Vincentian tennis player Ethan Kent represented his country in the Junior Infantile Tennis International Championships (JITIC): a premier COTECC Under-14 tournament in El Salvador.
This event hosts the top 48 boys and 48 girls players from the Caribbean and Central America, and is dubbed “the competition for the future champions of the region”.
He was accompanied by Sebastian Cyrus, vice president of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Tennis Association and Kent’s assistant coach, who travelled as the accompanying coach and chaperone.
In the singles round-robin phase, Ethan finished 4th/6 in Group 5 with a 2-3 record.
His results were as follows:
- Match 1 – Loss to Gabriel Antonio Molina Flores (HON) – 4-6, 6-3, 7-10
- Match 2 – Win against Adrian Abreu Jozic (PUR) – 6-3, 7-5
- Match 3 – Loss to Alvaro Bañales (MEX) – 4-6, 4-6
- Match 4 – Win against Rohan Ramcharitar (TTO) – 6-0, 6-0
- Match 5 – Loss to Hector Cruz (CRC) – 2-6, 0-6
Based on the results, Kent then advanced to the Grade 3 (G3) Singles Draw:
- Round of 32 – Loss to Gerardo Zuñiga (HON) – 1-6, 3-6
Next up for Kent was the Consolation Draw, where he advanced to the final:
- Round of 16 – Win against Eli Paty (TTO) – 6-3, 6-0
- Quarterfinal – Win against Gabriele Parcells (PAN) – 6-2, 6-1
- Semifinal – Win against Paulo Alvarez (HON) – 1-6, 6-3, 10-6
- Final – Loss to Daniel Casco (HON) – 4-6, 6-1, 7-10
In the G3 Doubles Draw, Ethan teamed up with T’Zuriel Percival (SKN). Their results were as follows:
- Round of 16 – Win against Jose Juan Betancourt (PUR) & Liam Cave (BAR) – 4-1, 4-2
- Quarterfinal – Loss to Karim Balbuena (MEX) & Daniel Casco (HON) – 4-5, 4-1, 6-10
Ultimately, Kent finished with an overall record of 6 wins, and 6 losses (5-5 singles, 1-1 doubles).
“The SVGTA is proud of Ethan Kent’s showing at JITIC, and thanks him for representing St Vincent and the Grenadines with purpose at the biggest stage of regional junior tennis,” a press release said.
“Ethan left the tournament with many fruitful experiences and lessons learned that the SVGTA is confident will translate into a renewed desire to improve, as he looks to continue challenging the best in the game.”