Julian “Michael Jackson” White thinks it is time that Barbadians pay to watch road tennis. White, who has more than 30 tournament wins, more than any other player in the history of the game, thinks that the sport cries out for an indoor facility so that gate receipts can be collected.
The 46-year-old White told MIDWEEK SPORT that road tennis requires a more professional image and needs to move to the next level.
“At the Monarchs Of The Court tournament more than 2 000 patrons turned up for the finals and did not have to pay a cent to see the best players in the country play. What does that to for the game. If people are going to see Antonio Daniel, Mark Griffith, and myself free, they are certainly not going to pay to watch the up and coming players.
“I think that every patron should have paid at least $5 to watch the finals at Spring Garden. This is 2014 and we have to move to the next level. The image of road tennis has to change. To have tennis at this level and people walking in free is not a good sign for the sport,” he said.
White, a former Banks tournament winner, says road tennis badly needs an enclosed facility where both the players and spectators can feel more comfortable.
“Road tennis has come a long way but much still has to be done. I am heartened that we can have tournaments that there is no violence and I hope that that continues.
“I love football and am really concerned that so many fights are taking place in football. It is great that one can come to road tennis and not have to worry about being harassed or seeing any fights.
“Road tennis started as a ghetto sport but I think that it is past that stage now and is at a professional look. Anthony “Limp” Richardson, Charles Griffith, Junior “Trembles” Sobers and Anthony “Tiny” Jordan advanced the sport during their time, but much more needs to be done.
“It is getting a little push. It is alright to play for $10 000 and that’s good in terms of prize money, but the sport needs to be rebranded and its image improved.
“We still need to take road tennis to the next frontier,” he added.
White says that taking road tennis to the Coverley, Christ Church, was a step in the right direction.
“Businessman Mark Maloney has to be commended for taking the game to the Coverley. It was great marketing for him.
“Everyone is not going to drive to Coverley every evening looking for a home but if you are up there looking at tennis, you might like the area,” he said.
White added that the court at Coverley was the best he had ever played on.
“In my 24 years of playing road tennis, it is the best road tennis tournament I have ever played on. I was very impressed with the true bounce of the court at Coverley,” he added.