By Morissa Lindsay
There is a Brooklyn-born ‘Bajan’ making a presence on the international stage and her name is Sufi Broomes-Currie. She had the distinction of accompanying legendary tennis sisters Venus and Serena Williams on court in what was their final competitive doubles match together.
The ten-year-old, soon to be 11,
got the opportunity of a lifetime last week Thursday when she got to spin the toss twice, first in a doubles match that featured the famous Williams’ sisters and also a men’s singles game in which the iconic Spanish professional tennis player Rafael Nadal played.
The name Broomes should ring a bell because she is the granddaughter of Dr. Margaret Broomes and noted educator Jeff Broomes, a former principal of Alexandra and Parkinson Memorial Secondary School, and who also served as the First Vice-President of the Barbados Cricket Association as well as a national youth cricket selector.
Broomes-Currie was chosen to toss the coin to determine who will take the first serve in the US Open doubles tennis match involving Venus and Serena Williams against the Czech Republic pair of Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka. Even though it was not the outcome Broomes-Currie had hoped for on one of the most memorable nights of her life after the Williams sisters lost 7-6, 6-4 to the Czech duo, it is a moment in time she will forever cherish.
After the doubles match between the iconic Williams siblings, Broomes-Currie got to flip the match coin once more for the match between Nadal when he captured his second-round win 2-6 6-4 6-2 6-1 against Italian Fabio Fognini.
As she shared what it was like to meet the greats, Broomes-Currie said, “No, I never imagined I could ever meet them because they are so big and famous and I’m just a little girl from Brooklyn! It was the best day of my life. It was very very amazing and it was a once in a lifetime experience. I just couldn’t believe it.”
She added: “So many things were going through my mind, but mostly a lot of excitement. Like how this is just so amazing and special…and a little emotional because I play tennis too and I watch them on television all the time and now I’m next to them in real life.”
Broomes-Currie has a strong Caribbean heritage with three of her grandparents including her father’s (Claude) mother Honora Smith- Currie having Bajan roots while her paternal grandfather is a Jamaican.
With Serena being her tennis idol, it made the moment that much more special for Broomes-Currie who said that she also likes Coco Gauff. A student of the City School of the Arts in Manhattan, Broomes-Currie plays for Kings County Tennis League and has dreams of playing in College and maybe possibly one day compete on the big stage.
It is no surprise that the younger Broomes-Currie has a passion for sports especially lawn tennis because her mother Lia played as a student of the St. Michael School and her father Claude competed in baseball.
“My dad played baseball when he was younger and my mother played tennis at The St. Michael School in Barbados. She always tells me that I am much better than she was, and I believe her (haha). They were very proud of me. I definitely want to set small goals for myself, but it would be nice to get a tennis scholarship to college and who knows, maybe I can be a pro player and grand slam champion one day too!”
