Southern California’s top juniors are no strangers to success on the national stage, and last week’s hard-court competitions were no different. Dominating in both the Girls’ and Boys’ 16s and 18s categories, our local athletes brought home an impressive collection of hardware from the USTA L1 National Championships. The events, held across five venues nationwide, showcased intense singles and doubles matches in the 18s, 16s, 14s, and 12s divisions.

The stakes were high for competitors in both the Girls’ and Boys’ 16s and 18s draws. Not only were they competing for the coveted title of National Champion, but their performance could also earn them a place in the Main and Junior Draws at the 2024 US Open held at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, New York. The winners and top finishers of the tournaments secured wild cards into various prestigious events:

• B/G18 Singles Champion – US Open Main Draw Singles, US Open Juniors Main Draw Singles, one Women’s USTA W75 Main Draw singles
• B/G18 Doubles Champions – US Open Main Draw Doubles, US Open Juniors Main Draw Doubles (required to play with same partner)
• G18 Singles Finalist – US Open Qualifying Singles, US Open Juniors Main Draw Singles, one Women’s USTA W35 Main Draw Singles
• G18 Singles 3rd place – US Open Juniors Main Draw Singles, one Women’s USTA W35 qualifying singles
• G18 Singles 4th place – US Open Juniors Qualifying Singles
• G18 Singles 5th place – US Open Juniors Qualifying Singles
• G16 Singles Champion – US Open Juniors Main Draw Singles
• G16 Singles Finalist – 16s Orange Bowl Main Draw Singles
• G16 Singles 3rd place – Junior ITF J60 Main Draw singles
• G16 Singles 4th place – Junior ITF J60 Qualifying singles
• G16 Singles 5th place – Junior ITF J30 Qualifying singles

Southern California’s top talent gave it everything they had, with some securing a spot at the US Open. 

Back home in San Diego, nearly 400 of the nation’s top junior tennis players competed at the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s and 18s National Championships. Nearly every American player on the current WTA tour has won or participated in the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championship which celebrated its 106th anniversary this year.

Sixteen-year-old Iva Jovic, who is currently ranked as the No. 5 junior in the world according to the latest ITF rankings and No. 388 in the WTA rankings, has been on a hot streak, both in singles and doubles. With 29 ITF junior singles wins and 10 ITF women’s main draw wins this year, including the singles crown at the American Regional Championships—a J300 event held in San Diego this spring—Iva Jovic has had an impressive season. She also reached the quarterfinals at the Wimbledon Junior Championships last month. Last year, Jovic claimed her first professional singles title on the USTA Pro Circuit. This May, as a wild card, she advanced to the final of the USTA Pro Circuit W75 event in Zephyrhills, Florida, defeating former Top 100 players Kayla Day of Santa Barbara and Hungary’s Timea Babos along the way.

Leading up to the Girls’ 18s singles final, Iva Jovic had yet to drop a single set, including her victory over last year’s champion and No. 1 seed, Clervie Ngounoue. In Sunday’s final, the Torrance native became the first player in three years, since Ashlyn Krueger, to sweep both the Girls’ 18s singles and doubles titles at the prestigious San Diego event, named after the legendary Long Beach native, Billie Jean King. Jovic, the third seed, faced off against 17-year-old Valerie Glozman, the fifth seed, in an electrifying singles final. Jovic quickly set the tone, breaking Glozman in the opening game with a stunning cross-court backhand on breakpoint. Although Jovic surged to a commanding 4-1 lead in the first set, Glozman fought back, leveling the score at 4-4. The set ultimately culminated in a nail-biting tiebreaker, where Jovic triumphed, much to the delight of the crowd.

In the second-set, Jovic scored a critical service break in the seventh game to take a 5-3 lead and then served out the title match for a 7-6 (6), 6-3 victory in two-hours and three-minutes. Following the match, Jovic was presented with a USTA gold ball by Hall of Famer Rosie Casals. For her immaculate performance, Jovic received a wild card into the Women’s Singles Main Draw as well as a wild card into the Juniors Singles Main Draw of the 2024 US Open in New York.    

“I’m so excited. I didn’t expect it to make this far in the tournament. To know that I’ll be playing in the US Open is just incredible,” Jovic said with a giant grin on her face.

“In the second set, I was just thinking about what a long week it has been, and I was getting really tired, so I had to use my energy and get really focused so that I didn’t have to play another set,” Jovic added.

Just about an hour and a half after securing the singles championship, Jovic was back on Stadium Court at the Barnes Tennis Center. This time, she joined forces with fellow 16-year-old Tyra Caterina Grant from Miami Beach, Florida. Together, they dominated the 18s doubles final, defeating the seventh-seeded duo of Victoria Osuigwe from Florida, and Maya Iyengar from Arizona, with a commanding 6-2, 6-0 win. Notably, Iyengar had also been a singles finalist at the second SoCal Pro Series event earlier this summer, which took place at the same venue.

In addition to being awarded USTA Gold Balls for winning the National Championship, Jovic and Grant, who have been finalists at the three Grand Slams this year, winning in Australia and at Wimbledon, and are also the two-time reigning Orange Bowl champions, received a wild card into the Women’s Doubles Main Draw of the US Open.

Southern California girls made their mark in San Diego, reaching three of the four finals. Ninth-seeded Nicole Weng of South Pasadena had an outstanding week, advancing to the semifinals with multiple straight-set victories. There, she faced her toughest challenge yet: a grueling 3-hour and 17-minute battle against Nancy Lee of Massachusetts. The match was a spectacle, with the two trading games in the opening set before Nicole edged out a 7-4 tiebreaker win. Nancy fought back in the second set, taking it 6-4, but Nicole remained resilient, rallying to win the third set 6-3 and secure her spot in the final.

In the final, Nicole faced Ishika Ashar from Florida. Both players had been tested throughout the week, and they left everything on the court. Ishika took the opening set in a close 7-5 battle and carried that momentum into the second set, securing a 6-2 victory to claim the Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s National Championship. Nicole’s impressive run earned her a USTA Silver Ball for her finals appearance.

In the Girls’ 18s Doubles 3rd/4th Playoff, last year’s doubles champions, Olivia Center and Kate Fakih of Pasadena, faced a tough challenge against the third-seeded duo of Kayla Chung from Stanton and Alanis Hamilton from Addison, Texas. Despite their previous success, the fourth-seeded Center and Fakih were overpowered, as Chung and Hamilton secured a decisive USTA Bronze Ball victory in straight sets, 6-0, 7-5.

Laguna Beach’s Reagan Levine and her partner, Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, captured a USTA Bronze Ball in the Girls’ 16s doubles with a resilient victory over Texas’ Chukwumelije Clarke and Atlanta’s Londyn Mccord. After dropping the first set, Levine and Drenser-Hagmann mounted a comeback to secure the win, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. Just a few hours earlier, Levine faced fellow SoCal native Maria Aytoyan from Van Nuys in the Girls’ 16s Consolation Singles final. It was a tightly contested match, with Reagan taking the first set 6-4 before Maria fought back to clinch the win in a nail-biting tiebreak, 4-6, 7-5, 10-8.

In the Girls’ 18s Consolation Singles final, the 11th-seeded Julieta Pareja of Carlsbad, defeated 16th-seeded Kristina Penickova of Campbell, California, 6-2, 6-2. Julieta Pareja, 15, became the youngest SoCal Pro Series champion in history earlier this summer after defeating UCLA’s Kimmi Hance at Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club. Pareja will be joining Jovic in New York after being awarded a US Open Juniors Qualifying Singles wild card for her fifth place finish.

At the Kalamazoo tournament, San Diego’s Trevor Svajda, the top seed and 2023 Boys’ 18s Singles runner-up, had an impressive run. Trevor, who maintained a flawless record with straight-set wins up to the semifinals, faced a tough challenge from No. 8 seed Jack Kennedy of New York. Kennedy edged out Trevor in a dramatic second-set tiebreak, 6-4, 7-6(8). In the third-place playoff, Trevor bounced back to defeat Cooper Woestendick of Kansas, 6-4, 6-3, earning the USTA Bronze Ball.

In the Boys’ 18s doubles, Trevor partnered with SoCal native Kaylan Bigun from West Hollywood, who won the Boys’ Singles title at the 2024 French Open and will join UCLA this fall. As No. 6 seeds, they advanced to the finals after a semifinal win against Kaylan’s brother Meecah Bigun and Mitchell Lee of Oakland, 7-6(3), 6-3. In the final, they secured the USTA Silver Ball, finishing just short against the No. 4 seeds, Nikita Filin of Illinois, and Alexander Razeghi of Texas, with scores of 2-6, 5-7. Meecah and Mitchell ended up having a walk-over due to injury, placing them in fourth.

Chula Vista’s Adrien “AJ” Abarca and Laguna Niguel’s Justin Riley “Riley” Anson, a dynamic duo with a history of success, teamed up once again for the Boys’ 16s doubles. Having previously showcased their chemistry at events like the 2024 Battle of the Sections, the L3 in Anaheim in May, and the 2024 Easter Bowl, AJ and Riley entered the tournament as the No. 2 seeds and lived up to their billing. They powered through the competition, not dropping a single set on their way to the final.

In the championship match, they faced a formidable Georgia duo, Yannik Alvarez and Ryan Cozad. It was a thrilling showdown, with AJ and Riley putting up a valiant fight. They ultimately secured a Silver Ball finish, as the top seeds edged them out with a 6-2, 6-4 victory. This achievement adds to their growing list of accolades—AJ now boasts two Gold Balls, two Silver Balls, and one Bronze Ball, while Justin Riley proudly holds two Silver Balls and three Bronze Balls, all from doubles play. Their impressive partnership continues to shine on the national stage.

“Winning a Silver Ball with Riley was an unforgettable experience! It was a true testament of our bond as both a doubles team and great friends. The best part was being able to play in front of a big audience and feeding off their energy! It was an honor to represent SoCal,” recalled AJ on his doubles run.

Torrance’s Keaton Hance, a standout member of Team USA at the Junior Davis Cup earlier this year, found himself in an all-SoCal battle for a USTA Bronze Ball in the Boys’ 16s singles. His opponent, Irvine’s rising star Rishvanth Krishna, had also been making waves throughout the tournament, setting the stage for an exciting and highly anticipated matchup between two of Southern California’s top young talents.

Both players brought their A-game, showcasing their skills and competitive spirit from the very first point. Despite Krishna’s relentless efforts, Hance maintained his focus and composure, ultimately securing the victory with a strong 6-2, 6-3 finish.

Rancho Palos Verdes’ Andy Johnson, who sweeped the Boys’ 14s singles and doubles at this year’s Easter Bowl, managed to win the Boys’ 16s singles consolation final, edging out the No. 5 seed Ryan Cozad from Georgia in a third set tiebreak, 6-1, 5-7, 10-3. Meanwhile, Irvine’s Krish Arora, was able to win the Boys’ 18s singles consolation final, 6-2, 6-3 over Florida’s Jack Satterfield.

The Boys’ 16s & 18s Nationals included the wheelchair division for the third consecutive year, showcasing World Team Cup champions Charlie Cooper from La Quinta, California, and Tomas Majetic from Colorado. The two champions squared off in a singles match, with Cooper triumphing in a thrilling third-set tiebreaker.

In addition to their singles clash, Cooper and Majetic participated in an up/down wheelchair match alongside brothers Meecah and Kaylan Bigun. This marked the first time this event has been featured at the Nationals. Cooper and Meecah Bigun emerged as the winners in this historic match.

Armira Kockinis from LA Habra Heights delivered a stunning performance at the Rome Tennis Center at Berry College in Rome, Georgia. As the standout competitor from SoCal in the Girls’ and Boys’ 14s division, Armira showcased her exceptional skill and determination. She kicked off her Girls’ 14s singles campaign with dominance, securing decisive victories of 6-1, 6-4 and 6-3, 6-1 in her opening matches.

In the round of 32, Armira faced an early setback, dropping the first set 1-6. But true to her resilient nature, she bounced back with unmatched focus, dominating the next two sets to claim a 1-6, 6-0, 6-2 win. The quarterfinals presented her toughest challenge yet when NorCal’s Karissa Chang stormed through the first set 6-1. However, Armira’s tenacity shone through as she fought back in a gripping contest, ultimately prevailing 1-6, 7-5, 6-2.

From there, Armira was unstoppable. She breezed past another NorCal contender, Tanvi Pandey, with a commanding 6-0, 6-2 win to secure her spot in the final. With her momentum at an all-time high, Armira dominated the championship match, defeating Ohio’s Vibha Gogineni in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2, to claim a well-deserved victory, and of course, a USTA Gold Ball.

The Boys’ 12s Championships recently unfolded at the Mobile Tennis Center in Mobile, Alabama, where Thousand Oaks’ rising star, James Borchard, was on a quest for more success. Earlier this year, at just 10 years old, James made waves by capturing his first USTA Gold Ball at the 2024 Easter Bowl in Boys’ 12s doubles. Now, fresh off his 11th birthday in May, he entered the L1 USTA Boys’ 12s Championships with a determination to add even more accolades to his growing collection.

As the No. 2 seed in singles, James wasted no time asserting his dominance. He opened the tournament with a series of commanding performances, dispatching opponents with remarkable ease and winning each match in straight sets. Over his first five matches, he surrendered just 13 games, advancing to the semifinals with an unblemished record.

In the semifinals, however, James faced a formidable challenge from Florida’s Rex Kulman, the No. 3 seed, who managed to halt James’ winning streak with a 6-2, 6-2 victory. Undeterred, James regrouped and faced off against fellow SoCal competitor and top seed Daniel Gardality from San Diego in the third-place playoff. Once again, James showcased his resilience and skill, securing a straight-sets win, 6-4, 6-2. His exceptional performance throughout the tournament earned him a well-deserved USTA Bronze Ball, further solidifying his reputation as one of Southern California’s most promising young talents.

In the Boys’ 12s doubles competition, James teamed up with Nathan Lee from Tustin. The dynamic duo cruised into the final without dropping a single set. In the championship match, James once again faced Gardality, this time partnered with David Bender of Florida. Rising to the occasion, Borchard and Lee captured the USTA Gold Ball with a 6-3, 6-4 victory, adding another prestigious title to James’ impressive resume.

Results of Top Performers at the USTA Junior National Championships

Girls’ 18s Singles

• Iva Jovic (Torrance) – Champion (Gold Ball)
• Julieta Pareja (Carlsbad) – 5th Place (Consolation Champion)
• Alyssa Ahn (San Diego) – Consolation Semifinalist

Girls’ 18s Doubles

• Iva Jovic (Torrance) / Tyra Grant (Florida) – Champions (Gold Ball)
• Kayla Chung (Stanton) / Alanis Hamilton (Texas) – 3rd Place (Bronze Ball)
• Olivia Center (South Pasadena) / Kate Fakih (Pasadena) – 4th Place
• Maren Urata (LA Canada Flintridge) / Ava Esposito Cogan (New England) – Quarterfinalists
• Gianna Oboniye (Huntington Beach) / Vessa Turley (Southwest) – Quarterfinalists

Boys’ 18s Singles

• Trevor Svajda (San Diego) – 3rd Place (Bronze Ball)
• Krish Arora (Irvine) – 5th Place

Boys’ 18s Doubles

• Trevor Svajda (San Diego) / Kaylan Bigun (West Hollywood) – 2nd Place (Silver Ball)
• Meecah Bigun (West Hollywood) / Mitchell Lee (NorCal) – 4th Place

Boys’ Wheelchair Division

• Charlie Cooper (La Quinta) – Champion

Girls’ 16s Singles

• Nicole Weng (South Pasadena) – 2nd Place (Silver Ball)
• Maria Aytoyan (Van Nuys) – 5th Place (Consolation Champion)
• Reagan Levine (Laguna Beach) – 6th Place (Consolation Finalist)

Girls’ 16s Doubles

• Reagan Levine (Laguna Beach) / Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann (Midwest) – 3rd Place (Silver Ball)
• Ella Olofson (Hidden Hills) / Janae Preston (Intermountain) – Quarterfinalists
• Amy Lee (Beverly Hills) / Ellery Mendell (Southern) – Quarterfinalists

Boys’ 16s Singles

• Keaton Hance (Torrance) – 3rd Place (Bronze Ball)
• Rishvanth Krishna (Irvine) – 4th Place
• Andrew Johnson (Rancho Palos Verdes) – 5th Place

Boys’ 16s Doubles

• Adrien Abarca (Chula Vista) / Justin Riley Anson (Laguna Niguel) – 2nd Place (Silver Ball)

Girls’ 14s Singles

• Armira Kockinis (LA Habra Heights) – Champion (Gold Ball)

Girls’ 14s Doubles

• Emery June Martin (Los Angeles) / Sammie Mercer (Midwest) – Quarterfinalists
• Anya Arora (Irvine) / Madeline Cleary (Moorpark) – Quarterfinalists

Boys’ 12s Singles

• James Borchard (Thousand Oaks) – 3rd Place (Bronze Ball)
• Daniel Gardality (San Diego) – 4th Place

Boys’ 12s Doubles

• James Borchard (Thousand Oaks) / Nathan Lee (Tustin) – Champions (Gold Ball)
• Daniel Gardality (San Diego) / David Bender (Florida) – 2nd Place (Silver Ball)
• London Slaton (Thousand Oaks) / Ryan Zadeh (Los Angeles) – Quarterfinalists