Taylor Townsend Enters USTA Girls’18s National Championships

Written by: Staff on 26th July 2013

Taylor Townsend Enters USTA Girls’18s National Championships |

San Diego, Calif. – (July 26, 2013) – Wimbledon Girls’ singles finalist Taylor Townsend has entered the United States Tennis Association (USTA) Girls’ 18s National Championships, tournament officials announced today.

The USTA Girls’16s & 18s National Championships, which feature the top players from across the United States and Puerto Rico, will be played August 3-11 at the Barnes Tennis Center, 4490 W. Point Loma Blvd., San Diego, Calif. 92107.

Townsend finished 2012 as the No. 1-ranked junior girl in the world, becoming the first American to do so since Gretchen (Rush) Magers accomplished the feat in 1982. After turning pro earlier this year, she won her first WTA-level main draw match, defeating then No. 57-ranked Lucie Hradecka of Czech Republic at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif., in March.

The 17 year old from Chicago, who is currently No. 340 in the WTA rankings, captured four junior Grand Slam titles in 2012 – Australian Open singles, Australian Open, Wimbledon and US Open doubles.

Tournament officials also announced the following Wild Card entries:

GIRLS 18s WILD CARDS

Jennifer Brady, Boca Raton, Fla.

Hayley Carter, Columbia, S.C.

Kennedy Davis, San Jose, Calif.

Nicole Frenkel, Winchester, Mass.

Ellie Halbauer, Daniel Island, S.C.

Dasha Ivanova, Beaverton, Ore.

Liz Jeukeng, Kansas City, Mo.

Christina Makarova, San Diego, Calif.

Rasheeda McAdoo, Boca Raton, Fla.

Elizabeth Profit, Bellflower, Calif.

Maria Shishkina, Bradenton, Fla.

Katrine Steffensen, Scarsdale, N.Y.

GIRLS 16s WILD CARDS

Helen Atlick, Monroe, La.

Usue Arconada, Rio Piedras, P.R.

Julia Goldberg, Tarzana, Calif.

Olivia Hauger, Tulsa, Okla.

Raveena Kingsley, Fulton, Md.

Angela Kulikov, Sun Valley, Calif.

Ndindi Ndunda, Burke, Va.

Erica Oosterhart, Tampa, Fla.

Madison Stevens, Mendhan, N.J.

To view the full list of players entered in the 2013 USTA Girls’ 16s and 18s National Championships, go to:

http://tennislink.usta.com/Tournaments/TournamentHome/Tournament.aspx?T=121938 and click on the “Competitors” tab.

“With so many outstanding players in our field, this will surely be one of the most competitive tournaments in the history of this event,” said co-tournament director Lisbeth Blum, “Tennis fans coming to the Barnes Tennis Center to watch the matches will get to see the future of American women’s tennis.”

The Girls’ 16s and Girls’ 18s singles draws will each feature 192 players. The Girls’ 16s gets underway on Saturday, Aug. 3 and will conclude with the finals on Saturday, Aug. 10. The Girls’ 18s will begin on Sunday, Aug. 4 and will finish with the finals on Sunday, Aug. 11.

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 main draw of the US Open Women’s Doubles competition.

The tournament’s Opening Ceremony will begin at 4:30 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 3 with a performance by the United States Navy Band Southwest at the Barnes Tennis Center, followed by the presentation of colors by the U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot Color Guard at 5 p.m.

The opening ceremony guest speaker will be Gretchen Magers, the former number one junior player in world, who later competed on the women’s professional tennis tour and reached the singles quarterfinals at the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. She is the current women’s tennis head coach for Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges in Claremont, Calif.

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.

Past tournament champions include Chris Evert, Tracy Austin, Andrea Jaeger, Jennifer Capriati and Lindsay Davenport. Victoria Duval, last year’s Girls’ 18s National Champion, fell to Kim Clijsters of Belgium in an entertaining first round match on opening night of the 2012 US Open before a large crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium. The 17-year-old Duval, a resident of Bradenton, Fla., is ranked No. 291 in the world (as of 6/24/13).

Tournament Information

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