Tag: Juniors

International Junior Competition is Stronger – American Juniors Struggle at Australian Open

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The talent in the junior division at the Grand Slams has become more diverse over the years. As a result, both the American boys and girls faced stiff competition in the Australian Open Juniors competition, but both managed to have players reach the round of 16.

Nicole Mossmer, J. Rodriquez-Benito, Caty McNally, Hurricane Tyra Black, and Natasha Subhash lost their first round matches. Both Carson Branstine and Taylor Johnson posted 2 wins and 1 loss as they bowed out in the round of 16.

To illustrate the diversity of the draw, the 8 quarterfinalists represented 8 countries:    Canada, Great Britain, India, Japan, Russia, Switzerland, Taiwan, and Ukraine.

Overall, the 7 American girls won 4 matches and lost 7.

In the boys draw Olukayode Ayeni and Trent Bryde lost in the first round. Tristian Boyer won his first match before losing in the second round.

Alexandre Rotsaert won two matches before losing in the round of 16.

Overall, the 4 American boys won 3 matches and lost 4.

As was the case in the girls draw, there was also significant geographic diversity on the boys side. The 8 quarterfinalists represented the following 7 countries: China, Cyprus, (2) France, Hungary, Finland, Israel, and Russia.

It is easy to be critical of the USTA Player Development Program for the fact that none of the American juniors advanced past the round of 16. Typically very few American juniors play the Australian Junior Open and their performance is often lackluster.

In addition, it is easy to see that a number of countries other than the United States are developing world-class players. With stronger and greater geographic diversification, it is even more challenging to for the USTA to develop the top junior players in the world. Look for better things at the French Open and Wimbledon.

 

USTA Player Development Program – Subpar Performance of American Juniors at French Open

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The pattern of subpar performance of American open junior was evident at the 2014 French Open – yet another sign of the ineffectiveness of the USTA Player Development Program.

Some argue the issue is the clay at Roland Garros, not the leadership within the USTA. American players have not fared as well at the French Open as other Grand Slam events. The American men have only won the event four times in the open Era  (47 years) while the women have won it fourteen times (Chris Evert won it seven times).

The seven American boys started the 2014 French Open on a positive note winning their first round matches (Francis Tiafoe, Noah Rubin, Alex Rybakov, Michael Mmoh, Stefan Kozlov, Henrik Wiersholm, and Taylor Harry Fritz). Unfortunately, Kozlov was the only player to advance beyond the second round.

Kozlov eventually won three matches before bowing out in the quarterfinals. With the strong first round performance, the American Boys won nine matches and lost eight.

The performance by the girls was the weakest in years. Katrine Steffensen, Tornado Alicia Black, Sofia Kenin, Riveena Kingsley, and Dasha Invanova all lost first round matches. Usue Maitane Arconada won a match before exiting in the second round and Catherine Bellis won two matches before bowing out in the third round.

Overall, the girls won three matches and lost seven.

At best, the USTA Player Development Program has been ineffective. By comparison a player from Spain has won the men’s French Open fourteen times in the past 21 years, i.e. the Open Era. During this period players from Spain have not been in the finals on only six occasions (1995 to 1997, 2000, 2004, and 2009).

On four occasions both finalists were from Spain on four occasions (1994, 1998, 2002, and 2013). Rafael Nadal played in only one of those four all-Spanish finals.

The Spanish women have won four French Opens during the open era. Despite the increased popularity of tennis around the world, It seems like the Royal Spanish Tennis Federation has figured out a way to produce world-class tennis players. Hopefully, the leaders of the USTA Player Development Program have taken notice.

 

Strong Performance by American Girls at Wimbledon Juniors – Weak Showing by the Boys

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The finals matches of the Wimbledon junior championships illustrate how tennis has become a strong international sport.  An Italian defeated a Korean in the finals of the boys’ singles and Switzerland’s top player defeated an American in the girls’ finals.

The performance of the American boys at Wimbledon was nearly as dismal as their counterparts in the mens’ event.  Spencer Papa, Noah Rubin, and Luca Corinteli fell in the first round.

Stefan Koslov fared slightly better; he won three matches before losing in the quarterfinals.  Overall the boys won three matches and lost four.

Of the five American girls, only Louisa Chirico (15) and Taylor Townsend (5) were seeded.  Overall the five girls won 12 matches and lost five.  Dasha Ivanova and Johnise Renaud lost in the first round. Jamie Loeb won three matches (3-1) before losing in the quarterfinals, Louisa Chirico won four matches (4-1) before losing in the semifinals and Taylor Townsend won five matches (5-1) before bowing out in the finals.

This was the second consecutive strong showing for Chirico and Townsend. Chirico lost in the semifinals and Townsend lost in the quarterfinals at the French Open.  The U.S. girls are likely to have a strong showing at the U.S. Open in late August. Stay tuned!

 

Chirico and Townsend Lead American Juniors at French Open

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The results of the American juniors at the French Open paralleled their adult counterparts – the boys were subpar, while the girls had a solid performance.

The four boys posted a combined record of 3-4. Only Noah Rubin reached the third round.

The record of the American boys follows:

First round losers (0-1)

  • Luca Corenteli
  • Spencer Papa

Second round loser (1-1)

  • Stefan Kozlov

Third round loser (2-1)

  • Noah Rubin

The four girls fared better as Louisa Chirico lost in the semifinals.

First round loser (0-1)

  • Christina McKenzie

Second round loser (1-1)

  • Jamie Loeb

Third round loser

  • None

Quarterfinals loser

  • Taylor Townsend (3-1)

Semifinals loser

  • Louisa Chirico (4-1).

The performance of both the boys and girls at the French Open was better than the Australian Open.   Here’s to a strong performance at Wimbledon!