In 1985, the ITF launched the ‘World Youth Cup,’ later rebranded in the 2000s as the ‘Junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup.’ Subsequently, in 2020, the girls’ event was renamed the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors by Gainbridge, aligning it with the women’s competition.

ITF junior team competitions include two age categories: 14 & Under and 16 & Under, offering young tennis talents a chance at global play in a team setting. At Finals, 16 teams are divided into four groups, with the top two advancing to quarter-finals. To qualify, nations participate in regional events; the host nation earns an automatic spot.

This year, two Southern California natives were chosen to represent the U.S. at the Junior Billie Jean King Cup and Junior Davis Cup: Thea Frodin and Keaton Hance.

Having been a top ranked junior for several years now, fifteen-year-old Thea Frodin is no stranger to the spotlight in Southern California. With inspirations and role models like Naomi Osaka, Frodin has her eyes set on a career as a full-time professional tennis player.

Before winning her first WTA singles point last summer at the SoCal Pro Series, Thea appeared in the critically acclaimed movie, ‘King Richard’. Frodin appeared in the movie as a young Serena Williams. And now, as a high school Freshman, she is pursuing her goal of becoming a tennis superstar and making a name for herself in the sport.

The Woodland Hills resident, who started playing tennis at the age of six, has been coached by former USC star and NCAA singles champion Cecil Mamiit in Burbank and currently works with the USTA National coaches in Carson. In the past year, Frodin has competed at the Girls’ US Open, was a finalist in the 2023 USTA Orange Girls’ 16 Singles, and was a semifinalist at the 2024 Fila International Junior Championships.

Keaton Hance from Torrance has been a top junior for quite some time. Born into a family where excellence in tennis is a tradition, Keaton is the youngest member of a family known for their athletic talent. With three older siblings, each carving their names in the annals of Division I tennis — Kenadi graced Washington’s courts, Connor dazzled at UCLA, and Kimmi, currently a standout Bruin junior, recently earned her spot in the NCAA Division I Singles Championships — Keaton’s trajectory towards stardom seems inevitable. 

Tennis runs through Keaton’s veins, a heritage inherited from his mother, Courtney Hance, a seasoned coach with over three decades of experience, who herself once dominated the national and Southern California junior rankings. 

At just sixteen years old, Keaton has already made a name for himself in the world of tennis, playing for the U.S. National team with skill and confidence. He started his journey to the top early, competing in events like the 14U Davis Cup in Prague, Czech Republic. Last year, he achieved a big win at the J60 Tarragona in Spain, securing his first-ever ITF Junior Singles title.

On Saturday, April 20th, at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, the United States teams qualified for the finals of the world’s premier junior team competitions, the Junior Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge and the Junior Davis Cup (16-and-under) and the ITF World Junior Tennis (14-and-under). 

The North/Central American and Caribbean Final Qualifying rounds involved three days of round-robin play, with each tie comprising two singles matches and one doubles match. The top two countries from each four-country group advance to the event finals later this year.

The U.S. Junior Billie Jean King Cup team dominated on their home courts, going undefeated. Advancing to the 2024 Junior Billie Jean King Cup Finals, the girls are aiming for their third consecutive title and ninth overall. 

“My experience at [Junior] Billie Jean King Cup was amazing! I had so much fun playing with my team and representing the country I live in,” Frodin exclaimed. “Not only that, but also playing on a team with people that create such a positive environment and support each other endlessly. If I were to make it to the Finals team that would be amazing but anything could happen. It is so great playing in team tournaments because they don’t happen often and to be a part of it with my friends makes it so much better!”

In 2023, Torrance’s Iva Jovic led the team to victory as the top player. Jovic, who was on the 2022 squad as well but did not play in the semifinal or final 12 months ago, added that she embraced the pressure of being the team’s top player.

“This year I felt more powerful, like I was making a bigger contribution,” Jovic said after claiming the title in 2023. “I ended up playing for the win, and it was a really nice feeling to take the title home with that match.”

Once again, the American juniors had a strong showing at the 2024 event, qualifying for the finals with ease as all four teams advanced after 3-0 sweeps of their competition. Among the 36 matches played by the Americans across four divisions, the athletes only dropped a combined two matches.

The 2024 Junior Davis Cup and Junior Billie Jean King Cup by Gainbridge Finals are scheduled for November at a location to be determined. Canada and Mexico will also have teams in all four competitions; the list of the three other countries sending teams to the three-day competition can be found here.

The U.S. has won eight Junior Billie Jean King Cup titles (2008, 2012, 2014, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2022, 2023) and three Junior Davis Cup titles (1999, 2008, 2014). Former U.S. junior international team members include Jim Courier, Andy Roddick, James Blake, Lindsay Davenport, Sloane Stephens, and Coco Gauff. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Iga Swiatek and Carlos Alcaraz also have represented their respective countries in junior international team competition.

*World rankings at the time.

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The full U.S. team nominations:

JUNIOR DAVIS CUP

• Keaton Hance (16; Torrance, Calif.)
• Carel Ngounoue (15; Washington, D.C.)
• Jack Secord (15; Lake Forest, Ill.)
• Captain: Jose Caballero 

JUNIOR BILLIE JEAN KING CUP

• Thea Frodin (15; Woodland Hills, Calif.)
• Shannon Lam (15; East Brunswick, N.J.)
• Kristina Penickova (14; Campbell, Calif.)
• Captain: Georgi Rumenov

ITF WORLD JUNIOR TENNIS – BOYS

• Michael Antonius (14; Buffalo, N.Y.)
• Teodor Davidov (13; Bradenton, Fla.)
• Jordan Lee (13; Orlando, Fla.)
• Captain: Sylvain Guichard 

ITF WORLD JUNIOR TENNIS – GIRLS

• Welles Newman (14; Boca Raton, Fla.)
• Margaret Sohns (14; Cooperstown, N.Y.)
• Sarah Ye (14; Westfield, N.J.)
• Captain: Thierry Champion