The Tribune

Sydney Clarke, who has the distinction of being the only junior ranked under 500 in recent times in the under-18 juniors, attained multiple successes this weekend in St Lucia.

Clarke, who was ranked number one in girls singles in the tournament, was the finalist in both the doubles and singles competition. In singles, Clarke blazed through the competition, with wins over Weekes, of Barbados, 6-1,6-1; Mogili, of the United States, 7-6(1),6-2 and Jamal, of the United States, 6-3, 6-3, to make it to the finals.

Clarke played well but lost to Plekhanova of Canada in the finals on Saturday. Clarke has seen past success as a singles finalist in the U18 ITFs and is on the precipice of greatness.

Clarke also teamed up with Tanglia Riley-Codrignton, of Barbados, to defeat Fernandez, of Puerto Rico, and American Walker 6-1,6-4 . The duo then secured their ticket to the finals with a win over Michel, of France, and American Teng 6-3,6-4. The duo competed but lost to the American duo of Jamal and Mogil 6-1,6-0.

Donte Armbrister, who was seeded number three in the boys singles, came out strong, defeating opponents Liam Sheppard, of Trinidad, 6-2,6-2 and Stephen Slocombe, of Barbados, 6-2,6-2. Armbrister lost in the quarter-finals to Paul Colin, from France, 6-7(3) 4-6 in a highly competitive match. Armbrister also teamed up with Romani Mayers for better success in doubles play.

Armbrister and Mayers defeated Cordell Williams, of Antigua, and Adriel Bousquet, of St Lucia, 6-4, 7-6(6). They also won easily over Nwokolo and Valdez, of Trinidad, 6-0, 6-1. In the semi-finals, they defeated the number one seed American McCleod and Kuehne, of Switzerland, 7-6(5), 7-6(2). This win catapulted the duo into the final. However, they would lose to Trinidad's Carter and Ramkisson 6-7(2) 2-6.

The Bahamas Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) congratulates Clarke and Armbrister for their recent success in the U18 ITF and looks forward to future victories. Clarke and Armbrister continue to perform at a high level and Esther Newton, of the BLTA public relations committee, said they are encouraged that they will both continue to climb higher in their tennis journey.