THERE is much excitement in the tennis fraternity as the Guyana Tennis Association (GTA) prepares to serve off this year’s edition of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) annual Open tournament from 17:00hrs at the Banks’ Kaieteur Street, Bel Air Park-based courts next Thursday. 

The competition which continues to evolve over recent years is now considered the premier competitive event on the GTA calendar of activities and the categories featured are: Men’s Open Singles and Doubles, Ladies Open Singles and Doubles, Men’s Over-35 Singles and Doubles, Mixed Doubles, Junior Boys and Girls Open Singles and the Novices Singles and Medley Doubles.
The final two categories were established three years ago to accommodate the growing number of Beginners and Intermediate players, as the GTA seeks to promote active living through tennis as a valuable health and wellness alternative.
The format for the Open categories is best of three sets, while the Men’s Over-35 will play a super tie-breaker for the third set and the Novices will play one set.
The action gets under way from 16:30hrs every weekday of the competition and from 08:00hrs on weekends and the Tournament Coordinators, Shelly Daly from Park Players Club and Tandy Primo from Non-Pareil Club have distributed application forms. They can also be contacted at 642-5672 and 641-2727 respectively.
As the tournament grows, the GTA laments the loss of many seasoned players to migration.
However, in the near future, the GTA hopes to be able to import players to participate in the tournament to provide sustained competition of good quality for the emerging crop of top junior players.
GBTI CEO, Mr John Tracey, a veteran tennis player, continues to provide significant support to tennis as he desires to see the sport regain its prominence in Guyana. His annual sponsorship of this tournament and the provision of tennis facilities in and out of Georgetown demonstrate his unwavering support for the development of the game.