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 November:
Ulises Blanch (born March 25, 1998), Pompano Beach, Fla. – Blanch captured the singles crown at the Patuju Junior Open in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. He is coached by Claudio Menna, Daniel Garcia, Gaston Briano and Diego Penna.
Kelly Chen (May 9, 1999), Cerritos, Calif. – Chen battled through the South Carolina ITF Junior Circuit event’s singles bracket, winning three-set matches in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final, over Andie Daniell (who won the doubles title with Sophie Chang), to capture the singles title in Columbia, S.C. She is coached by Debbie Graham.
Allie Kiick (June 30, 1995), Fort Lauderdale, Fla. – Kiick advanced to the semifinals of the $50,000 USTA Pro Circuit women’s event in Captiva Island, Fla., then reached the semifinals of a $25,000 ITF Pro Circuit event in Monterrey, Mexico.
Sameer Kumar (July 10, 1997), Carmel, Ind. – Kumar swept both the singles and doubles titles at the Atlanta ITF Junior Circuit event last month, overcoming Anudeep Kodali for the singles crown and winning the doubles bracket with Kalman Boyd. The next week, Kumar won the singles title at the South Carolina ITF Junior Circuit tournament in Columbia, S.C., over Emil Reinberg. (Robert Kelly and Nick Stachowiak were the doubles champions.) Kumar is coached by Bryan Smith.
Christian Langmo (June 1, 1996), Boca Raton, Fla. – Langmo swept the singles and doubles titles at the Goombay Splash Bowl ITF Junior event in Nassau, Bahamas, overcoming Julian Rozenstein in the singles final and winning the doubles title with Kyle McLean.
Jamie Loeb (March 8, 1995), Ossining, N.Y. – Loeb, a freshman at the University of North Carolina, won the USTA/ITA National Indoor Intercollegiate Championships singles title by defeating UCLA junior Robin Anderson in Flushing, N.Y., to become the first woman since 1993 (Texas' Lucie Ludvigova) to win both the National Indoor and ITA All-American titles in the same year. Loeb is coached by Felix Alvarado.
Elena Muller (Sept. 21, 1996), Dallas – Muller was one match away from sweeping the girls’ singles and doubles titles at the Goombay Splash Bowl ITF Junior event in Nassau, Bahamas, reaching the singles final and winning the doubles title with Tiffany Huber. She is coached by Brett Hagarth and Tara Snyder.
Stephanie Nemtsova (April 15, 1998), Dennis Port, Mass. – Nemtsova won the girls’ doubles title and reached the singles semifinals at the Patuju Junior Open in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
Cristina Rovira (Jan. 20, 1998), Port St. Lucie, Fla. – Rovira advanced to the singles final in South American ITF Junior Circuit events in consecutive weeks, at the Peru Junior Open Regatas, in Lima, Peru, and at the Gogo Open in Guayaquil, Ecuador. She is coached by Manny Dominguez.
Noah Rubin (Feb. 21, 1996), Rockville Centre, N.Y. – Rubin reached the semifinals of the $10,000 USTA Pro Circuit Futures in Bradenton, Fla. He is coached by Lawrence Kleger.
Kennedy Shaffer (May 21, 1997), Rossford, Ohio – Shaffer qualified for the Atlanta ITF Junior Circuit event, then went on to win the singles title over CiCi Bellis, who retired in the title match. (Caroline Lampl and Ndindi Ndunda were doubles champions.) Shaffer is coached by Rob Castorri.