Tennis Europe Names Junior Tour Players of the Year; USTA Announces Areas of Focus for 2024 Junior Tournaments; ITA Responds to USA Today Article on Cheating in College Tennis

Tennis Europe announced its Junior Tour Players of the Year awards today, with 13-year-old Jana Kovackova of the Czech Republic the 14-and-under Player of Year, and that recognition came prior to her title yesterday at the Junior Orange Bowl. I admit I haven't followed these awards closely in past years, but it's fun to look back on the list of previous POYs (the format changed in 2015) for names now familiar to pro and college tennis fans, and others who don't ring any bells.

The 2022 winners, which are not included on the list, can be found here. Jana Kovackova's sister Alena, who played both the Eddie Herr J300 and the Orange Bowl this year, was the 14s and 16s Player of the Year in 2022.

I'm not sure why the USTA doesn't do something similar, and maybe they have, but I'm not aware of it.

The USTA published its annual "areas of focus and improvement" for its 2024 Junior tournaments, with an added emphasis on team events and a change in the sectional quotas. Sectional play will be encouraged by allowing only two of a player's six best results to be from tournaments "sanctioned by governing bodies other than the sectional association or one of district associations."

The USTA's announcement, from last Friday, can be found here.

Last Wednesday, USA Today's Dan Wolken published an article, part of a 10-part series on cheating in sports, focusing on the issue in Division I college tennis. The ITA responded to the article yesterday in a statement, which outlined its objection to the premise and scope of the article. Of particular interest in their statement is this update on Electronic Line Calling as it pertains to college tennis:

"Had the ITA been consulted, readers would have learned, for example, about the important ITA Competitive Department’s electronic line calling (ELC) study and evaluation project, now in its sixth month. We are very encouraged by the number of companies currently working on accurate and affordable solutions in this space and are optimistic that we may see live competition pilots as soon as the 2024-25 season and, depending upon the success of those pilots, full implementation of these systems shortly thereafter." 

Perhaps some college fans and stakeholders knew of that study, but if the ITA could provide updates on the progress of that project on a regular basis, it would look more proactive, rather than reactive when a unflattering article or a viral video surfaces.