By SDCN Staff
San Diego, CA–Wimbledon Girls’ singles finalist Julieta Pareja of Carlsbad, and Wimbledon Girls’ doubles champion Kristina Penickova of Campbell, CA, will headline an exceptional player field for the 2025 United States Tennis Association Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s and 18s National Championships.
The national tennis tournament, which features the nation’s top junior players, will be played from August 2 through August 10 at Barnes Tennis Center, 4490 W. Point Loma Blvd. in San Diego.
The 16-year-old Pareja won five straight singles matches at Wimbledon to advance to the Girls’ singles final last Saturday, where she fell to Slovakia’s Mia Pohankova 6-3, 6-1. Despite the loss, Pareja earned the No. 1 spot in the latest International Tennis Federation Junior Rankings, which were released this past Monday.
This year, Pareja captured junior singles titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour in Roehampton, Great Britain, Indian Wells, CA, and Barranquilla, Colombia. She has also competed in women’s professional events on the ITF World Tennis Tour and USTA Pro Circuit. Pareja is currently No. 338 in the WTA Tour singles rankings.
Penickova, 15, is currently ranked No. 5 in the ITF Junior Rankings. She teamed with Vendula Valdmannova of the Czech Republic to win the Wimbledon Girls’ doubles title last week with a 6-4, 6-2 victory in the final over the American team of Pareja and Thea Frodin of Woodland Hills, CA.
Earlier this year in January, Penickova reached the Australian Open Girls’ singles final and won the Australian Open Girls’ doubles championship.
The top-five players in the USTA National Rankings are also entered in the Girls’ 18s singles division. They are No. 1 Nicole Weng of South Pasadena, CA, No. 2 Bella Payne of Bradenton, FL, No. 3 Calla McGill of Alexandria, VA, No. 4 Karlin Schock of Green Bay, WS, and No. 5 Thara Gowda of Rochester Hills, MI.
Top-ranked players will highlight the Girls’ 16s player field. The singles division includes No. 1 Carlota Moreno of Knoxville, TN, No. 3 Armira Kockinis of La Habra Heights, CA, and No. 5 Paige Wygodzki of Huntington, N.Y.
Nearly 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, wild cards for direct entry into the 2025 US Open will be awarded to the tournament’s top finishers.
San Diego County will once again be well-represented at this year’s USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s and 18s National Championships with the following local players scheduled to compete in the tournament:
Girls’ 18s – Carley Chen, San Diego; Sophie Lau, San Diego; Kylie Liu, San Diego; Anqi Mei, San Diego; Julieta Pareja, Carlsbad, and Elena Zhao, San Diego.
Girls’ 16s – Yilin Chen, San Diego; Kiana Huerta, San Diego; Juny Huh, San Diego; Kiana Smith, Carlsbad; and Lillian Xu, San Diego.
The Girls’ 16s event will begin on August 2 and conclude with the singles and doubles championships on August 9. The Girls’ 18s tournament will get underway August 3 and conclude with the singles and doubles championships on August 10. Both divisions feature 192-player singles draws and 96-team doubles draws.
Admission is free each day of the tournament, and parking is free at Barnes Tennis Center. Matches are scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. each day. (Starting times subject to change)
Early-round tournament matches will also be played beginning on Aug. 2 through Aug. 6 at Balboa Tennis Club, 2221 Morley Field Drive in San Diego, and University of San Diego, 5998 Alcala Park in San Diego.
