FRANCES TIAFOE AND SOFIA KENIN WIN USTA BOYS’ 18s AND GIRLS’ 18s TITLES, EARN US OPEN MAIN DRAW WILD CARDS, COMPLETE SCORES, AND RESULTS

Written by: Staff on 10th August 2015

FRANCES TIAFOE AND SOFIA KENIN WIN USTA BOYS’ 18s AND GIRLS’ 18s TITLES, EARN US OPEN MAIN DRAW WILD CARDS, COMPLETE SCORES, AND RESULTS

USA's Francis Tiafoe hits a return to Russia's Evgeny Donsky during their men's singles match at the Citi Open ATP tennis tournament in Washington, DC, USA, 28 July 2014. EPA/JIM LO SCALZO |

FRANCES TIAFOE AND SOFIA KENIN WIN USTA BOYS’ 18s AND GIRLS’ 18s TITLES,

They both EARN U.S. OPEN 2015 MAIN DRAW WILD CARDS

Patrick Kypson, Abigail Desiatnikov Capture Girls’ and Boys’ 16s Singles Titles,

Receive Wild Cards into US Open Junior Championships

Top American juniors Frances Tiafoe (17, College Park, Md.) and Sofia Kenin (16, Pembroke Pines, Fla.) won the USTA Boys’ and Girls’ 18s National Championships this past weekend, each earning wild cards into the main draw of the US Open and headlining the annual USTA National Championships that took place last week.

The nation’s top junior tennis players competed in eight USTA National Championships across America. In addition to the US Open main draw wild cards awarded to the 18s singles and doubles champions, the singles runners-up in the Boys’ and Girls’ 18s divisions are traditionally offered wild card entries into the US Open Qualifying Tournament, while the Boys’ and Girls’ 16s champions earn wild card entries in to the US Open Junior Championships.

Tiafoe, once the world’s No. 2-ranked junior and now the second-youngest player in the Top 300 of the pro rankings (No. 272), beat 2014 Wimbledon and Australian Open boys’ finalist Stefan Kozlov (17, Pembroke Pines, Fla.; Coach: Andrei Kozlov), 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 4-6, 6-4, in a dramatic Boys’ 18s final in Kalamazoo, Mich. Tiafoe, who grew up training at the Junior Tennis Champions’ Center in College Park, Md., and whose coaching is now being overseen by USTA Director of Coaching Jose Higueras, made his Grand Slam main draw debut at the French Open in May via wild card entry after winning the Har-Tru USTA Pro Circuit Wild Card Challenge. Meanwhile, current world No. 1 junior Taylor Fritz (17, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Coach: Guy Fritz) and 2015 Wimbledon boys’ champion Reilly Opelka (17, Palm Coast, Fla.; Coach: Diego Moyano) won the Boys’ 18s doubles title to earn a US Open doubles main draw wild card.

Kenin, who is coached by her father, Alex, and is ranked No. 9 in the world among players ages 18 and under, overcame 2013 US Open girls’ finalist Tornado Alicia Black (17, Boca Raton, Fla.; Coaches: Gayal and Sly Black), 6-2, 5-7, 7-5, in Sunday’s Girls’ 18s final in San Diego. Kenin will make her Grand Slam main draw debut at the 2015 US Open, and will look to follow her predecessors Sachia Vickery (2013) and CiCi Bellis (2014) in advancing to the women’s second round in Flushing Meadows. Bellis, last year’s USTA Girls’ 18s National Champion, became the US Open’s breakout star after defeating No. 12 Dominika Cibulkova in the first round. Black, who finished as the Girls’ 18s singles runner-up for the second straight year, will receive a wild card into the US Open women’s doubles main draw after winning the Girls’ 18s doubles title, with Ingrid Neel (17, Rochester, Minn.; Coach: Margie Zesinger).

Patrick Kypson (15, Greenville, N.C.; Coach: Matt Cloer) and Abigail Desiatnikov (14, Sandy Springs, Ga.; Coach: Eugeny Desiatnikov) won the USTA Boys’ and Girls’ 16s National Championships singles titles, and will receive wild cards into the US Open Junior Championships. Notably, Katy Volynets (Walnut Creek, Calif.; Coach: Richard Tompkins) won her second straight USTA National Championship singles title, capturing this year’s Girls’ 14s crown after winning the Girls’ 12s national title last year.

Complete results of the USTA National Championships can be found below. The complete draws are available at the USTA National Championships page on TennisLink.

USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships

Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Mich., August 1-9

Singles: (1) Frances Tiafoe, College Park, Md., d. (3) Stefan Kozlov, Pembroke Pines, Fla., 6-2, 6-4, 4-6, 4-6, 6-4.

Doubles: (2) Taylor Fritz, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif. and Reilly Opelka, Palm Coast, Fla., d. (6) Joshua Sheehy, Arlington, Texas, and Parker Wynn, North Richland Hills, Texas, 6-3, 6-4.

USTA Girls’ 18s National Championships

Barnes Tennis Center, San Diego, August 1-9

Singles: (3) Sofia Kenin, Pembroke Pines, Fla., d. (1) Tornado Alicia Black, Boca Raton, Fla., 6-2, 5-7, 7-5.

Doubles: (1) Tornado Alicia Black and Ingrid Neel, Rochester, Minn., d. (2) Jessie Aney, Rochester, Minn., and Ena Shibahara, Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif., 6-3, 6-3.

USTA Boys’ 16s National Championships

Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo, Mich., August 1-9

Singles: (3) Patrick Kypson, Greenville, N.C., d. (4) Alexandre Rotsaert, Boca Raton, Fla., 6-3, 6-3.

Doubles: (8) Bryce Pereira, San Gabriel, Calif., and Ivan Thamma, San Diego, d. (7) William Howells, Boca Raton, Fla., and Danny Thomas, Pickerington, Ohio, 2-6, 6-1, 6-1.

USTA Girls’ 16s National Championships

Barnes Tennis Center, San Diego, August 1-9

Singles: Abigail Desiatnikov, Sandy Springs, Ga., d. (15) Whitney Osuigwe, Bradenton, Fla., 6-1, 7-6(2).

Doubles: (1) Ann Li, Devon, Pa., and Natasha Subhash, Fairfax, Va., d. (5) Anna Brylin, Short Hills, N.J., and Clarissa Hand, Moorestown, N.J., 6-0, 6-2.

USTA Boys’ 14s National Championships

San Antonio Tennis Association, San Antonio, August 2-8

Singles: (4) Nathan Han, Tulsa, Okla., d. (5) Ronan Jachuck, Boca Raton, Fla., 6-3, 4-6, 7-5.

Doubles: (5) Nicholas Garcia, Hollywood, Fla., and Ronan Jachuck d. (11) Jacob Bullard, Calabasas, Calif., and Alan Yim, Sammamish, Wash., 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.

USTA Girls’ 14s National Championships

Metro Tennis Associates, Peachtree City, Ga., August 1-8

Singles: (2) Katie Volynets, Walnut Creek, Calif., d. (11) Naomi Cheong, Las Vegas, 6-3, 6-1.

Doubles: (5) Kacie Harvey, Braintree, Mass., and Lea Ma, Dix Hills, N.Y., d. (4) Christina Hand, Moorestown, N.J., and Chidimma Okpara, Vienna, Va., 6-2, 1-6, 6-3.

USTA Boys’ 12s National Championships

Arkansas Tennis Patrons Foundation, Little Rock, Ark., August 2-8

Singles: (3) Saud Alhogbani, Alexandria, Va., d. (5) Benjamin Kittay, Potomac, Md., 6-3, 6-0.

Doubles: (1) Benjamin Kittay and Karl Lee, Los Altos, Calif., d. Saud Alhogbani and Samuel Landau, Los Angeles, 6-4, 6-4.

USTA Girls’ 12s National Championships

Windward Lake Club, Alpharetta, Ga., August 2-8

Singles: (17) Nikki Yanez, Sarasota, Fla., d. Rachel Arbitman, Hewlett, N.Y., 7-5, 7-6.

Doubles: (1) Rachel Arbitman and Kenadee Semenik, Las Vegas, d. Ellie Coleman, Midland, Mich., and Ellie Pittman, Indianapolis, Ind., 6-4, 6-4.

The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level — from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 715,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Emirates Airline US Open Series, linking seven summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships and helps under-resourced youth and individuals with disabilities, and supports wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans and their families. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com, “like” the official Facebook page, facebook.com/usta, or follow @usta on Twitter.

Topics: Frances Tiafoe, Sofia Kenin, Tennis, USTA Boys' and Girls' 18s National Championships

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August 10, 2015 at 9:47 pm

-@FTiafoe AND SOFIA KENIN WIN @usta BOYS’ 18s AND GIRLS’ 18s TITLES, EARN US OPEN MAIN DRAW WILD CARDS…- http://t.co/m9mOhnPyEi #tennis