By RENALDO DORSETT

TRIBUNE SPORTS REPORTER

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

KHAI Rees began the local 2022 amateur campaign as a winner in two divisions, setting the stage for what he hopes will become a year of milestones.

Rees highlighted the group of winners at the Bahama Pure Water and Ice Grand Bahama Invitational last weekend by claiming both the Boys U16 and U18 Division titles in Grand Bahama.

Rees won the U18 title over Ian Rolle and the U16 title over Jackson Mactaggart.

The U12 division winners were Kayla Fox and Patrick Mactaggart, with Briana Houlgrave and Noah Russell as runners-up.

The U14 division winners were Breann Ferguson and Jackson Mactaggart with Fox and Patrick Mactaggart as runners-up.

Jalisa Clarke won the U16 Girls with Ferguson as her runner-up while Jackson Mactaggart was the runner-up to Rees among the boys.

In the U18 division, Sapphire Ferguson was the girls’ title winner followed by Clarke while Ian Rolle finished as a runner-up to Rees.

In Girls Doubles, Sapphire and Breann Ferguson teamed up to defeat Rachel Thompson and Tatyana Madu. Kingston Rees and Patrick Mactaggart won the Boys Doubles over Russell and Keiano Henfield. Rees, a 14-year-old ninth grader at St Augustine’s College, said his start to the year will be a sign of things to come.

“It was an amazing start to the year. I played well and it was a great experience. I just want to keep that type of play going in every tournament this year,” he said. “Winning both divisions is a challenge but the more that I can play, the better. I play up in divisions all the time and I’ve really gotten used to it since I was 10 so I look forward to it now.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic halted the game locally, Rees said he made the most of that time period dedicated to training and travelling to Florida to play in a series of tournaments.

He most recently advanced to the second round at the L7 KL Tournament in West Palm Beach, Florida, on January 29.

“I improved tremendously during that time period, practicing everyday, keeping and staying sharp with the coaches and training with Island Tennis Bahamas,” he said. “It also helps when I travel to play where I get to face a lot of different types of players and a more diverse skillset.”

Khai Rees is the son of two-time Bahamian Olympic swimmer Nicholas Rees.

“His year started off excellent and we couldn’t be happier with progress. He got back in shape and back to form quickly,” the elder Rees said. “It was disappointing the last few years because there were few opportunities to play in tournaments at home or opportunities to get rankings. There didn’t seem to be a major effort in that regard and it hurt a lot of our players so we are happy to see them playing competitively again.”