SAN DIEGO, August 17, 2026 (by Steve Pratt)

Moments after Thea Frodin captured the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships in singles, beating Janae Preston, 6-1, 6-0, on Sunday at the Barnes Tennis Center, she was asked the question every winner gets each year:

“Now that you’re headed to New York with a main draw US Open singles wild card, would you rather face a high seed on Arthur Ashe Stadium? Or a qualifier on a back court in the first round?”

Frodin, from Woodland Hills in Southern California, took a few seconds to think about it, before answering: “I’m going with seeded player on Arthur Ashe. I want it all. Bring it on!”

The No. 3 seeded Frodin’s play impressed more than 30 former WTA legends of the game, who were introduced on court before the match. Tennis icons such as 39-time majors winner King, 12-time Grand Slam champion Rosie Casals, and San Diego native Karen Hantze Susman, who won the 18s girls’ singles nationals title three straight times in 1958, 1959 and 1960 before going on to win Wimbledon singles in 1962 and three more majors with Billie Jean Moffitt, were part of the cavalcade of stars.

The 17-year-old Frodin’s USTA singles gold ball from Girls’ 18s Nationals will proudly be displayed next to the doubles she won last year. Frodin joins fellow Southern Californians Iva Jovic, Lindsay Davenport and Tracy Austin, who all won both the singles and doubles at Girls’ 18s Nationals

“Honestly, it’s all a blur,” said Frodin, who beat top-seeded Julieta Pareja in the semifinals on Saturday in two tiebreaks. “I just really wanted it and was super excited to play. Yesterday, after I beat the No. 1 seed, it really boosted my confidence.”

Preston, the No. 4 seed from Henderson, Nev., knew it was going to be a long day from the outset. “I tried to fight through it mentally,” said Preston, 16, who won a three-hour marathon three-setter on Saturday and had another three-set win on Friday. “It was a long week, and she played really well.”

In the girls’ 18s doubles final, Bella Payne of Hilton Head Island, S.C., and Sara Shumate of Charlotte, N.C., beat Welles Newman from Boca Raton, Fla., and Jordyn Hazelitt from Henderson, Nev., 6-2, 6-1. Payne (headed to the University of Georgia) and Shumate (Oklahoma) are next off to the US Open, just like Frodin, winning main draw wild cards into the women’s doubles draw.

Julieta Pareja of Carlsbad won the third-fourth match against Chukwumelije Clarke from Humble, Texas, 6-1, 6-3.

“It was a great tournament all week, and we extend our appreciation to Ryan Redondo, the Barnes Tennis and the Southern California Tennis Association,” said tournament director Lornie Kuhle. “Today was highlighted by our ‘Summer of Champions’ and the reunion of past WTA greats. We wish our winner Teah Frodin the best of luck, and she was also the 18s Sportsmanship award winner. We have a pretty good track record at producing champions and we think that is going to continue with Teah.”

For more information, visit the official tournament website at ustagirlsnationals.com.