a success.
He said the final figures were not yet established but the tournament had already made more than the previous two classics put together.
The three former pros and Mayor Dinkins, one of the foremost administrators in the game, took sponsors through various tennis drills in a series of sessions at the Elbow Beach Tennis Club.
There were also friendly matches and doubles clashes with local politicians, like Nelson Bascome.
Some of the island's top juniors also got the chance to hit with the pros.
Lambert said that was what the tournament was all about - helping take our juniors to the next level.
He said: "All of the money we make will assist our juniors in travelling overseas to ITF world ranking tournaments.
"We have the same amount of talent on our island as these other countries, they just need to be exposed to a higher level of tennis."
Young players like David Thomas, who played a few tournaments on the ITF tour this year, are already benefiting from efforts to send more juniors overseas.
But Lambert said the aim was to increase the number of youngsters who had the opportunities to test themselves against the best.
"It's very important for Bermuda to have young players away on tennis scholarships. Then when it comes to picking our teams for Davis Cup and Fed Cup we have players who are already at that level."
He said plans were already under way for a bigger and better classic next year with this year's foursome keen to return to Bermuda and others likely to come on board.
"It was good to get the Classic back up and running after a few years and we are already building for the future," he added.[[In-content Ad]]
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