Bermuda’s junior squash prospects endured a bruising, winless opening day in the team format at the 2026 Junior Caribbean Squash Championships in Tortola.
Competing on the glass courts of the Tortola Sports Club in the British Virgin Islands, the island's contingent found the going incredibly tough against the region’s elite. The boys' team suffered an opening defeat before fighting to a gritty draw, while an understrength girls' squad suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Barbados.
The Bermuda Boys kicked off their campaign with an 8-4 defeat against a sharp Cayman Islands lineup.
The match got off to a difficult start in the Under-11 division when Remy Horsefall fell in straight games to Alexander La-Roda Thomas. However, Bermuda's heavily favored lower-age groups quickly swung the tie back in their favor. Newly crowned under-13 Caribbean champion Mason Smith and silver medalist Benjamin Sherratt both delivered ruthless, straight-game masterclasses to give Bermuda hope.
Ultimately, Cayman's depth in the upper age brackets proved insurmountable. Owen Rosorea was edged out by Adriano Vera in a tight under-17 clash, before under-19 top seed Eli Carpol and teammate William Frith both fell in consecutive three-game matches to Charlie Makin and Maximillian Woolf respectively.
The boys showed tremendous resilience in their second fixture of the day, battling back to earn a hard-fought 6-6 draw against Trinidad & Tobago.
Once again, Benjamin Sherratt and Mason Smith provided the bedrock for Bermuda, both recording flawless 11-3, 11-3, 11-0 and 11-4, 11-7, 11-6 victories in their respective divisions. After Trinidad struck back with wins in the under-11 and under-17 categories, it was left to under-19 standout Eli Carpol to rescue the tie.
Carpol produced a clinical performance to dismantle Matteo Felician 11-3, 11-8, 11-4, securing the crucial points needed to share the spoils.
It was a far more sobering story for the Bermuda Girls, who were completely overwhelmed 12-0 by a dominant Barbados team.
Compounding their on-court struggles, Bermuda was forced to forfeit both the Under-11 and Under-19 #2 matches by default, handing automatic three-game cushions to Denielle Benn and Morgan Daniel before a ball was even struck.
On the court, the Bajan dominance continued. Aleisha Siddiqi and Taylor Kyme were restricted to single-digit scores in tough losses, while Mckenna Kyme put up a spirited fight in the under-17 division before eventually succumbing to Lenna Hamati in a tight second-game tiebreak.
In the final match of the tie, Rose Paulos pushed Thalia Knight hard but ultimately went down in straight games, leaving the girls with plenty of homework to do ahead of their upcoming group fixtures.
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