Eight top American juniors have been selected to represent the United States in two elite 14-and-under events in Europe: the AEGON Junior International, held in Bolton, England, Jan. 17-23, and Les Petits As, held in Tarbes, France, Jan. 24-30.
The events annually feature some of the world’s best players aged 14-and-under, and a number of former winners have gone on to win Grand Slam tournaments, including Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters, Michael Chang and Martina Hingis. Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Donald Young are among other Americans to have captured titles at Les Petits As, while Lindsay Davenport was a finalist in 1990.
Boys
Stefan Kozlov, 12, Pembroke Pines, Fla.
Eduardo Nava, 13, Woodland Hills, Calif.
Francis Tiafoe, 12, College Park, Md.
Henrik Wiersholm, 13, Kirkland, Wash.
Girls
Nicole Frenkel, 12, Winchester, Mass.
Kenadi Hance, 13, Torrance, Calif.
Julia O’Loughlin, 13, Boca Raton, Fla.
Carolyn Xie, 13, Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
The players will be accompanied by Kent Kinnear, USTA National Coach for Men’s Tennis, and Troy Hahn, USTA Coach for Women’s Tennis.
Kozlov is the reigning champion at the AEGON Junior International and recently won the USTA Boys’ 14s Winter National Championships. Currently the top-ranked player in the USTA Boys’ 14s National Standings, Kozlov was also the boys’ 14s runner up at the 2010 Easter Bowl and the boys’ 12s runner-up at the 2009 Junior Orange Bowl.
Nava reached the singles final at the 2009 USTA Boys’ 14s National Clay Court Championships and was a boys’ 12s quarterfinalist at the 2009 Junior Orange Bowl. He is currently No. 13 in the USTA Boys’ 14s National Standings.
Tiafoe, ranked No. 13 in the USTA Boys’ 14s National Standings, reached the singles and doubles quarterfinals at the 2010 USTA Boys’ 14s Winter National Championships and took third place at the 2009 USTA Boys’ 12s National Clay Court Championships.
Wiersholm was a singles and doubles finalist at the 2010 USTA Boys’ 14s National Championships and swept the singles and doubles titles at the 2009 USTA Boys’ 12s National Championships. He is currently No. 2 behind Kozlov in the USTA Boys’ 14s National Standings.
Frenkel won the girls’ 12s title at the Junior Orange Bowl last month and won girls’ 12s doubles titles at the 2010 USTA Spring National Championships and 2009 Winter National Championships. She is currently No. 5 in the USTA Girls’ 12s National Standings.
Hance, ranked No. 19 in the USTA Girls’ 14s National Standings, swept the singles and doubles titles at the 2009 USTA Girls’ 12s National Championships and took third place that same year at the USTA Girls’ 12s National Clay Court Championships.
O’Laughlin, ranked No. 12 in the USTA Girls’ 14s National Standings, recently took third place at the 2010 USTA Girls’ 14s Winter National Championships and was a girls’ 12s finalist at the 2009 Junior Orange Bowl and the 2009 USTA Spring National Championships.
Xie reached the semifinals of the 2010 Girls’ 14s National Championships and partnered with Hance to win the doubles title at the 2009 USTA Girls’ 12s National Championships, where she was the singles runner-up. She is currently No. 33 in the USTA Girls’ 14s National Standings.