Tiafoe and Black Among Field of U.S. Open Junior Wild Card Recipients
The USTA has announced that 2015 USTA Boys 18s National Champion Frances Tiafoe and 2013 U.S. Open Girls Singles Finalist Tornado Alicia Black have been awarded wild card entries into the U.S. Open Junior Championships, which will be played Sept. 6-13 at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
Tiafoe, who received a wild card entry into the U.S. Open Men’s Singles draw by virtue of winning the USTA Boys 18s National Title, projects to join a U.S. Open Boys Singles field that currently includes world number one junior Taylor Fritz, 2015 Wimbledon Boys Champion Reilly Opelka, 2015 French Open Boys Champion Tommy Paul and world number three junior Michael Mmoh.
Black, who reached the U.S. Open Girls Singles Final in 2013, falling to now world number 80 Ana Konjuh in a third-set tie-break, joins other top American teens CiCi Bellis, Katerina Stewartand USTA Girls 18s National Champion Sofia Kenin as expected participants in the girls field.
The full list of U.S. Open Junior Championships wild card recipients:
Main Draw–Boys
â–ºVasil Kirkov (16, Tampa, Fla.; Coaches :Stoyan Kirkov, Sylvain Guichard)
â–º*Patrick Kypson (15, Greenville, N.C.; Coach: Chris Cloer)
â–ºEduardo Nava (18, Woodland Hills, Calif.; Coach: Favero Academy)
â–ºSam Riffice (16, Roseville, Calif.; Coaches: Lori Riffice, Sylvain Guichard)
â–ºAlex Rybakov (18, Coral Springs, Fla.; Coach: Nick Rybakov)
â–ºFrances Tiafoe (17, College Park, Md.; Coach: Jose Higueras)
Main Draw–Girls
â–ºTornado Alicia Black (17, Boca Raton, Fla.; Coaches: Gayal and Sly Black)
â–ºHurricane Tyra Black (14, Boca Raton, Fla.; Coaches: Gayal and Sly Black)
â–ºKelly Chen (16, Cerritos, Calif.; Coach: Debbie Shaffer)
â–º*Abigail Desiatnikov (14, Sandy Springs, Ga.; Coach: Eugeny Desiatnikov)
â–ºAlexa Graham (17, Garden City, N.Y.; Coach: Anna Beilen Zavska)
â–ºKylie McKenzie (16, Anthem, Ariz.; Coaches: Leo Azevedo, Lou Belken)
â–ºCaty McNally (13, Cincinnati; Coach: Lynn Nabors-McNally)
â–ºAlexandra Sanford (16, Westerville, Ohio; Coach: Doug DiRosario)
*Earned wild cards by virtue of winning USTA Boys and Girls 16s National Titles.
Qualifying–Boys
â–ºZeke Clark (17, Tulsa, Okla.; Coach: Trent Tucker)
â–ºJohn McNally (16, Cincinnati; Coach: Lynn Nabors-McNally)
â–ºAlex Rotsaert (15, Boca Raton, Fla.; Coach: Hafeez Hameed)
â–ºGianni Ross (16, La Grange, Ill.; Coach: Jack Sharpe)
â–ºJJ Wolf (16, Cincinnati; Coach: David Kass and Jeff Wolf)
â–ºYuki Mochizuki (Japanese high school champion)
Qualifying–Girls
â–ºAmanda Anisimova (13, Hallandale Beach, Fla.; Coaches: Konstantin Anisimov, Richard Ashby)
â–ºCarson Branstine (14, Orange, Calif.; Coach: Kathy Rinaldi)
â–ºWhitney Osuigwe (13, Bradenton, Fla.; Coach: Desmond Osuigwe)
â–ºNatasha Subhash (13, Fairfax, Va.; Coach: Bear Schofield)
â–ºEri Shimizu (17, Japanese high school champion)
Three additional wild cards will be awarded at a later date: Two in the boys main draw (one of which will be awarded by the French Tennis Federation through a reciprocal agreement) and one for girls qualifying.
