Young tennis star Justin Roberts improved his international rankings on Friday with a championship title win at the PSS International Tennis Federation (ITF) Juniors Tournament, held in the United Arab Emirates.
This is the first international title, on the year, for Roberts who teamed up with Bart Van Leijsen from the Netherlands, at the tournament. The duo defeated Turkish team of Gokberk Ergeneman and Arda Uzumcu 6-3 and 6-4. Roberts is one of the top junior male players in the country. His bid for the singles crown was dashed in the first round. He fell to Roman Nashatyrkin 6-4 and 6-1.
The loss in the singles division didn't phase Roberts. He and his partner Van Leijsen were on a roll, from the start of the tournament. Their opening match in the tournament was against Kareem Allaf and Aayush Mintri. Roberts and Van Leijsen moved on after winning to the tune of 5-7, 6-2 (10-5). Up next were Oscar Janglin and Sam Rice. In that second round match, the Bahamian and Netherlands native won 6-7 (4) 6-3 (11-9). In the semifinal, they played Arturs Lazdins and Shota Meparidze and won 6-1 and 6-0.
The executives in the Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) congratulated Roberts on his win and wished him well in this long tennis season.
"He is representing himself, his family and his country very well," said Derron Donaldson, president of the BLTA. "The Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association salutes him. This is a great start to the year for him and we know that he will continue to rise and perform well. He is fresh off an injury; [I'm] not too sure if he had surgery last year, but it is good for him to win the tournament. This is a great launch to a tennis career. I am looking to see and hear more of him in the year.
"We are looking for persons like Justin, Kevin Jr., Simone and Christian Cargill to dominate the junior tennis scene. They are just a few of the top junior players in the country. The junior program is really soaring. We have at least 10-15 junior players who are excelling. They have all played really well last year and it is continuing this year."
Donaldson is looking forward to seeing the top junior players enter their names into the draws for the Davis Cup and Fed Cup tournaments. The trials for these tournaments will be held in the upcoming months. The Davis Cup is set to take place at the Tennis Club, La Paz, Bolivia. The Bahamas will have the opportunity to play Bermuda, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Paraguay, U.S. Virgin Islands and Trinidad and Tobago. The Bahamas is in the Americas Group III.
The Fed Cup Tie will take place in Santa Tecia, El Salvador in July. The Bahamas, Bermuda, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, Uruguay and Trinidad and Tobago will play for a spot in the Americas Group I.
Donaldson said: "We always welcome our players and applauded them when they do their best. Winning tournaments is an added plus, not only for the association but the players. We are looking forward to having more players travel and compete in high grade tournaments. Our November tournament is a Grade Five tournament. Last year, we had two Bahamians in the finals, this year we expect to have the same results. When we have those lower grade tournaments it makes it much easier for them to collect these points, so when they go away they don't have to be on the waiting list. We try to provide the best opportunities for our players. We want them to move at least into the qualifiers or straight into the main draws, when they go play in these international tournaments.
"Our job here is to try and give them the best head start that we can possible provide. Tennis is a funny sport. It is all about what you do outside of the country and not so much about what you do at home. Getting recognition outside of the country is an added plus to play in these high grade tournaments. When you get these points and recognition you can possibly move straight into the CAC Games, Pan Am Games, the Olympic Games or the Commonwealth Games. You need rankings and points to play in these tournaments."
The BLTA, through its Play and Stay program, is hoping to create a better feeder system that will trickle into their junior development division.

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