There will be nothing tranquil about the play when the Shell Tranquillity Open resumes action on Friday. Its been 10 months in waiting for the women, men and veterans singles competitors to do battle in an attempt to secure the various titles. This was as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic which stopped play on the weekend of March 15, 2020, after an increase of Covid-19 cases in Trinidad and Tobago.
At that point in time, the Men's Doubles title was already captured by Richard Chung and Dexter Mahase, with the women's crown going to the pair of Carlista Mohammed and Cameron Wong. Carlista then teamed up with another Mohammed, Nabeel, to seal their mixed doubles success. The two who are top seeds in their respective singles grouping will take to the court on Saturday.
Nabeel in a men's round of 16 battle with the unseeded Liu Chin on Court 1 from 9:00 am and Carlista takes to the court from 1:00 pm in quarter-final duel on court 2 with Zara Ghuran.
Co-Tournament director Anthony Jeremiah told Guardian Media Sports on Thursday that it was a period of waiting, planning and deciding when would be the right time to complete the tournament as the idea to cancel it all together lurked.
However, with the green-light given by the sponsors and the committee, it was decided that the beginning of the new year will be best suited for completion.
With the various Covid-19 protocols in place for the safe and successful completion of the tournament, the women and men will play throughout the weekend. A decision was taken to have the veterans competition on a weekend of their own which will serve off next Friday.
This is viewed as an additional safety measure as persons in that age group are at a higher risk of contracting the virus.