Bermuda will be among ten countries at the Junior International Tennis Championships for Central America and the Caribbean to start tomorrow in El Salvador.

The island has entered teams in the under-14 and under-16 age categories.

Ricky Mallory Jr and Benjamin Jones are both competing in the under-14 boys’ division while Shelby Madeiros will mark her Bermuda debut playing among the Under-14 girls.

Mallory is facing a gruelling schedule as he will also compete in the under-16 boys’ division along with Scott Redmond, who is also making his Bermuda debut.

Both players have been training in Florida for the past two weeks.

Bermuda’s Under-14 team will be coached by Steve Bean while Richard Mallory, the island’s tennis director, has been appointed coach of the island’s under-16 team.

The former Davis Cup team-mates are both familiar with the playing conditions in El Salvador and the level of competition.

“This is an important junior event for us,” Mallory said. “It’s not only a chance for our players to develop their skills, but also to measure themselves against a much broader pool of players.

“With most sports in Bermuda our players often meet the same rotation of participants in tournaments.

“This event allows them to test their skills against the best in our region, which is the Central American and Caribbean zone.

“If you think about the other countries they have a much larger population of juniors to select from which means our juniors will be able to demonstrate their abilities on a much higher level.

“We’ve had success in the past with Tyler Smith at this event and we’re looking to see success again this year, our players are ready for this.”

The under-16 event will take place from July 23 to 30 and the under-14 event from July 31 to August 7 on the hard-court surface at the El Salvador National Tennis Federation.

The other participating countries include Mexico, Guatemala, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Bahamas and El Salvador.