After a smooth day of travel, Team Bahamas 2022 Billie Jean King Cup landed safely in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic on Friday, well ahead of tournament play on Monday. This advanced time has allowed the ladies to get familiar with the courts and climate and to settle in comfortably. Captain Simone Pratt noted that the trip has been very smooth and the team has had a great experience thus far. She stated “On the first day of practice, we had two sessions. The first session was for two hours. We started with a solid warm-up, and then we went on to get some points and matchplay going to help prepare us for Monday. Thereafter, at our second practice, we got more single matchplay. Overall, we had two great practice sessions. Elana stated that today allowed her to get a great feel for the court. Sydney stated that she was able to add a few touch-ups to her game and was able to scout out the competition. Sierra stated she’s learning a lot of great tips being on the team and will continue to take in all of the knowledge from her teammates.”
Simone noted that as a player/coach, it is a pleasure to be there for the girls, making sure their needs are being met. The team is looking forward to Day 2. Tomorrow the draws are slated to take place and The Bahamas will find out which nations it will face in the round-robin matches. There is anticipated to be 18 nations divided into 4 pools. The Billie Jean King Cup (or the BJK Cup) is the premier women’s team competition. The Billie Jean King Cup is the world’s largest annual women’s international team sports competition in terms of the number of nations that compete.
The BLTA and the entire Bahamas send best wishes and pray for a strong performance from the team at the 2022 Billie Jean Cup. Team members include Sydney Clarke, Elana Mackey, Sierra Rodgers and Simone Pratt (Player/Captain). Pictured is the team on the ground in The Dominican Republic and a media release with the sponsor of the team Fidelity Bank and Trust Bahamas Limited.
Original Post Date: 7/23/2022
