Junior tennis aces Aiden Carter and Solange Skeene are likely to walk away with the top junior awards when TennisTT holds its 2017 Prize giving Ceremony and Awards at a date to be determined after the Carnival season.
Breanna Stampfli and Joseph Cadogan are also set to be run-away winners of the award among the senior players.
Carter and Skeene have already been named TennisTT’s top juniors after a series of performances that earned them the national titles in both the under-16 and 18, and under-14 and u-16 categories respectively last year. They were only players to achieve such a feat.
By virtue being named TennisTT’s top juniors last month, they became the sport’s nominees for the First Citizens Sports Foundation Awards function to be held later this year. The duo is also likely to walk away with the top awards for TennisTT, but one official said he could not say if they would be so named, although they seem to be the obvious choices.
Only Cameron Wong, the under-10 stand out who contested both the U-12 and U-14 categories, could upset the applecart, having won in her category at the Catch Junior Tennis Tournament.
Apart from their achievements in the national tournaments, Skeene and Carter were also among the top performers in the other tournaments they contested.
Meanwhile Stampfli and Cadogan, both based in the United States, appear to be unchallenged for the senior awards, after they were crowned champions at the Bmobile National Open Championships, TennisTT’s major senior tournament.
Stampfli crushed three-time defending champion Carlista Mohammed in straight sets for the Women’s title, while Cadogan took care of Richard Chung 6-0, 6-2 before returning to his base in the US with Stampfli. Shenelle Mohammed, who defeated Skeene for the Tranquillity Open title could also pose an upset when the award ceremony is held.
The prize giving ceremony is set tentatively for the National Racquet Centre in Tacarigua.
WALTER ALIBEY
