SAN DIEGO, August 15, 2026 (by Steve Pratt)
They took different routes getting there, but top-seeded Julieta Pareja and No. 3 Thea Frodin will collide in Saturday’s semifinals at the 107th annual USTA Billie Jean King Girls 16s & 18s National Championships taking place at the Barnes Tennis Center.
With a main-draw singles wild card into the upcoming US Open on the line, Carlsbad’s Pareja, 17, took out No. 8 seed Jordyn Hazelitt from Henderson, Nev., 6-2, 6-3, while Woodland Hills’ Frodin, also 17, was in a dog fight with Alexis Nguyen of El Dorado Hills having to come back in dramatic fashion, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-0.
The two will meet in Saturday’s 1 p.m. semifinal for a coveted spot in Sunday’s final with the winner just one match win away from that elusive US Open wild card.
Frodin survived a match point during the 12th game of the second set, serving down 5-6. In that game, Frodin threw in two untimely double faults, including at deuce, giving Nguyen a match point. But Frodin was able to fight back to deuce, and win the game, sending the second set into a tiebreaker, which she won, 7-4.
“I’m just really happy I was able to pull through,” Frodin said after the match. “I come here every year, and I love it so much. It’s my backyard and just so nostalgic.”
In July of 2025, Pareja and Frodin teamed up as doubles partners to make the final at Junior Wimbledon. “She’s such a good friend of mine, and an amazing competitor, and she’s No. 1 for a reason,” Frodin said. “We have taken different paths and not played a lot of the same tournaments, so we haven’t really talked about Wimbledon.”
In the other 18s semifinal, Janae Preston from Henderson, Nev., will take on Chukwumelije Clarke from Humble, Texas. The No. 4 seeded Preston also had to come back against Annika Penickova after dropping the first set, 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. Preston said the break from the Las Vegas weather has been welcomed this week. “I’m so glad I’m here,” said Preston, who made it to the quarterfinals at Nationals last year. “I’ve been coming here every year since I was 13.”
In the girls’ 16s singles final slated for 11 a.m. Saturday, two 16-year-old friends from the same area will square off with a US Open qualifying wild card on the line. Top-seeded Shristi Selvan of Laurel, Md., will take on No. 14 Aarini Bhattacharya from Oakton, Va.
“I’m so excited,” Selvan said. “I’m still kind of trying to process it. It looks like it will be a JTCC showdown in the final.”
JTCC stands for Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Md., where both Selvan and Bhattacharya train full-time. Both are rising high school juniors who do independent online studies with Selvan attending Laurel Springs and Bhattacharya at ICL Academy.
Selvan will attempt her fourth USTA National Gold Ball this year, after winning the Winternationals and then capturing the Easter Bowl singles and doubles in the 16s. She decided to play up in the 18s at the Clay Court Nationals last month in South Carolina. “I didn’t have the best Clay Courts (she lost in the Round of 16),” Selvan said. “I was up 6-0, 1-1 and just went into full-body cramps,” eventually falling 0-6, 6-1, 6-3. “So these past three weeks I’ve just been working on the fitness.”
Bhattacharya beat 13-year-old Floridian Nikol Davletshina, 6-2, 6-2. She is seeking her first USTA gold ball and won the bronze ball at Girls’ Nationals last year.
In the girls’ 16s doubles final, the No. 9-seeded duo of Abigail Haile (Los Angeles) and Olivia de Los Reyes (Orlando) will face the No. 9-seeded SoCal tandem of Madeline Cleary (Moorpark) and Isabelle Nguyen (San Gabriel), who outlasted fellow No. 9 seeds Nikol and Daniela Davletshina in a gritty three-set battle, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2.
For more information, visit the official tournament website at ustagirlsnationals.com.
