The Tribune

By BRENT STUBBS

Senior Sports Reporter

bstubbs@tribunemedia.net

Kevin Major Jr, the top local tennis player in the country, has his bags packed and ready to go to Paderborn, Germany, to test his skills in the Tennis Bundesliga Zone III league.

Major Jr, a member of the Bahamas Davis Cup team that will play in Panama in June, will be joining the TuS SG Sennelager tennis club that will be playing in a month-long event in Germany against six other teams.

While there, he will also get to participate in some Future or National Tournaments.

“This is an opportunity for a lifetime because I not only get to compete with and against some high level guys, but I also get to train with them in different environments,” he said. “So I get to learn a lot. But this will also show me what speed I need to be at to be at the top. That is why I am so excited about going. I know I can perform. I just don’t know what level I have to perform at.”

Having spent some time training with Justin Lunn since October, Major Jr said he was able to work on every aspect of his game and now he’s ready to try and perfect it on the court in competition. “If things don’t come back to where I want them to, I can just go back to the drawing board,” Major Jr said. “The good thing is I can make some adjustments.”

The league in Germany, according to Major Jr, will also get him prepared to join Justin Roberts and Baker Newman on the Davis Cup team that will be led by player/captain Marvin Rolle when they travel to Panama to play in the American Zone III tie.

“I’ve already done my preparation for Davis Cup,” Major Jr said. “We have a stacked team, one of the best we’ve put together in a long time. “So it’s really up to the coach to understand the matchups that we are going into and giving the players the opportunity to perform. Any of us can play any position on this team.”

Although there has been some restrictions imposed on him and other athletes, not just in tennis, but all sports, Major Jr said he can’t dwell on what transpired when COVID-19 forced the shutdown of sports around the world.

“It’s been difficult, but it’s something that you have to accept and to see how well you can cope in the new environment,” Major Jr said. “This is hard. It’s hard for everybody, not just us in the Bahamas.

“This is something that the whole world is going through, so you just have to try and make the best of your situation.”

At one point during the pandemic, Major Jr said he almost threw in the towel and called it quits, but he’s grateful to the family that stepped up and allowed him to use their tennis facility to work out.

He opted not to name the family, but indicated that they know who they are.

And just like that family, who stepped up and assisted him, Major Jr said he’s also thankful to the TuS Sennelager tennis club, who waited two years for him to make the trek to Germany to compete on their team.

Every year, a team is selected to participate in the event. While Major Jr was first selected two years ago, he was unable to travel because of COVID-19. Now, that chance is finally here and he’s eager to take advantage of the opportunity. “For me, this is an eye opener for me to be able to go there and prove what I can do,” he said.

“They waited this long for me as an athlete when there are so many other players doing the same thing that I am doing.

“So I feel I’m heading into the right direction. It also says that they see something in me if we continuously call me to come and play for them.”

As he prepares to leave town on May 9, Major Jr said he doesn’t have any expectations than to go to Germany and perform for the TuS Sennelager tennis club.

“Once I play good, I feel good, so that’s all that matters,” he said.

At this point in his training, Major Jr said his game has certainly improved because he worked on a lot of aspects to his game.

“People can try to find my weaknesses, but by the time they find my weaknesses, I could be shaking their hands (with the match over),” he noted. “That’s how much I have improved.”