The Barbados Road Tennis Open continued its thrilling run of matches on Wednesday at the iconic Diamond Corner venue in St Peter, delivering dramatic upsets in the men’s draw and a hard-fought comeback from the defending women’s champion that sent her through to the next round of competition.
The first major upset of the day came in a grueling 45-minute clash between unseeded Stephen Payne and fourth-seeded Antonio “Lil Man” Daniel. Daniel got off to a stunning start, taking the opening game 23-21 after saving three consecutive game points when he trailed 17-20. But Payne refused to be derailed by the early setback, finding his rhythm in the second game to match Daniel’s aggressive shot-for-shot play. After multiple deadlocked scores in the opening half of the second game, Payne pulled ahead to secure a 21-16 win, forcing a decisive third set. The third game mirrored the second, with frequent lead changes before the pair locked in at 14-14. It was Payne who made the pivotal break, holding his lead all the way to the finish line to close out the match with a 21-16 final game score.
A second seeded player exited the competition later in the day, when sixth seed Julian Michael Jackson White fell to 11th seed Shawn Spencer in another tense three-game battle. Spencer dominated the opening game, cruising to a 21-8 win that put White on the back foot. The sixth seed responded strongly, however, rallying to take the second game 21-14 and force a deciding third set. The final game was tightly contested, marred by several disputed referee calls that added tension to the already high-stakes match. But Spencer kept his composure through the controversy, closing out a 21-17 win to book his spot in the next round.
Not all seeded players suffered upsets on Wednesday, though. Third seed Dario Hinds survived an early scare from underdog Mosai Williams, who took the opening game 21-18 to put Hinds on the brink of elimination. Hinds regrouped between games, bouncing back to claim the next two sets 21-15 and 21-19 respectively, securing his quarter-final place. Three-time Barbados Road Tennis Open champion and last year’s runner-up Mark “Venom” Griffith had a far smoother route to the next round, dispatching Raheem Nurse in straight sets with comfortable 21-14 and 21-11 scores.
In women’s draw action, defending champion Sheldene Walrond had to dig deep to avoid an early exit against challenger Kyana Holder. Holder dominated the opening game, taking it 21-11 to put Walrond on the ropes. But the defending champion shifted gears in the second game, storming to a 21-14 win to force a decider. Walrond carried that momentum into the final game, clinching a second consecutive 21-14 win to advance to the quarter-finals.
2025 women’s runner-up Rachel Smith also delivered a strong performance, proving too powerful for opponent Rashida Holder and closing out a straight-set win with scores of 21-8 and 21-14. In other remaining women’s matches, Denise Collymore secured a straight-set 21-13, 21-10 victory over Jalesa Holder-Vaughan, while Kezia Blunt defeated Samantha Rogers 21-12, 21-11.