Reigning Wimbledon girls’ singles champion Clervie Ngounoue (Clair-vee Goon-away) of Washington will headline the Girls’ 18s division of the upcoming United States Tennis Association Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s and 18s National Championships.The national tournament, which is among the premier junior tennis events in the country, will be played Saturday, August 5 through Sunday, August 13, 2023 at Barnes Tennis Center, 4490 W. Point Loma Blvd., San Diego, CA 92107.Ngounoue, currently ranked No. 2 in the International Tennis Federation junior rankings, captured the Wimbledon girls’ singles title earlier this month after defeating Nikola Bartunkova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-2 in the final, which took one-hour and 23 minutes to complete.The 17-year-old Ngounoue, who won the Wimbledon girls’ championship without the loss of a set, achieved the No. 1 junior ranking in the world this past June. She will team with Reese Brantmeier of Whitewater, Wis., in the Girls’ 18s doubles competition.Ngounoue and Brantmeier are the defending Girls’ 18s doubles champions. They scored a thrilling 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Natalie Block of Plantation, Fla., and Piper Charney of Mount Pleasant, S.C., in last year’s doubles final. Brantmeier, 18, will be a player to watch in the Girls’ 18s division. This past May, she completed her freshman year at the University of North Carolina where she was an Intercollegiate Tennis Association All-American and a member of the 2023 NCAA National Championship team.In 2019, Brantmeier captured the Girls’ 16s singles title and in 2021, she advanced to the Girls’ 18s singles final at Barnes Tennis Center. The Girls’ 18s singles division will also feature 2022 Girls’ 18s singles finalist Valerie Glozman of Bellevue, Wash., Capucine Jauffret of Wilmington, Del., and Iva Jovic of Torrance, Calif. Glozman is currently No. 1 in the USTA Girls’ 18s national rankings. Jauffret and Jovic are No. 3 and No. 4 respectively in the national rankings. Leena Friedman of Brooklyn, N.Y., and Christina Lyutova of Redmond, Wash., lead the entries in the Girls’ 16s singles division. Friedman is ranked No. 2 in the current USTA Girls’ 16s national rankings. Lyutova is ranked No. 3. Fifteen-year-old Bella Payne of Bradenton, Fla., is also entered in the Girls’ 16s singles division. She is ranked No. 5.San Diego County will be well-represented at the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s & 18s National Championships. The following local players will compete in the tournament:Girls’ 18s – Alyssa Ahn, San Diego; Emily Deming, Fallbrook; Katherine Hui, San Diego; Sujin Lee, San Diego; Claire Zhang, San DiegoGirls’ 16s – Carley Chen, San Diego; Yilin Chen, San Diego; Rachel Lee, San Diego; Anqi Mei, San Diego; Julieta Pareja, Carlsbad; Elena Zhao, San DiegoIn last year’s tournament, Ahn, who trains year-round at Barnes Tennis Center, won the Girls’ 16s singles title, while Hui advanced to the Girls’ 18s singles and doubles semifinals.To view the most current tournament player entry list for each division, click here.Nearly 400 of the top junior tennis players in the country, aged 16 and 18 and under, will compete for the title of National Champion. In addition, the following singles wild cards to the 2023 US Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y., will be awarded to the tournament’s top finishers. 18s Champion – US Open Main Draw and US Open Junior Main Draw18s Finalist – US Open Qualifying and US Open Junior Main Draw18s 3rd Place – US Open Junior Main Draw16s Champion – US Open Junior Main Draw18s 4th & 5th Place – US Open Junior QualifyingThe 18s doubles champions will be awarded a wild card into the US Open Doubles Main Draw. The 18s singles champion will also receive a wild card into the qualifying draw of the 2023 Cymbiotika San Diego Open presented by ResMed. The WTA 500 tournament is scheduled for September 9-16 at Barnes Tennis Center.The Girls’ 16s event will begin Saturday, August 5 and conclude with singles and doubles finals on Saturday, August 12. The Girls’ 18s tournament will get underway on Sunday, August 6 and conclude with singles and doubles championships on Sunday, August 13. Both divisions feature 256-player singles draws with the top 64 players receiving a first-round bye (192 singles players in each division). There will also be 128-team doubles draws with the top 32 teams getting first-round byes (96 doubles teams in each division).The Opening Ceremony for the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s and 18s National Championships will take place at Barnes Tennis Center on Saturday, August 5 at 4:30 p.m. (PDT). Admission is free each day of the tournament and there is no charge for parking at the Barnes Tennis Center. To view the official tournament website, please go to: www.ustagirlsnationals.com.Early-round tournament matches will also be played at the following sites from Saturday, Aug. 5 through Tuesday, Aug 8 — Balboa Tennis Club, 2221 Morley Field Drive, San Diego, CA 92104;University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park, San Diego, CA 92110 and San Diego State University, 5375 Remington Rd, San Diego, CA 92115.Admission to view matches is free at all three sites. Parking is free at the Balboa Tennis Club. For parking information at SDSU and USD, click here.
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