Mayberry Junior Tennis offers int’l rankings to regional players

Llockett McGregor, tournament director of the Mayberry Caribbean Junior Tennis Championship, said the competition offers more than just trophies for the region’s young players, who will get the opportunity to boost their Universal Tennis Rating (UTR) while competing in an internationally recognised tournament.

The 2026 staging of the Mayberry Junior Tennis Championship is set to run from July 6 to July 10 at the Liguanea Club in Kingston.

McGregor said one of the most important aspects of the championship is the fact that the competition’s results ill go towards each player’s UTR ranking.

UTR rankings are a globally-recognised tennis rating system which determines a player’s ability, regardless of age, gender or location.

McGregor explained this will be important for the junior players, as it can help with their transition into a senior career ,as well as college scholarships.

“The UTR ranking is very important because most colleges, the rankings are the thing now that scouts are using to give tennis players scholarships,” he explained.

“The colleges, first, they want to see what your UTR is and your UTR really determines your level of play,” McGregory continued.

“The higher UTR you get, the better you are, and that’s what the scouts look to when they are recruiting players. Of course, your education has to be up there as well, but the UTR is very important in terms of giving kids here an opportunity to go overseas to study abroad.”

The championship is expected to see up to 60 junior athletes compete across various age-group categories.

McGregor explained that, of the total number of participants, eight will be international athletes with confirmed entrants from St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and the United States.

Janelle Gonsalves, manager of Fuzion Tennis Academy from St Vincent, said the competition is a major milestone for her players.

She explained they had originally planned to bring nine players to the competition, but financial limits meant they could only travel with four.

Gonsalves said this will be the first time her players will compete in a UTR-recognised competition, and it will be a major step in their early careers.

“I had all intentions to bring nine [players] but, because of finances and stuff, it is pretty expensive for us to come to Jamaica. But, in the end, I was still able to bring four players.”

Gonsalves continued, “Competing here is very important because we don’t have the UTR in our side of the region, so this will be their first time participating in a UTR-ranked tournament.

“This will better set them up, especially when they go to the US, so this is the beginning for them.”

The Mayberry Caribbean Junior Tennis Championship will see the athletes compete in the U12, U14, U16, and U18 for both genders.

gregory.bryce@gleanerjm.com