JAMAICA’S young stars will be on show in the third staging of the Ernst & Young (EY)/Russell Tennis Academy (RTA) Invitational Tennis Championships, to be held this weekend at the Eric Bell Centre.

The opening ceremony was slated for yesterday at 3:30 pm, followed by exhibition matches and first-round matches in the championships among the young players. The first round of matches continues today at 9:00 am, with the quarter-finals set for 1:00 pm and the semi-finals and finals scheduled to be played tomorrow.Prize money will be awarded to the top four players in both the boys’ and girls’ categories, with the winners receiving $100,000, runners-up $40,000, and the losing semi-finalists collecting $20,000 each.The boys’ and girls’ singles will consist of 16 players each, with Blaise Bicknell of Jamaica and Kiara Rose of the United States of America (USA), the top seeds.The other seeded players in the boys are Jacob Bicknell of Jamaica at two, Demitri Bird of Jamaica at three, and the fourth seed is Theaker Callum from the Cayman Islands.Jamaica’s Jenna Harrison is seeded at number two in the girls’ section, with Valaine Clarke from the USA at three, and Shae-Ann Kameka of Jamaica seeded fourth.Meanwhile, players from the SOS Children’s Village have been making a profound impact in junior tennis, and four of their leading players, Mario Campbell, Alex Rose, Carlos Wilson and Milton Rose, have qualified and should be closely watched.Tomorrow the RTA 10 and under tournament, catering for boys and girls six and under, eight and under, and 10 and under, will be played between 11:00 am and 2:00 pm, between semi-finals and finals of the EY/RTA event.