USTA Girls’ 16s & 18s National Championships

Written by: Staff on 5th August 2013

USTA Girls' 16s & 18s National Championships |

San Diego, Calif. – (August 5, 2013) – After receiving a first-round bye, defending champion Victoria Duval of Bradenton, Fla. began her title defense at the USTA Girls’ 18s National Championships in impressive fashion on Stadium Court at the Barnes Tennis Center as she blanked Aryn Greene of Alpharetta, Ga., 6-0, 6-0.

The third-seeded Duval, who is currently ranked 292 in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) singles rankings, advances to a third-round meeting on Tuesday afternoon against unseeded Rebekah Anderson of La Mirada, Calif.

“It feels good. I love playing here. I played some of my best tennis here last year, so hopefully I’ll do it again,” Duval said following her 2nd round victory. “I don’t feel any pressure at all. It’s not going to be easy, but I’m looking forward to it. The wild card into the US Open is a big deal. It’s something we all want to achieve. Hopefully I’ll get to do it a second time.”

In other Girls’ 18 second-round action, top-seeded Sachia Vickery of Miramar Fla. defeated Lindsey Hodge of Roswell, Ga., 6-4, 6-2 and second-seeded Alexandra Kiick of Plantation, Fla. eliminated Chuyang Guan of San Antonio, 6-0, 6-3. Fourth-seeded Taylor Townsend also advanced to the third round after getting past unseeded Caroline Lampl of Bluemont, Va., 4-6, 7-5, 6-0.

The tournament named 17-year-old Kennan Johnson of Baton Rouge, La., as the Babolat Player of the Day. Johnson took the initiative on her own to pitch in and help the tournament staff to clean up following a player dinner last Saturday night after the Opening Ceremony.

Johnson then asked if she could take the leftover food from the dinner to give to local homeless people in need. Accompanied by her mother and grandmother, Johnson distributed the food in the nearby Ocean Beach community.

The award, which is presented to a player each day of the event, is based equally on competitive achievement and sportsmanship.

Nearly 400 girls aged 16 and 18 and under are competing for the title of National Champion, as well as a Wild Card entry into the singles main draw of the US Open Women’s Championships (for the 18s Champion) and a Wild Card into the US Open Junior Championships (for the 16s Champion). The 18s Doubles Champions will also receive a Wild Card into the main draw of the US Open Women’s Doubles competition.

In addition to the Barnes Tennis Center, early round matches are also scheduled at San Diego State University and University of San Diego. (Please see schedule below) Spectator admission is free at all sites each day of the tournament. Parking is free at the Barnes Tennis Center. There is a nominal charge for parking at SDSU and USD.

To view the complete tournament draws go to: http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=121938

Past tournament champions include Chris Evert, Tracy Austin, Andrea Jaeger, Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport.

Tournament Information

Website – www.ustagirlsnationals.com/

Starting times – 8:30 a.m., Saturday, Aug. 3 – Thursday, Aug. 8

9 a.m., Friday, Aug. 9 – Sunday, Aug. 11

Locations – Saturday, Aug. 3 – Sunday, Aug. 11, Barnes Tennis Center, 4490 W. Point Loma

Blvd., San Diego, Calif. 92107

Saturday, Aug. 3 – Tuesday, Aug. 6, (Early Rounds) San Diego State University,

Aztec Recreation Center, 5301 55th Street, San Diego, Calif. 92182

Sunday, Aug. 4 – Wednesday, Aug. 7, (Early Rounds) University of San Diego,

5998 Alcalá Park, San Diego, Calif. 92110

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August 5, 2013 at 8:45 pm

USTA Girls’ 16s & 18s National Championships – http://t.co/a2JXYk8nbv @usta @JFredSidhu #tennis @BleacherReport