TERRY Smith said he wanted to take tennis forward with a collective style of leadership, after he embarked on his stint as the new man at the helm of the sport in Bermuda this week.

At Wednesday night's annual general meeting of Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association, Smith was signed in as the new president of the sport's governing body, after he ran unchallenged to replace David Lambert.

Lambert had stood down after being in charge of the association for five out of the past six years.

After making the step-up from vice-president, Smith talked to The Mid-Ocean News about how he aimed to get more people involved with tennis, to maintain and enhance the thriving junior programme and how his new role will differ from his old one.

"In the vice-president's role, I was basically David's right-hand man," said Smith. "I always felt I was his best constructive critic.

"If there was something he was looking to do, I would play the part of the devil's advocate and that way we could weigh up the pros and cons as to whether an idea should go forward or not.

"David's shoes will be tough to fill and as president I would consider myself chairman of the board around the table, but I still feel we are very much a team - that is the way I work. I hope I can keep people motivated."

Smith said he realised he would now become the focal point of debate and complaint about the running of tennis and that was a task he felt ready for.

"I'm sure, with all the responsibiltity that comes with this job, it can be thankless, but that comes with the position," he said.

"I'm going to be the punching bag, but as long as my team is able I won't made taking the punches."

Smith, 42, coaches professionally at the Grotto Bay Beach Hotel and is also the coach is charge of the national 18-and-unders.

"For starters, my aim will be to continue the junior development programme," he said. "We already have a good structure in place and I will look to enhance that further.

"One of my further aims is to embark on getting more involvement, getting tenis to touch as many people as possible in every walk of life.

"We shall also be looking at the club situation. I want to encourage the clubs to enhance their programmes a little more. We have clubs and hotels with tennis facilities and we would like to go out to them and get some affiliated membership buy-in, so that more of these facilities will be available to those interested in playing tennis."

Looking forward to the year ahead, Smith felt tennis was in rude health.

"I would say tennis is in a pretty good state," said Smith. "We have just completed a full calendar of events in 2001 and we are now going forward to a lot of big events in 2002 like the Lori McNeil / Elbow Beach Celebrity Classic.

"And there is a lot of involvement in higher levels of competition like the Davis Cup, the Fed Cup and also the 14-and-unders. And there is the chance there will be more big events.

"We are looking at the posibility of hosting a Cotec junior tournament at the end of June, on home soil."

Such a tournament would involve top youngsters from all over the Caribbean region.

"Cotec tournaments give our juniors the chance to play for ITF (International Tennis Federation) points, which give them recognition.

"To have a Cotec tournament on the island would make it more accessible for a larger number of our juniors."

He added that talks were ongoing with ITF, North and Central America and Caribbean zone, with the Tennis Stadium the site earmarked to host the event.

Veterans Sam Maybury and Donna Bradshaw finished 2001 as the top-ranked singles players in Bermuda, the latest rankings from the BLTA have confirmed.

Maybury was competely dominant, winning all the tournaments he entered to finish with 2,500 points, nearly 1,000 points ahead of second-ranked John Johnston.

Youngster Jovan Whitter finished the year, ranked third and will be among the leading contenders to claim the top ranking in 2002.

BLTA rankings administrator Johnny Moore said: "Maybury will take a back seat due to suspension in 2002 and with the established stars Michael Way, Ricky Mallory and James Collieson rarely venturing on a singles court and Jenson Bacome overseas, the battle for the men's top spot appears to be wide open in 2002."

Bradshaw, the island's dominant player during the late 80s and eraly 90s made a remarkable comeback in 2001.

Newcomer Debroah Cheng was the second-ranked player, 476 points behind, while 14-year-old Sasha Fisher was third, despite having played in only two domestic tournaments.

Moore noted: "Prospects for the women's game are bright for 2002, with the welcome return of Danielle Paynter, the improving Deborah Cheng, and the overseas-based youngsters Zarah DeSilva, Sasha Fisher and Ashley Brooks all looking to challenge Bradshaw."

Roger Marshall edged out Ricky Mallory for top spot in the men's doubles rankings, while Kelly Holland's 100 percent record made her a clear number one in women's doubles, closely followed by Gill Butterfield.