WHITE PLAINS, March 21, 2019 (USTA Press Release)
The USTA announced on Wednesday that six top junior boys qualified for the 2019 Team USA National Junior Team, a training program designed to give a collection of America’s best young players, born in either 2002 or 2003, opportunities to train together during the summer and travel to play against top junior competition from around the world. The girls’ team will be selected in May.
Four players earned selection onto the team based on automatic qualification, meanwhile two players qualified for the team through a playoff, held March 11-15 at the USTA National Campus at Lake Nona in Orlando, Fla. Players were invited for the playoff based on ITF World Tennis Tour Junior or USTA national ranking.
2019 Team USA National Junior Team – Boys
Zane Khan (17, Houston, Texas; Coach: Shariq Khan, Antonio Fernandez, Sebastien Grosjean)
Martin Damm (15, Bradenton, Fla.; Coach: Martin Damm)
Toby Kodat (16, Bradenton, Fla.; Coach: Ales Kodat)
Dali Blanch (16, Deerfield Beach, Fla.; Coach: Mauricio Perez Mota)
Aidan Mayo (15, Roseville, Calif.; Coach: Vahe Assadourian)
Alexander Bernard (15, Bonita Springs, Fla.; Coach: Rene Gomez)
USTA Player Development will provide the National Junior Team with training opportunities, coaching and travel assistance to select ITF tournaments throughout the summer.
Khan was the singles runner-up at the prestigious Orange Bowl last year and ranks No. 19 in the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior rankings. Damm is ranked No. 30 in the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior rankings and was a singles finalist at the Grade A Porto Alegre Junior Championships in Porto Alegre, Brazil earlier this month.
Kodat reached the third round of the 2019 Australian Open Junior Championships and is ranked No. 31 in the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior rankings. Blanch was a finalist at the Grade 1 Cuenca juniors event in Cuenca, Ecuador in February.
Mayo, who reached the second round of Eddie Herr International Junior Championship as a qualifier last year, and Bernard, Tennis Recruiting Network’s No. 2-rated prospect in the Class of 2022, guaranteed their spot on the team via the Team USA playoff held last week at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla. For full results from last week’s playoff, click here: Round Robin; Final Playoff.
