Nathan DeNobrega & Renola Jordon stand out

By Sean Devers
Rebel Tennis Club was founded in February 2015 by head coach, Andre Erskine, and is located in the Village of Diamond on the East Bank of Demerara. They practice and host tournaments at the Diamond GBTI Tennis Court.

“Over the years, it has been challenging for our players to secure the basic gears as most of the players are/were grassroots players.
“I am determined to make a difference in the lives of those players, even if it has to cost me my last penny.
“We struggled to compete at a high level and thought my students winning a local tournament seem farfetched.

“Our top players weren’t making it out of the round-robin stage and it seem as if all was lost mentally on the courts.
After suffering three consecutive defeats from the then top ranked player and travelling as the third ranked players regionally, both Renola Jordan and Gerald Scotland would finally triumph” explained Erskine.

“Renola finally defeated the top under-14 players in 2021 (twice) and she went on to take the top spot. At the ending of 2021 she was the top U-14 and U-18 female tennis player in Guyana.
In 2022, Renola defeated her sister in the Rebel Junior finals and secured wins over some of the top ranked players at Sheltez Juniors; she also went on to capture the GBTI ladies’ championship. Renola wasn’t done, she reached the semi-finals of the St. Lucia’s Junior tournament and copped the doubles trophy in Trinidad in August of 2022.

Gerald Scotland, age 15, is currently Guyana’s top ranked Under-18 player. Like Renola, Scotland suffered three consecutive defeats at the hands of the then number #1 U-14 player, and finally got his first win against the same player in 2021.

He has since taken over the top rank and secured titles at Rebel Juniors, Sheltez Juniors and GBTI Juniors in 2022. He also reached the men’s open final alongside his partner, Donnie Anderson, who was also a top ranked Junior champion.

Gerald won an under-16 tournament in Trinidad just a few weeks ago.

Nathan DeNobrega, age 12, has been in the winning circle since age 10; for three years he has won all the local U-12 tournaments he played. He reached the final in St. Lucia in the U-12 competition and won the doubles alongside his Antiguan partner in 2022. Nathan also won an U-14 tournament two weeks ago in Trinidad.

Other players who did exceptionally well locally and regionally in the last 12 months are Navindra Arjune, Denzel Luthers, Isaiah Cambridge, Donnie Anderson, Christian Younge, Norella Jordan and Devanie Arjune.

“Rebel Tennis Club will be hosting a junior tournament in conjunction with our anniversary in February for the younger rising stars.
“We do hope that with these exceptional performances and ‘repping’ the Guyana flag, our players are afforded the opportunity to compete regionally in 2023” concluded Erskine.