Unseeded Clarke, No. 17 Seed Patel Claim USTA Winter National 18s Singles Titles; Safir and Wygodzki Capture 16s Championships; Doubles Champions Denied Sweeps in 12s and 14s Divisions

The first USTA champions of 2025 were crowned today at the Winter National Championships, with the 18s singles titles going to unseeded 15-year-old Texan Chukwumelije Clarke and No. 17 seed 16-year-old Shaan Patel in today's finals at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona Florida.

Clarke won a three-hour battle with fellow 15-year-old Carrie-Anne Hoo, the No. 3 seed, coming through in the most pressure-packed scenario imaginable to claim a 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5) victory. Clarke served at both 4-5 and 5-6 in the third set, but passed those tests without any drama, then took a 3-0 lead in the third set tiebreaker. But Hoo took the next three points, only to again surrender a mini-break with a double fault serving at 3-4. When Hoo made an unforced backhand error at 4-5, Clarke had two match points, but Hoo blasted a backhand winner to save the first one and get back on serve, But Hoo's heroics ended there, with the match ended with her netted forehand early in the rally.

Clarke, who has won six ITF Junior Circuit tournaments, including four in 2024, lost her only set in the tournament in the final.

Patel, who reached the quarterfinals of the Kalamazoo 16s last August, defeated Kalamazoo 16s finalist Arin Pallegar, also a No. 17 seed, 7-6(2), 6-4 in the boys 18s final in Lake Nona. It was far from easy, with the left-hander from Missouri coming from 3-1 down in the second set and winning an eight-deuce game at 3-all in the second, saving four break points. He held in another multi-deuce game at 4-all and broke Pallengar for the win, converting his second match point.

The 16s titles went to No. 3 seed Paige Wygodzki and top seed Safir Azam. Wygodzki, who reached the IMG Academy girls 16s final (video of Wygodzki from Bradenton is here), defeated last year's girls 14s champion Anjani Vickneswaran, the No. 10 seed, 6-4, 6-3. After playing a five-hour match in the semifinals in Bradenton, Wygodzki said she was going to work on closing matches more efficiently, and the 16-year-old New Yorker did that in today's final.

Azam, a 15-year-old from Washington state, came from behind for the second time in his past three matches, beating No. 7 seed Magnus Weng 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. Azam in now 13-0 in his last two USTA Level 1 tournaments, having won the B16s Indoor title early last month by beating Patel in the final. 

Two of the four doubles champions in Lake Nona were unseeded, with the seeded winners boys 18s No. 8 seeds Bryan Assi and Sibby Rodi, who beat unseeded Justin Lin and Cooper Han 7-5, 6-3 in the final, and girls 16s No. 3 seeds Danielle Young and Anna Bugaienko, who beat No. 6 seeds Lauren Nolan and Aya Manning 6-0, 6-3 in the final.

Unseeded Brooklyn Hoffmann and Sasha Dimitrov defeated No. 2 seeds Anna Bennett and Emerey Gross 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 for the gold ball in girls 18s, while unseeded James Wakefield and Juan Parrilla beat No. 2 seeds Nicolas Pedraza and Lucas Smith 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 for the boys 16s title.

Three players who won the doubles titles yesterday at the 12s and 14s Winter Nationals in San Antonio went for sweeps today, but all three fell short in the singles finals.

Top seed and boys 12s doubles champion David Bender lost to No. 5 seed Max D. Smith 6-0, 6-2. Floridian Smith, who had reached the final of the Junior Orange Bowl 12s last month, lost only one set in his seven victories.

Girls 12s No. 4 seed and doubles champion Lucy Dupere lost to No. 7 seed Jacqueline Nick of Texas 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 in the final and girls 14s top seed and doubles champion Michelle Lee was beaten by No. 10 seed London Evans of Missouri 6-3, 6-2 in the championship match.

Boys 14s top seed Eli Kaminski of Virginia dropped just one set en route to the title, beating No. 3 seed Aayush Vartak 6-3, 6-1 in today's championship match.

December Aces; Four Top Seeds Advance to USTA Winter Nationals Finals Friday; NCAA Champion Quinn Reaches Canberra Challenger Semifinals; Montgomery Makes First WTA Semifinal

If you took a break from tennis last month, today's Aces column at the Tennis Recruiting Network is your chance to catch up quickly on everything that happened at the three major junior events in Florida in December, as well as several other notable accomplishments by juniors and current and former college players.

Four players, one in each age division, earned the Florida Sunshine double, winning both the Bradenton events and either the Orange Bowl or Junior Orange Bowl.

The first gold balls of 2025 were claimed today in San Antonio, with the doubles championships decided in the 12s and 14s divisions of the USTA Winter National Championships. The singles finals, which take place Friday, will feature three No. 1 seeds, with the girls 12s the only division that doesn't have its top seed in the final. Three players, Lucy Dupere in girls 12s, Michelle Lee in girls 14s and David Bender in boys 12s, all will be going for sweeps on Friday after winning doubles titles today.

G12s results:

Singles semifinals:
Jacqueline Nick[7] d. Gabrielle Villegas[3] 6-2, 6-1
Lucy Dupere[4] d. Amara Ama[8] 6-1, 6-1

Doubles final:
Lucy Dupere and Christina Li[1] d. Violetta Mamina and Brielle Amey[3] 4-6, 6-1, 6-3

B12s results:

Singles semifinals:

David Bender[1] d. Selwyn Olufemi-Owoeye[8] 6-3, 6-1

Max D. Smith[5] d. Wyatt Markham[14] 6-3, 7-5

Doubles final:

David Bender and Gabriel Marino[3] d. Krish Advani and Selwyn Olufemi-Owoeye[7] 7-6(9), 6-1

G14s results:

Singles semifinals:

Michelle Lee[1] d. Adelyn Gross[3] 6-3, 6-1

London Evans[10] d. Gabrielle Brereton 6-0, 6-0

Doubles final:

Anna Scott Laney and  Michelle Lee[4] d. Emma Alvarado Reed and Aria Menon[2] 6-3, 6-3

B14s results:

Singles semifinals:

Eli Kaminski[1] d. Tristan Ascenzo[15] 6-0 5-7, 6-3

Aayush Vartak[3] d. Zander Abrams[10] 7-5, 6-3

Doubles final:

Rafael Pawar and Zesen Wang[2] d. Kona Parseghian and Mayurchandra Bharath 4-6, 6-2, 7-5

Doubles finalists are still being decided at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, but the 16s and 18s divisions in the Winter Nationals have their championship matches determined in singles. Streaming is available at Playsight, with the girls finals at 9 a.m. and the boys finals scheduled for 10 a.m.

G18s semifinal results:

Chukwumelije Clarke d. Avery Nguyen[17] 6-4, 6-4

Carrie-Anne Hoo[3] d. Catherine Rennard 6-3, 6-4

B18s semifinal results:

Arin Pallegar[17] d. Benjamin Saltman[11] 6-4, 6-3

Shaan Patel[17] d. Gray Kelley 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-1

G16s semifinal results:

Paige Wygodzki[3] d. Baotong Xu[14] 7-5, 6-0

Anjani Vickneswaran[10] d. Anna Bugaienko[5] 6-4, 6-3

B16s semifinal results:

Safir Azam[1] d. Ilias Bouzoubaa[12] 6-2, 6-4

Magnus Weng[7] d. Teodor Davidov[17] 6-1, 4-6, 6-3

The ATP Challenger 125 in Canberra Australia this week featured  one of the strongest fields of the year, but only one seed, No. 6 Jake Fearnley(TCU) of Great Britain advanced to the quarterfinals. Although Fearnley is 23, he is just seven months removed from college tennis; the other semifinalists are even younger.  Ethan Quinn, the 20-year-old who won the NCAA singles title as a freshman at Georgia in 2023, qualified for the main draw, and has won five matches. Quinn, who finished last year by winning his first Challenger title in Champaign, takes on 18-year-old Martin Landaluce of Spain, the 2022 US Open boys champion, in the semifinals.

Fearnley's opponent is Next Gen champion and 2023 US Open boys finalist Joao Fonseca of Brazil, who is picking up right where he left off after going undefeated in Jeddah last month. 

The matches are available for streaming at Challenger TV.

A third US Open junior champion has advanced to the semifinals this week, with 2021 US Open girls singles and doubles champion Robin Montgomery reaching her first WTA semifinal at the 250 in Auckland New Zealand Friday. The 20-year-old from Washington DC defeated Bernarda Pera of the United States 6-4, 6-4, hitting 13 aces and making very few unforced errors. Montgomery and Pera are just two of the six US women who made the quarterfinals. with the others Madison Keys[1], Katie Volynets[8], Alycia Parks and Hailey Baptiste. Volynets and Parks play in the quarterfinals later tonight (Friday in New Zealand), Keys takes on No. 5 seed Clara Tauson of Denmark, with the winner playing Montgomery; Baptiste is playing No. 7 seed Naomi Osaka of Japan in the quarterfinals.

All Singles Quarterfinal Results at USTA Winter National Championships; Doubles Finals Set for Thursday in 12s and 14s Divisions; United States Advances to United Cup Semifinals

The singles quarterfinals were completed today at the 16s and 18s USTA Winter National Championships at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona Florida and only one top seed remains in contention for a title. Boys 16s No. 1 Safir Azam dropped the first set to unseeded Marcel Latak, but came back to take a 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 quarterfinal victory. Azam won the 16s National Indoor title last month. Three of the four B16s matches saw the winner come back after dropping the first set.

Boys 16s quarterfinal results:
Safir Azam[1] d. Marcel Latak 5-7, 6-2, 6-3
Ilias Bouzoubaa[12] d. William McEwan[8] 1-6, 6-3, 6-3

Magnus Weng[7] d. Alexander Suhanitski[3] 6-4, 6-4
Teodor Davidov[17] d. Rowan Qalbani[17] 3-6, 6-1, 6-2

Boys 18s top seed Nav Dayal lost to No. 11 seed Benjamin Saltman 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the round of 16 Tuesday, with Saltman, now the highest seed remaining, posting another three-set victory today over No. 7 seed Brody Nejedly Krall. 

Boys 18s quarterfinal results:
Benjamin Saltman[11] d. Brody Nejedly Krall[7] 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-3
Arin Pallegar[17] d. Jaden Brady[17]

Shaan Patel[17] d. Tanishk Konduri[17] 6-2, 6-0
Gray Kelley d. Rajat Shirur 6-2, 7-6(4)

No. 14 seed Baotong Xu took out girls 16s No. 1 seed Carlota Moreno 6-3, 7-5 in the third round Tuesday and continued on to the semifinals with a win today.

Vickneswaran, last year's champion in the 14s, is in contention for a second straight title in the 16s. Anna Bugaienko, who won the National Indoor title last month, rebounded in three sets to keep alive her quest for two straight USTA Level 1 titles.

Girls 16s quarterfinal results:

Baotong Xu[14] d. Sofia de Looze 6-2, 6-2

Paige Wygodzki[3] d. Maria Navarro[13] 6-1, 6-3

Anna Bugaienko[5] d. Armira Kockinis[17] 1-6, 6-3, 6-3

Anjani Vickneswaran[10] d. Vanessa Kruse 6-4, 6-3

Two unseeded players have advanced to the semifinals in the girls 18s, while Avery Nguyen is attempting to keep the title in the family, after her twin sister Alexis won the girls 18s championship last year. Alexis has not competed since the first of October. 

Girls 18s quarterfinal results:

Avery Nguyen[17] d. Georgia Kulevich 6-2, 6-2

Chukwumelije Clarke d. Brooke Kwon 6-0, 6-3

Carrie-Anne Hoo[3] c. Sophie Suh 4-6, 5-0, ret. inj.

Catherine Rennard d. Zimora McKnight 2-6, 6-2, 6-2

Due to rain, the doubles draws are way behind schedule in Lake Nona, with round of 16 matches being played tonight.

Matches are being streamed via Playsight.

The weather has been good in San Antonio for the 12s and 14s Winter National Championships, and they will play their singles semifinals and doubles finals Thursday. Three of the four No. 1 seeds are still contending for the gold ball in singles.

Girls 14s quarterfinal results:

Michelle Lee[1] d. Olivia Lin[5] 6-2, 7-5

Adelyn Gross[3] d. Kimber Kuykendall 6-1, 6-1

London Evans[10] d. Madeline Cleary[16] 6-3, 6-4

Gabrielle Brereton d. Ania Zabost[15] 6-1, 5-7, 6-0

G14s doubles final Thursday:

Anna Laney and  Michelle Lee[4] v Emma Alvarado Reed and Aria Menon[2]

Girls 12s quarterfinal results:

Jacqueline Nick[7] d. Violetta Mamina[1] 6-1, 6-0

Gabrielle Villegas[3] d. Lanxin Liu[22] 7-5, 6-2

Lucy Dupere[4] d. Kareena Cross[6] 7-6(5), 7-6(5)

Amara Ama[8] d. Brielle Amey[9] 6-3, 6-7(5), 5-2

G12s doubles final Thursday:

Lucy Dupere and Christina Li[1] v. Violetta Mamina and Brielle Amey[3]

Boys 14s quarterfinal results:

Eli Kaminski[1] d. Zesen Wang[5] 6-4, 7-6(5)

Tristan Ascenzo[15] d. Lennart Hammargren[29] 6-0, 6-2

Aayush Vartak[3] d. Rishit Sharma[14] 6-3, 1-6, 6-3

Zander Abrams[10] d. Arjun Krishnan[13] 7-6(1), 7-5

B14s doubles final Thursday:

Kona Parseghian and Mayurchandra Bhrath v Rafael Pawar and Zesen Wang[2]

Boys 12s quarterfinal results:

David Bender[1] d. Evan Fan[6] 6-0, 6-0

Selwyn Olufemi-Owoeye d. Jerry Qi 6-2, 7-5

Max D. Smith[5] d. Christian Pohoski[13] 6-2, 6-1

Wyatt Markham[14] d. Krish Advani[17] 5-0 ret., illness

B12s doubles Final Thursday:

David Bender and Gabriel Marino[3] v Krish Advani and Selwyn Olufemi-Owoeye[7]

The United States team has advanced to the semifinals of the United Cup in Australia, beating China 3-0 in the quarterfinals Wednesday in Perth. Coco Gauff defeated Zhang Shuai 7-6(4), 6-2 in women's singles, with Taylor Fritz clinching the win with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Zhang Zhizhen. Desirae Krawczyk(Arizona State) and Robert Galloway(Wofford) won the mixed doubles, beating Zhang and Sun Fajing 6-3, 6-7(1), 10-3.

The US team, which won the competition in 2023, now travel to Sydney, where they will play either the Czech Republic or Italy in Saturday's semifinals.

For more on today's win, see this article from the United Cup website.