Tennis Channel, the only 24-hour, television-based multimedia destination dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle, will televise the final two days of the United States Tennis Association Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s and 18s National Championships scheduled for Aug. 3-11 at the Barnes Tennis Center, 4490 W. Point Loma Blvd.
Tennis Channel will broadcast the Girls’ 16 singles final from 1-3 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 10 and the Girls’ 18s singles final from 2-4 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 11.
Tournament officials also announced that all tournament matches played on Stadium Court at the Barnes Tennis Center will be streamed live at www.ustagirlsnationals.com beginning Saturday, Aug. 3 through Friday, Aug. 9.
“We are extremely happy to have Tennis Channel coverage on the final weekend of the tournament for the Girls’ 16s and 18s singles championships,” said tournament director Lornie Kuhle. “In recent years, this national tournament has really become a showcase for the future of women’s tennis in the United States.”
According to Kuhle, several recent tournament champions and competitors have already begun to make their mark in women’s professional tennis. Twenty-year-old Sofia Kenin, the 2015 Girls’ 18s champion, captured two Women’s Tennis Association singles titles earlier this year and is currently ranked No. 27 in the world.
Amanda Anisimova, a 17-year-old who reached the Girls’ 18s semifinal in 2016, shocked the tennis world this past June when she advanced to the semifinals at the French Open in Paris. She is ranked No. 23 in the WTA singles rankings.
Fifteen-year-old Cori “Coco” Gauff, a Girls’ 18s semifinalist at last year’s tournament, upset Venus Williams in the first round at Wimbledon this year and advanced to the fourth round before falling to eventual champion Simona Halep. Whitney Osuigwe, who won the 2018 Girls’ 18 singles title, is currently ranked No. 110 in the world.
More than 400 of the top junior tennis players in the country, aged 16 and 18 and under, will compete for the title of National Champion, as well as a wild card entry into the Women’s Singles main draw of the 2019 US Open (for the 18s Champion) and a wild card into the 2019 US Open Junior Championships (for the 16s Champion). The 18s Doubles Champions will also receive a wild card into the US Open Women’s Doubles main draw.
The Girls’ 16s event will begin on Saturday, Aug. 3 and conclude with the singles and doubles finals on Saturday August 10. The Girls’ 18s tournament will get underway on Sunday, Aug. 4 and conclude with the 18s singles championship on Sunday, Aug. 11. Both divisions will feature 256-player singles draws with the top 32 players receiving a first-round bye. There will also be 128-team doubles draws with the top 16 teams getting first-round byes.
The starting time for each day of the tournament will be announced later this month. The Opening Ceremony for the USTA National Girls’ 16s & 18s National Championships is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. (PDT) on Saturday, Aug. 3 at the Barnes Tennis Center.
Early-round tournament matches will also be played at San Diego State University’s Aztec Tennis Center, 5375 Remington Road from Saturday, Aug. 3 through Thursday, Aug. 8 and at the Balboa Tennis Club, 2221 Morley Field Drive from Saturday, Aug. 3 through Tuesday, Aug. 6. Admission and on-site parking at the Barnes Tennis Center is free each day of the tournament. For fans watching matches at SDSU and the Balboa Tennis Club, admission is free. There is a nominal charge for on-campus parking at SDSU. Parking regulations at the university will be strictly enforced. Parking is free at the Balboa Tennis Club.
The player entry list will be available later this month.
