Smith confident of defending Queen of the South title

Defending champion Rachel Smith is eying a successful title defense in the upcoming Queen of the South road tennis competition.

With arch-rival Kim Holder not competing, Smith will be the overwhelming favourite to repeat as champion when the three-day tournament serves off on April 3 at the Garrison Historic Road Tennis Academy and Club.

In an interview with Barbados TODAY, Smith said she was hoping to become the first player to win the tournament, now in its third year,  more than once.

In Holder’s absence, she said she expects Maudlyn Blunt to be her biggest challenger.

“My form is pretty good and I expect to make it to the final.

“I haven’t been in any competitions for the year, but I did win a male B-Class tournament last year. This is the first big competition of the season, but for the remainder of 2026 my plan is to win as many tournaments as possible and really stamp my dominance on the court,” Smith said.

President of the Garrison Historic Road Tennis Academy and Club and coordinator of the tournament, Jacqueline Collis said she plans to make Queen of the South one of the biggest female tournaments in Barbados.

“The long-term objective is to make Queen of the South as big as it can be and in doing that, be able to attract more young people. 

“With this in mind, we have extended it to ladies 16 years and over. Queen of the South has the potential to go even further, because we have a group of young women who are coming up in the road tennis fraternity who continue to compete,” Collis said.

“We have a marvellous planning committee and as early as January 6, our correspondence went out to the various business houses and stuff like that. As we speak, the guys are delivering the bleachers and the lights, while the tents are already down, so we are ready to go. The competitors are also ready to go and the officials will be in place.”

This year’s tournament will see the winner receiving $1500, with $1000 going to the runner-up and $500 to the third-place finisher.

“I want to state how difficult it is to stage events like this, that is why we are very thankful to the members of corporate Barbados who have come on board, those who are rejoining us and the first timers,” Collis said.

(KH)