Bermudians could get a sneak preview of the next generation of Lleyton Hewitts and Serena Williamses in June.

That's when Bermuda Lawn Tennis Association (BLTA) will launch its first annual ITF-sanctioned (International Tennis Federation) junior tournament, involving top young players from the Caribbean, the United States, Canada and England.

The Bank of Bermuda ITF World Ranking Junior Tournament will take place from June 14 to 21 on the Tennis Stadium's hard courts. Competition will be held in 18 and under and 14 and under age groups (both boys and girls) with a 32-draw for the older category while the younger players will have a 16-draw. There will also be Open doubles (16-draw) for 18 and under competitors only.

Juniors have until May 28 to enter after which those chosen to compete will be determined via the ITF's junior world rankings.

Bermudian youngsters have two extra chances of getting into the tournament either via wild cards or pre-qualifying and qualifying events.

"For the 18 and under, we will accept 24 based on the ITF junior rankings, then four will be wild cards for Bermudian players who we feel are good enough to be put directly into the main draw and the other four will come from the qualifying tournament.

"In the 14 and unders, 12 players will be chosen by rankings, two will be Bermudian wild cards and two from the qualifying event," explained tournament co-director Allan Simmons.

He noted that in order to include as many Bermudians as possible, a pre-qualifying competition would be held on the weekend (June 7 and 8) before the tournament. The top players of that will advance to the qualifying event with a chance of reaching the main draw.

"This tournament is very important to our development. For the first time in history, our top juniors have the opportunity to participate in a world-ranking tournament on their home soil and Bermudians have the chance to see their own young players in action against some of the world's best juniors," explained another co-director David Lambert.

In addition, exposure at such a level, he said, had many advantages for junior players seeking to progress in the sport.

"It can assist them in securing college scholarships because a lot of scouts attend these tournaments as well as officials from top sporting goods companies, looking to see who the up and coming players are.

"It's also a way to be noticed by the ITF which has a number of development scholarships for juniors. So it's all part of the overall development picture and is a great opportunity," outlined Lambert.

Stressing that sport and youth development go hand-in-hand, Bank of Bermuda's Vice-President David Lang expressed his company's delight in sponsoring the tournament.

"We feel that youth development is critical to Bermuda's long-term future - healthy minds and healthy bodies. We have been getting involved in sports in many ways and we are happy to be supportive and keep things going," he said.

Asked if they had any early indication of response to the tournament, Simmons said the ITF - through which they are disseminating information - had received a lot of interest already.

"They feel we will get over-subscribed for the event but we have to wait and see," he said, adding that two concerns are that the tournament may clash with some players' exams and that travel to Bermuda can be costly.