The monthly USTA Player Development Player and Coach Honor Roll recognizes the top performing young Americans and their coaches each month.
Here’s a look at some of the most outstanding performances turned in by American tennis players ages 20 and younger in December:
Hurricane Tyra Black (March 2, 2001), Boca Raton, Fla. – Black, the USTA Girls’ 12s national champion and younger sister of Tornado Alicia Black, won the Girls’ 12s singles title at the Junior Orange Bowl in Miami. She is coached by her father, Sly, and Rick Macci.
Tornado Alicia Black (May 12, 1998), Boca Raton, Fla. – Black advanced to the quarterfinals of both the Eddie Herr and Metropolia Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships, winning the doubles title with Australia’s Naiktha Bains in the latter. As a result, Black finished the year as the highest-ranked American junior girl at No. 6. She is coached by Freddie Rodriguez.
Deiton Baughman (April 23, 1996), Carson, Calif. – Baughman advanced the farthest of any American boy at the Eddie Herr International Championships in Bradenton, Fla., reaching the semifinals after upending 10th-seeded Lucas Miedler of Austria in the third round. He is coached by his father, Brad.
Kayla Day (Sept. 28, 1999), Santa Barbara, Calif. – Day, the 2013 USTA Girls’ 14s national champion, won the Girls’ 16s singles title at the USTA Winter National Championships, overcoming Alexandra Sanford (Westerville, Ohio) in a three-set title match. She works with USTA National Coaches Leo Azevedo and Adam Peterson.
Allie Kiick (June 30, 1995), Plantation, Fla. – Kiick won her third professional singles title, her first at a $25,000 event, at the pro circuit tournament in Merida, Mexico, which vaulted her into the Top 200 to a career-high ranking of No. 194. She is coached by Harold Solomon.
Stefan Kozlov (Feb. 1, 1998), Pembroke Pines, Fla. – Kozlov, after advancing to the singles quarterfinals and the doubles final at the Eddie Herr International Championships in Bradenton, Fla., became one half of the all-15-year-old singles title match at the Metropolia Orange Bowl. Kozlov was beaten by Francis Tiafoe but rose into the Top 5 of the world junior rankings to end the year as the highest-ranked American junior boy. He works with USTA National Coach Nicolas Todero.
Sameer Kumar (July 10, 1997), Carmel, Ind. – Kumar, after upending top-seeded and ITF World Junior Champion Alexander Zverev in the Boys’ 18s first round of the Eddie Herr International Championships, advanced to the semifinals of the Boys’ 16s draw at the Metropolia Orange Bowl in Plantation, Fla. He is coached by Bryan Smith.
Patrick Kypson (Oct. 28, 1999), Greenville, N.C. – Kypson, who represented the United States in World Junior Tennis – the world’s premier 14-and-under team competition held this past August in the Czech Republic – defeated Trent Bryde (Suwanee, Ga.) to win the Boys’ 14s singles title at the USTA Winter National Championships in Tucson, Ariz. He is coached by his father, Alan.
Elyse Lavender (Oct. 14, 1998), Mars Hill, N.C. – Lavender swept the girls’ singles and doubles titles at the Panama Bowl 2 ITF junior circuit event in Panama. She is coached by her father, Jim.
Alex Lebedev (March 29, 1997), Island Park, N.Y. – Lebedev won his way to the singles final of the Panama Bowl 2 ITF junior circuit event in Panama. He is coached by Thom Billadeau.
Claire Liu (May 15, 2000), Thousand Oaks, Calif. – Liu won her second Junior Orange Bowl title in three years, capturing the Girls’ 14s singles title in Miami as the No. 2 seed two years after winning the 12s championship as an 11-year-old. In January, Liu will travel to compete at the Nike Junior International Teen Tennis in Bolton, England, and Les Petits As in Tarbes, France – two elite international junior competitions for players 14-and-under. She works with USTA National Coaches Leo Azevedo and Adam Peterson.
Caty McNally (Nov. 20, 2001), Cincinnati – McNally swept the Girls’ 12s singles and doubles titles at the USTA Winter National Championships in Tucson, Ariz., dispatching Ashley Yeah (Los Gatos, Calif.) for the singles crown and winning the doubles title with Gianna Pielet (El Paso, Texas). She is coached by her mother, Lynn.
Riley McQuaid (June 15, 1999), Tustin, Calif. – McQuaid captured the Girls’ 14s singles title at the USTA Winter National Championships in Tucson, Ariz., getting by Anna Brylin (Short Hills, N.J.) in a three-set title match. She is coached by Marc Lucero.
Michael Mmoh (Jan. 10, 1998), Bradenton, Fla. – Mmoh reached the quarterfinals at both the Eddie Herr and Metropolia Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships and saw his world junior ranking rise into the Top 10 to end the year. He is coached by Glenn Weiner.
Alexis Nelson (Aug. 9, 1998), St. Paul, Minn. – First, Nelson, who was unseeded, reached the Girls’ 16s singles final at the Metropolia Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships in Plantation, Fla., before losing in three sets to No. 5 Charlotte Robillard-Millette of Canada. Then, Nelson won the Girls’ 18s title at the USTA Winter National Championships in Scottsdale, Ariz., beating top-seeded Chloe Ouellet-Pizer (Chapel Hill, N.C.) in the final, which earned her a wild card into a 2014 USTA Pro Circuit event. She is coached by her father, David.
Dominique Schaefer (Jan. 7, 1999), Ventura, Calif. – Schaefer, as a wild card with a world junior ranking outside the Top 1000, upset two Top-15 seeds en route to the Girls’ 16s singles semifinals at the Metropolia Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships in Plantation, Fla. She is coached by Mark Weil.
Johnathan Small (Dec. 27, 1997), Midland, Mich. – Small won the Boys’ 16s USTA Winter National Championships singles title, beating Zeke Clark (Tulsa, Okla.) in the championship match. He is coached by Jason Winegar.
Logan Staggs (April 13, 1996), Tracy, Calif. – Staggs won the Boys’ 18s singles title at the USTA Winter National Championships in Scottsdale, Ariz., defeating Thomas Fawcett (Winnetka, Ill.) in the final to earn a wild card into a 2014 USTA Pro Circuit event. He is coached by Brad Stine.
Francis Tiafoe (Jan. 20, 1998), College Park, Md. – Tiafoe made history at the 67th Metropolia Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships. Tiafoe, 15, won the Boys’ 18s singles title over fellow 15-year old Stefan Kozlov, becoming the youngest ever Boys’ 18s champion in the event’s history. The victory vaulted him into the Top 10 of the ITF World Junior Rankings for the first time. He is coached by Frank Salazar and Misha Kouznetsov.
Sachia Vickery (May 11, 1995), Miramar, Fla. – Vickery, the 2013 USTA Girls’ 18s national champion, won a wild-card entry into the singles main draw of the 2014 Australian Open by winning the USTA’s Australian Open Wild Card Playoffs in Norcross, Ga. She is coached by USTA National Coach Kathy Rinaldi.
Thomas Yu (Nov. 6, 2001), Bellevue, Wash. – Yu swept the Boys’ 12s singles and doubles titles at the USTA Winter National Championships in Tucson, Ariz., beating Miami’s Blaise Bicknell for the singles championship and teaming with James Yu (Bellevue, Wash.) to win the doubles title. He is coached by Dan Willman.