American women’s tennis, it seems, has a treasure trove of talent in every generation. There are currently seven Americans in the WTA’s Top 32, ranging in age from Amanda Anisimova, 18, to Serena Williams, 38. Then, under age-eligibility restrictions but still doing damage on tour, are teens Caty McNally, Coco Gauff and Whitney Osuigwe.
But it turns out it runs even deeper than that: The USA girls won the Junior Fed Cup, a 16-and-under competition, by beating the Czech Republic 2-1 on the green clay at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla., over the weekend. And the champions were an entirely different squad of players:
In 2018, Gauff won in both singles and doubles when the team clinched the title. This year, the player to win two matches in the final was Connie Ma, who, at 16, has played more women’s tournaments than junior ones in 2019. It’s been working out for her, too; she’s 10-5 on the season on the ITF Pro Circuit.
Ma teamed up to win the do-or-die doubles match with Robin Montgomery, a 15-year-old lefty from Washington, D.C. And the team’s No. 1 singles player was Katrina Scott, who made the girls’ quarterfinals at this year’s US Open, and who defeated Katie Swan to win a round of women’s qualifying there.
The many new faces and names can be a lot to remember, so the USTA made a video of the players interviewing each other with fun questions:
Favorite Pizza Topping
Scott: Pepperoni
Ma: Pepperoni
Montgomery: Pineapple
Spirit Animal
Scott: Cougar
Ma: Indoor Cat
Montgomery: Tiger
Strangest Object in Tennis Bag
Ma: Poncho
Scott: Rolling Stick
Montgomery: Stuffed Animal
Superpower You Would Want
Montgomery: Invisibility
Scott: Invisibility
Ma: Teleportation
Teleportation, Montgomery pointed out, could take serving-and-volleying to a whole new level: “Show up at the net—POP!”
The USA boys made their championship final as well, falling in the Junior Davis Cup final to Japan, 1-2. The American girls have won the Junior Fed Cup in each of the last three years.
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