Karki and Nguyen Win 18s Titles, Ung and Selvan Claim Gold Balls in 16s at USTA Winter National Championships in Orlando; Quijada and Zerres Sweep 14s, Top Seeds Claim 12s Titles in San Antonio

The first champions of 2026 have been crowned, with the USTA Winter National Championships concluding today in Orlando Florida and San Antonio Texas.

Just one of the eight finals played today went three sets, with the boys 18s title claimed by No. 2 seed Ronit Karki after he dropped the first set. The 2025 Wimbledon boys finalist defeated No. 17 seed Andrew Li 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in more than two and a half hours, after trailing by a set and a break.

Karki, who turned 18 in November, fell behind 4-0 in the first set, making uncharacteristic unforced errors and getting little depth on his ground strokes. He saved a set point serving at 1-5, then broke Li in the next game and held, with Li getting a second chance to serve out the set at 5-4. He fell behind 15-40, but the 18-year-old from San Diego won the next four points secure the set.

Karki was broken serving at 1-1 in the second set, but that started a string of four consecutive breaks before Karki broke for 5-3 and held to even the match. 

Li was broken in the third game of the third set and when he lost his next service game, Karki was in control, with more depth and aggression proving too much for Li.

Karki, who trains in Orlando, is no longer eligible for the ITF Junior Circuit, but with his Top 20 finish in the ITF Junior rankings at year-end, he has access to eight Challenger qualifying wild cards this year. He is eligible for Kalamazoo in 2026 and this title will go a long way in earning his spot in the draw without needing a wild card.

No. 8 seed Kenzie Nguyen, 18, defeated top seed Carlota Moreno 6-4, 7-5 to win the girls 18s title. In a two-hour and 15 minute straight-sets match, Nguyen and Moreno took turns going on runs. Nguyen was up 3-1 in the first set but lost the next three before taking the final three games of the set with another break. There were only three holds of serve in ten service games in the first set.

Moreno took a 3-1 lead in the second set, but then lost four games in a row to give Nguyen an opportunity to serve for the match at 5-3. She got no closer than 30-all, with unforced errors costing her and Moreno held to pull even at 5. Nguyen held for 6-5 and was able to break Moreno for the seventh time in the match to earn the championship. 

Ellery Mendell[4] defeated Carrie-Anne Hoo[3] 6-2, 6-0 to finish third, with Joanna Kennedy[17] beating unseeded Rose Biria 6-4, 6-3 to win the consolation title, finishing in fifth place.

Gordon Gallagher[10] finished third in the boys 18s via a walkover from Noble Renfrow[13]. Liam Alvarez won the consolation tournament, beating Tristan Stratton 6-4, 6-3. 

No. 9 seed Nile Ung, 16, defeated Akshay Mirmira, a No. 17 seed, 7-6(7), 6-4 to win the boys 16s singles title.

The bronze ball in the boys 16s went to Rafael Lopez[4], who beat Lennart Hammargren[3] 6-2, 7-5. Piotr Gradzki[5] finished in fifth place with a 6-4, 6-3 win in the consolation final over Advay Singh.

In the girls 16s final, No. 2 seed Shristi Selvan, 15, beat No. 4 seed Olivia Lin 6-3, 6-1 to take the gold ball.

Nikol Davletshina[5] won the bronze ball in girls 16s when Vanessa Kruse retired trailing 6-3, 2-0.  Elle Groslimond[8] finished fifth, defeating Natalie Frisbie 6-3, 6-1 in the consolation final.

All results are available at the USTA playtennis tournament page.

There were sweeps in the 14s division for Andres Quijada and Oleana Zerres.  

No. 3 seed Quijada defeated unseeded Nathan Lee 7-6(6), 6-0 in the singles final today after capturing the doubles title with Sebastian Zavala yesterday.

Andy Wu[9] took third place in the boys 14s, when Jiarui Zhang[2] withdrew due to injury.

No. 6 seed Oleana Zerres defeated No. 9 seed Eugenia Alvarez 6-2, 6-4 to add to her gold ball collection. Zerres and Ava Chua won the doubles title Friday.

Third place in the girls 14s went to Reese Ellingson[5], who beat Charlotte Kim[17] 7-6(4), 6-1.  

The top seeds in the 12s cruised to the titles, with Dimitriy Flyam beating No. 16 seed Ethan Kim 6-2, 6-1 and Anna Sandru defeating No. 2 seed Mary Podkhyneychenko 6-0, 6-1.

Third place in the boys 12s went to Aaron Peng[7], who beat William Zhang[2] 6-2, 6-3.

Chloe Anthony[5] finished third in the girls 12s, beating Lailah Cowgill[15] 7-5, 6-4.

All the results from doubles and for all the singles compass draws can be found here.

Tennis Recruiting Network will be providing their usual recaps of the Winter Nationals next week.