Gardner Barred As Tennis Association Investigates Davis Cup ‘No Show’

National tennis player, Kevin Gardner, has been temporally barred from representing Antigua & Barbuda until the sport’s governing body here decides whether or not more sanctions will be brought against the athlete.
This is according to President of the Antigua & Barbuda Tennis Association (ABTA), Cordell Williams, who said Gardner may also have to reimburse the association the full cost of the airline ticket to Uruguay where the country played in the Davis Cup.
“However, the credit is in Kevin Gardner’s name, not the Antigua & Barbuda Tennis Association. We are going to try and speak to American [Airline] first to see if that credit can come back to the association. However, if we do not receive that credit, that $4,000-plus that we bought that ticket for then Kevin Gardner will not be able to represent Antigua & Barbuda Tennis Association at any tournament,” he said.
“We will be sending a correspondence of all this to the International Tennis Federation explaining the reason why he will not be eligible to represent the tennis association,” he added.
Gardner has denied reports that he opted out of representing the twin-island state at the prestigious international tournament, claiming that the association did not purchase a ticket for his travel from North Carolina to Miami in the USA where he was scheduled to meet the rest of the traveling party.
This, the player claimed, even after he had informed the association he was in need of a ticket.
Secretary of the tennis association, Peter Quinn, however denied Gardner’s claim, stating that the cost of his inter-state travel was never an issue.
Gardner has denied reports that he opted out of representing the twin-island state at the prestigious international tournament, claiming that the association did not purchase a ticket for his travel from North Carolina to Miami in the USA where he was scheduled to meet the rest of the travelling party.
This, the player claimed, even after he had informed the association he was in need of a ticket.
“Kevin never once indicated to me that getting to Miami from North Carolina was an issue. It only became an issue on the penultimate day, the night before when we were trying to call him. I personally tried to call Kevin several times and Cordell personally tried to call him several times. We sent him WhatsApp messages and all he did was blue tick us [read the messages with no reply] and not respond,” the ABTA secretary said.
“For $182, after we would have already spent over $4,000 on a ticket [to Uruguay]? Anybody in their right mind or any association would not have spent the added $182 to get him there?”
Quinn went on to reveal that even after getting to Uruguay, attempts were made to have the player join the team but said the cost was too high.
“I called the travel agency and they said it would have cost us $1,455 to change the ticket so that he could join the team later but I looked at the budget and we just didn’t have the money so we were even trying to bend over backwards to still get Kevin to join us,” he said. “In my view, Kevin wanted to have his cake and eat it too and Kevin was upset because we made the rule that he had to travel with the team.”
Quinn predicted that a decision could be made by the end of July.
Gardner, in his earlier interview on The Good Morning Jojo Sports Show, said he was undecided as to whether or not he will represent Antigua & Barbuda in the future.