Barbados women secure promotion to Americas Group II of Billie Jean King Cup
Barbados' women's tennis team members (from left) Gabrielle Leslie, Hannah Chambers, Cherise Slocombe and Serena Bryan.
Barbados’ women’s tennis team made history on Saturday by advancing to Americas Group II of the Billie Jean King Cup at the National Racquet Centre in Tacarigua, Trinidad & Tobago.
The Bajans first went 4-0 in Pool A preliminary round action with wins over Antigua & Barbuda (3-0), Jamaica (2-1), Bahamas (3-0) and Trinidad & Tobago (2-1) from August 5-8 before coming up against El Salvador in the promotional playoff on Saturday.
El Salvador advanced to that playoff thanks to a second-place finish in Pool B after three wins and one loss.
In the first match of Saturday’s playoff, El Salvador’s Michelle Irigoyen secured a dominant 6-0, 6-2 victory over Barbados’ Serena Bryan before Gabrielle Leslie tied proceedings at 1-1 with a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Sara Valentina Cruz Bonilla.
The deciding doubles match was a fitting way to determine the victor as both teams left it all on the court.
Barbados’ Hannah Chambers and Cherise Slocombe went up against El Salvador’s Bonilla and Irigoyen.
Chambers and Slocombe took the first set 6-3 before the El Salvador pair roared back into it with a bagel (6-0) in the second set.
The teams then played out a marathon third and deciding set which Barbados eventually won 11-9 to book their spot in Americas Group II.
Costa Rica will join them in Group II after beating Jamaica 2-1 in the other playoff.
Bradley Jacks
Bradley Jacks is a budding journalist and an avid sports fan. His love of research and sports has led him to SportsMax.tv, a place where those passions work hand in hand to allow him to produce content.
Latest from Bradley Jacks
Related items
-
Alcaraz grinds through to help Spain to Davis Cup win
Carlos Alcaraz got a stroke of luck as he helped Spain make a winning start to the Davis Cup Finals group-stage campaign against Czechia as Tomas Machac retired through injury.
The French Open and Wimbledon champion dropped the first set 6-7 (3-7), but rallied to finish the second 6-1, forcing a decider after getting two vital breaks.
However, Machac pulled up in the opening game of the third set with cramp and was unable to carry on after one hour and 41 minutes on the court.
It followed Roberto Bautista's flying start in their opening singles match in Group B as he cruised past Jiri Lehecka 7-6 (7-1) 6-4, with the Czech making 27 unforced errors as he failed to find an edge.
In the doubles, Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers then had to dig deep, coming from behind to beat Adam Pavlasek and Jakub Mensik in three sets to give Spain a 3-0 victory and take them top of the group.
Meanwhile, Great Britain also made a bright start to their campaign in Group D, despite US Open semi-finalist Jack Draper sitting out.
Dan Evans got them started in Manchester with a hard-earned 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 victory over Eero Vasa of Finland, converting both of his break points in the second set.
Billy Harris followed that up with an impressive tournament debut, looking unflappable as he earned the hosts an unattainable lead with his 6-4 7-6 (7-4) win over Otto Virtanen.
Finland got themselves on the board in the doubles though, with Evans and Neal Skupski unable to get the better of Harri Heliovaara and Virtanen ensuring it was only a 2-1 loss.
Elsewhere, the United States joined Germany at the top of Group C with their 3-0 win over Chile and Italy's Matteo Arnaldi held off a spirited Thiago Monteiro to put them in control against Brazil in Group A after Matteo Berrettini's earlier victory.
-
Dom Rep, Bermuda victorious in Group D of League B; Belize, Barbados, St Kitts and Nevis remain perfect in League C
Dominican Republic maintained their positive start to the Concacaf Nations League campaign, while Bermuda is now on the board as both registered victories in the League B, Group D double-header at the ABFA Technical Center in Piggotts, Antigua and Barbuda on Tuesday.
The Dominican Republic defeated Dominica 2-0 in a top-of-the-table clash, and Bermuda clipped hosts Antigua and Barbuda 1-0 to end the September window on a positive note.
With the win, Dominican Republic moved up to six points, three ahead of Bermuda and Dominica, while Antigua and Barbuda will head into the next window without a point.
Dominican Republic vs. Dominica
Having won their opening encounters, this contest was expected to be a closely contested affair, but it was the Dominican Republic who proved the better team on the day.
Ronaldo Vasquez broke the deadlock with a cheeky finish in the 11th minute.
Dorny Romero doubled the lead with 25th-minute strike that secured the points for Dominican Republic to boost their promotion hopes.