By SDCN Editor
San Diego, CA–Tournament draws for all divisions are set for the 2022 United States Tennis Association Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s and 18s National Championships at Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego.
First-round matches in the Girls’ 16s division began at 8 a.m. on Saturday, and first-round matches in the Girls’ 18s division got underway at 8 a.m. on Sunday.
Natasha Rajaram of Cupertino, California, the top-seed in the Girls’ 16s singles draw, received a first-round bye and played her first match on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. against the winner of Saturday’s first-round match between Georgia Cranford of Scottsdale, Arizona, and Mya Bowe of San Antonio, Texas.
Girls’ 18s top-seed Reese Brantmeier of Whitewater, Wisconsin., received a first-round bye and will play her first singles match on August 8 at a time to be determined. The 17-year-old Brantmeier, currently ranked No. 411 in the WTA singles rankings, will meet the winner of Sunday’s first-round match between Reagen Mangan of Goshen, Kentucky, and Caroline Nicholls of Miami.
The opening ceremony for the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s and 18s National Championships took place at Barnes Tennis Center on Saturday.
“Our opening ceremony on Saturday is going to be a very festive introduction for these Girls’ National Championships,” said Tournament Director Lornie Kuhle. “The United States Marine Corps Color Guard and Marine Band San Diego will highlight the ceremony. Everyone is invited.”
The starting times for each day of the tournament will be on Aug. 10 at 8 a.m., and on Aug. 11 through Aug. 14 at 9 a.m.
The Girls’ 16s event will conclude with the singles final on August 14. The Girls’ 18s tournament will conclude with the singles and doubles championships on the same day.
Both divisions feature 256-player singles draws with the top 32 seeds receiving a first-round bye. There will also be 128-team doubles draws with the top 16 seeded teams getting first-round byes.
Admission is free each day of the tournament and there is no charge for parking at Barnes Tennis Center.
Over 400 of the top junior tennis players in the country, aged 16 and 18 and under, will compete for the title of National Champion. In addition, the following wild cards to the 2022 US Open will be awarded to the tournament’s top finishers:
18s Champion – US Open Main Draw and US Open Junior Main Draw
18s Finalist – US Open Qualifying and US Open Junior Main Draw
18s 3rd Place – US Open Junior Main Draw
16s Champion – US Open Junior Main Draw
18s 4th and 5th Place – US Open Junior Qualifying
Early-round tournament matches will also be played through Aug. 9 at Balboa Tennis Club, University of San Diego, and San Diego State University in San Diego.
