TENNIS fans in Saint Lucia will now be looking towards a new generation of players to see how they can continue to push the sport forward. To date the talent hasn’t disappointed either, with several young players excelling on the circuit this year and showing they are ones to look out for in the future.
As the curtains closed on the Under-14 section of the Wadadli Bowl, Saint Lucian player Iyana Paul made two podium finishes collecting runners up trophies in the Main Draw and Girls Doubles at the National Tennis Centre in Antigua.
Interestingly, although she did not make it to the final of the COTECC/ ITF sponsored Sagicor Under 12 and Under 14 tournament last month at the National Tennis Centre in Beausejour, on Wednesday 28th August 2018, 12-year-old Iyana Paul pulled out all the stops to reach the final of the Girls Under 14’s in Antigua only to be defeated by Antiguan Samaar Davis in straight sets 6-2, 6-1.
In the Girls Doubles finals, Paul teamed up with Aysha Hosam (Antigua), but lost to Samaar Davis and Zoey James (Antigua) 7-5, 6-2 finals.
Ranked at No. 88 before the Wadadli Bowl Championship in Antigua, Paul moved 42 places to finish in the 46th spot on the Confederation of Tennis of Central America and the Caribbean (COTECC) list. This is her biggest jump ever in her short career playing competitively for two years.
