Junior Stars Set to Compete at 50th Annual Tennis Championship

The world’s best 14 & under and 12 & under tennis players will be coming down to Coral Gables for the 50^th annual Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship. This year’s tournament has received a record 1,325 entrants from 75 countries, and 40 U.S. states. The qualifying matches will be held from December 14-16 with the main draw taking place on December 17-23.

Former professional tennis player and two-time Junior Orange Bowl Tennis Champion Mary Joe Fernandez will serve as the honorary chair of this year’s Championship. A new venue has been added to this year’s tournament as the Girls 14 & under matches will be held at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park on Key Biscayne.

There will be four divisions of the Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship: boys 14 & under, girls 14 & under, boys 12 & under, and girls 12 & under. Each division will take place at a different location. Boys 14 & under will take place at the University of Miami Tennis Center. Girls 14 & under will be held at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park. Boys 12 & under will be held at the Salvadore Park Tennis Center, and the Girls 12 & under will be at The Biltmore Tennis Center.

Twenty out of the twenty-five top ranked US 14 and under boys have entered the tournament, including #1 Cameron E. Klinger from San Jose, CA, and #2 Stefan Kozlov from Pembroke Pines, FLwho was the 12 & under Junior Orange Bowl runner up in 2009. The field also includes #3 Francis Tiafoe from College Park. MD. Some impressive players from the state of Florida will also be competing; #7 Reilly Opelka from Palm Coast, #11 Chase Colton of Davie, and local stand out from Coral Gables Alfredo Perez. Some prominent European players from the 14 & under group are attending, include top-ranked European, Bogdan Borza of Romania and #4 ranked European Alexander Zverev of Russia. The top 14 & under South American players attending include, #1 South American Juan Pablo Ficovich from Argentina and the second ranked South American, from Brazil, Orlando Moraes da Luz.

Sixteen of the top twenty American 14 & under girls are participating including local players, #1 ranked Katerina Stewart from Miami, #3 Julia O’Loughlin and #7 Mia Horvit. Second ranked Kaitlyn Harris McCarty from Cary, North Carolina will also be competing.  

#1 Ana Konjuh from Croatia and #2 Iryna Shymanovich from Belarus are among the top European girls 14 & under attending. South American girls 14 and under include #9 Julieta Lara Estable from Argentina and #17 Natalia de Ugarte Munoz from Bolivia.

Also attending are several of the top ranked boys in the 12 & under division, including local favorite, US #1 Alexander del Corral of Doral and #2 Patrick Kpyson from Greenville, NC. Top-ranked girls 12 and under participants include #1 Catherine Cartan Bellis of Atherton CA, and #6 US player Anna Bight from Boca Raton FL.

The Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship has a rich history of attracting the world’s most promising young tennis players to Coral Gables. Past participants of the Junior Orange Bowl Tennis Championship include 2002 U14 winner and 2009 US open winner Juan Martin Del Potro. Other professional players who have played are, Andy Roddick, Caroline Wozniacki, Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Andre Agassi, Monica Seles, Chris Evert, and Jim Courier.

This year’s finals for the boys’ 14 & under, girls’ 14 & under, and girls’ 12 & under will all be held at the University of Miami Tennis Center on December 23^rd starting at 9:00 AM. The finals for the boys’ 12 & under will be held at Salvadore Park at 9:00 AM on December 22^nd.