USTA PRESIDENT KATRINA ADAMS ATTENDING THE US GIRLS 16 & 18 CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA / SEE GREAT FUTURE TENNIS STARS, IT’S FREE

Written by: Staff on 30th July 2015

USTA PRESIDENT KATRINA ADAMS ATTENDING THE US GIRLS 16 & 18 CHAMPIONSHIPS IN SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA / SEE GREAT FUTURE TENNIS STARS, IT'S FREE |

TORNADO ALICIA BLACK AND NATASHA SUBHASH NAMED TOP SEEDS

FOR UPCOMING USTA GIRLS’ 16s & 18s NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Opening Ceremony Scheduled for 5 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 1 at Barnes Tennis Center

Tornado Alicia Black of Boca Raton, Fla., has been named the Girls’ 18s singles top-seed in the USTA Girls’ 16s & 18s Nationals, which will be played Aug. 1-9, at the Barnes Tennis Center, 4490 W. Point Loma Blvd, San Diego, CA, 92107.

Black is currently ranked No. 456 in the Women’s Tennis Association singles rankings. Last month at Wimbledon, the 17-year-old reached the quarterfinals in the Girls’ Singles competition. In last year’s 18s Nationals, Black advanced to the singles final, where she fell to Catherine Bellis.

The top singles seed in the Girls’ 16s division is Natasha Subhash of Fairfax, Va. Among her results in Girls’ 16s singles competition this year, the 13-year-old Subhash captured the USTA International Spring Championships and reached the finals of the Easter Bowl and the USTA National Clay Court Championships.

Two local competitors are among seeded players in the Girls’ 16s division. Nicole Mossmer of La Jolla, Calif., is seeded fourth and San Diego’s Hannah Zhao is seeded No. 11.

For the full list of all 32 seeded players in each division as well as complete draws, please go to: http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=154061.

“Our tournament field is set and it’s going to be an exciting nine days of great national junior tennis action,” said Co-Tournament Director Ellen Ehlers. “The tennis competition is going to be at a very high level and we invite the public to come and enjoy the matches.”

The Opening Ceremony for the USTA National Girls’ 16s & 18s National Championships is scheduled for 5 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 1 at the Barnes Tennis Center. The guest speaker will be Katrina Adams, Chairman of the Board, CEO and President of the USTA.

Live audio play-by-play of the final two days of the tournament will be available on RadioTennis.com. The broadcast will include coverage of the Girls’ 16s singles final on Saturday, Aug. 8 and Girls’ 18s singles final on Sunday, Aug. 9. Ken Thomas of RadioTennis.com will provide the commentary.

Nearly 400 girls aged 16 and 18 and under will compete 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 US Open Women’s Doubles main draw.

The Girls’ 16s event will begin on Saturday, Aug. 1 and conclude with the singles and doubles finals on Saturday, Aug. 8. The Girls’ 18s tournament will get underway on Sunday, Aug. 2 and conclude with the 18s singles championship on Sunday, Aug. 9. Both divisions will feature 192-player singles draws and doubles draws with 96 teams.

Starting times for each day of the tournament will be as follows:

8:30 a.m. – Saturday, Aug. 1 through Thursday, Aug. 6

9 a.m. – Friday, Aug. 7 and Saturday, Aug. 8

9:30 a.m. – Sunday, Aug. 9

(All times are PDT)

Early-round matches will also be played at secondary sites at San Diego State University’s Aztec Tennis Center, 5375 Remington Rd., San Diego, CA, 92115, from Saturday, Aug. 1 through Tuesday, Aug. 4 and University of San Diego’s Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110, from Sunday, Aug. 2 through Wednesday, Aug. 5.

Admission and on-site parking at the Barnes Tennis Center is free each day of the tournament. For fans watching matches at SDSU and USD, admission is free, but there is a nominal charge for on-campus parking. University parking regulations will be strictly enforced.

About USTA Girls’ 16s – 18s Nationals:

The USTA Girls’ 16 & 18s National Championships are the premiere hard court tennis tournaments for amateur and professional American girls aged 18 and 16 and under in the United States. In 2010, both age groups began playing their events concurrently at San Diego’s Barnes Tennis Center. Tournament participants, who represent nearly every state in the United States, have been endorsed by their respective USTA Section or have received USTA special exemptions based on their results in qualifying tournaments, junior rankings, or results on the WTA Tour or International Tennis Federation Junior Circuit. Past tournament champions include Chris Evert, Tracy Austin, Andrea Jaeger, Zina Garrison, Mary Jo Fernandez, Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport.

About George E. Barnes Family Junior Tennis Center:

The Center is owned and operated by Youth Tennis San Diego. It was built in 1995 and completed in 1997. The $4.5 million junior tennis facility was made possible with generous public and private donations and is named after the lead donor family – the “George E. Barnes Family Junior Tennis Center.” The Center, which is dedicated to the youth of San Diego, offers children 18 and under court priority over adults with advanced reservations.

About Youth Tennis San Diego:

Youth Tennis San Diego is a non-profit 501 (c)(3) organization that has been in existence since 1952. The YTSD Mission is: “To promote the educational, physical, and social development of all youth through organized tennis and educational activities.” Their community programs encourage youth participation, personal integrity, leadership, and competitive spirit in a friendly environment that builds responsible citizens. YTSD provides thousands of youngsters each year the opportunity to play tennis after school at their neighborhood school. The After School Tennis program provides a safe haven for hundreds of youngsters who are not supervised after school. Through tennis, the children learn the success skills which will give them the confidence and self-esteem needed to confront the negative influences so often found on the streets where they live.

Topics: Katrina Adams, Tennis News, US Girls 16 & 18 Nationals, Usta