Sports tourism continues to grow in the Dominican Republic, with tennis one of the sports leading the way.
The U16 Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge and the Juniors Davis Cup tournaments are underway at the Parque del Este National Tennis Center in eastern Santo Domingo, with competitors – 37 girls and 50 boys — having come from 17 countries.
Competitors are here from Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Cuba, Curacao, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Puerto Rico, Suriname, Jamaica, United States Virgin Islands, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago.
This event is a pre-qualifier, to see which team, one female and one male, will represent the area of the Tennis Confederation of Central America and the Caribbean (Cotecc) in the global events of each of these tournaments.
Team Dominican Republic got off to a good start winning games on 26 February. Monserrat González, Yelena Sánchez and Paz Cabral are competing in the women’s division, with Jorge Alfaro as captain. The Dominican team defeated Team Surinam. Paz Cabral defeated Faith Bab 6-1, 6-0. Yelena Sanchez defeated Sarah Marhe 6-4, 6-4. And in doubles, Cabral and Montserrat Gonzalez defeated Faith and Marhe 6-4, 6-4.
In the Juniors Davis Cup the Dominican boys team, made up by Carlos Nadal, Elio Mella and Ney Pimentel, with Damián Calderón as captain, lost to Trinidad & Tobago 3-0.
The games resume on 27 February at 9am. Dominicana will play Guatemala in the Billie Jean King Cup. Dominicana will play Barbados in the Juniors Davis Cup.
The two teams that win will next play against Mexico, the United States and Canada in another event to decide the Americas representation in the Juniors David Cup World Cup and Billie Jean King World Cup, explained tournament organizer, Sergio Tobal of the Dominican Tennis Federation.
The event began on Sunday, 25 February 2024 and continues through 1 March and is organized by the Dominican Tennis Federation (Fedotenis).
The tournament is free of charge for fans who want to go see good tennis. The matches are played from 9 in the morning, at the Parque del Este National Tennis Center.
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27 February 2024