Esmond Waldron played both soccer and tennis in his native land of Trinidad but he did not remain with the former sport when he arrived here in the United States. He stayed primarily with the net sport but would on occasion play soccer.
When he came to The Bronx in the 60s, he tried to make a career of tennis and eventually became a teaching professional at Heffen Park in the upper Bronx. His son, Chris, went big time into playing tennis. Esmond also coached soccer for a while.
Chris plays first singles at Beacon High School located in mid-town Manhattan. Beacon over the years has become a power house, succeeding Cardozo of Queens and Chris has become one of the top players in the Public Schools Athletic League and has been highly ranked, as well.
Last year as a junior at Beacon, Chris captured the Mayor’s Cup singles tournament, the final tournament of the year on the scholastic calendar, which matched the best of the crop from New York city. He recently concluded the regular season schedule by helping to lead Beacon to a 5-0 romp over Stuyvesant also of Manhattan for the PSAL team title.
Beacon thus captured its fifth straight such crown, including four times with Waldron on the squad.
In the match at the USTA National Tennis Center, in Flushing Meadow Corona Park, Chris Waldron defeated another Chris Jov, a senior at Stuyvesant, 6-4, 6-0, and in the process gave Beacon 14 straight team victories this year.
Waldron won the first set on a forehand that Jov netted on set point and in the second set when Jov returned a forehand wide on match point in the best of three-set final. The senior is still looking for a college scholarship for next September.
“I always play my best here at the National Tennis Center,” Waldron said. “And I love playing here (at the National Tennis Center).
Waldron and Jov knew each other for a long time, for they played together in the New York Junior Tennis League at the Bronx International Park site. The NYJTL conducts the Mayor’s Cup as well as many other programs and tournament throughout the year.
“My father pushed me into tennis when I was little,” Chris said. “We played at Heffen Park and ‘everybody cared about me.”
In addition to tennis, Chris played some soccer, because he liked to run around a lot and running helped with tennis. He also enjoy swimming.
“Stuyvesant is a wonderful opponent,” added Beacon Coach Bayard Faithfull, whose team faced the runner-up school earlier in the year. “We were really ‘up’ to play them.”
Waldron is top-seeded going into the singles portion of the Public Schools Athletic League individual tournament, whose quarter finals, semi-finals and finals are set for the National Tennis Center, home of the U.S. Open tournament during the summer.
