My Recap of USTA Spring Championships Easter Bowl 12s and 14s Divisions; Xu and Pow Claim British 18U Titles, Wimbledon Wild Cards; Australia's Teams for ITF Junior Team Championships

The first of my Easter Bowl recaps for the Tennis Recruiting Network, the review of the 12s and 14s championships is up today, with the 16s and 18s set to be published on Monday. It was great to be back at Indian Wells Tennis Garden for the first time since 2019, and the 12s and 14s, almost all of whom had not had an opportunity to be on the site before this year, seemed particularly excited to be just a few days removed from the completion of one of the biggest professional tennis tournaments in the world. Jai Nettimi, the Director of Tennis at Indian Wells, was working closely with Easter Bowl Tournament Director Lornie Kuhle this year, and helped secure FILA as a sponsor on short notice, after adidas's agreement with the USTA was not renewed at the end of last year.

With the Indian Wells organization interested in raising the profile of the Easter Bowl within the tennis community, and the easing of the covid restrictions in the area, I anticipate next year's tournament will improve in significant ways, for players, their families and the fans.

The recap makes reference to the newly established 14U tournament at Wimbledon this year, with girls 14s champion Nicole Okhtenberg receiving the one girls slot the United States receives. Since none of the four semifinals in the boys 14s are age eligible, the USTA Easter Bowl release mentioned Keaton Hance, who finished fifth, as eligible for the boys slot. I have reached out to Wimbledon for more information about the tournament, and will let you know when I have more details.

The US Open main draw wild cards offered to the winners have been a huge incentive for American juniors to play the National Championships in August, and Great Britain's Lawn Tennis Association has adopted a modified version of that longstanding USTA policy for its 18-and-under tournaments, which were held this week at the National Tennis Centre. 

Fourteen-year-old Mingge Xu, the No. 4 seed, defeated No. 3 seed Talia Neilson-Gatenby 6-4, 7-5 in the final, securing a Wimbledon women's qualifying wild card and a main draw wild card into the Junior Championships. Xu defeated wild card Hannah Klugman, the 13-year-old Les Petits As finalist, by the same score in the quarterfinals. Klugman was coming off two straight ITF Level 3 titles in March, her first two ITF Junior Circuit events. For more on that, see this ITF Junior Circuit article.

Luca Pow, 17, was also the No. 4 seed. He defeated top seed William Jansen 7-5, 6-4 in the final, adding the 18s title to the National titles he won in the 14s and 16s. He too will receiving a qualifying wild card at Wimbledon, and a main draw wild card for the Junior Championships. He also won the doubles title, with Henry Searle.

It's important to note that these were 16-player draws for a National 18s title. In the United States, the 18s draws feature 224 players, and the champion, if seeded, must win seven matches (eight if unseeded) in an eight- or nine-day tournament to claim the title.

The ITF Junior Team events returned last year, but the United States did not participate in August's 14U World Junior Tennis competition or September's 16U Junior Davis and Billie Jean King  Cups. 

From what I can gather, the United States will compete this year, with the North America/Central America/Caribbean qualifying for the 16Us in Puerto Vallarta Mexico in early May. 

This article, about the Asia-Oceania qualifying taking place this month in India, gives the dates for the Junior Davis Cup and Junior Billie Jean King Cup final as November 1-6, which is over a month later than its usual late September staging. No location is given, so stay tuned for more on that. The 14U tournament continues in its same city, Prostejov Czech Republic, and place on the calendar, August 1-6. 

While I don't have the names yet of the players who will represent the United States, Tennis Australia did put out a release of their players who are competing in the Asia-Oceania qualifying this month in both the 16s and 14s. (I believe the Australian G16s have assured themselves a place in the Finals this week in India).