Time for another bite. The best 12U and 14U tennis players from across the globe are back to go head-to-head in USTA Eastern’s second annual Big Apple International Cup June 3-7 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The team event will once again feature top junior squads from USA, Canada, Mexico and Spain; lineups from Brazil and Israel will also compete this year.

 

“We are thrilled to once again host the Big Apple Cup at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center after an incredibly successful inaugural showing in 2018,” said Whitney Kraft, Director of Tennis at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. “We're even more excited that this first-class event is adding two new countries in Brazil and Israel, providing not only more opportunities for the kids involved, but a chance for players and fans in our community to see the great tennis players who are growing up around the world.”

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The roster for Team USA features Cooper Williams, who represented the United States in qualifying at the ITF World Junior Tennis Competition. (Williams won both his matches to help defeat Guatemala 3-0.) He is also the reigning boys’ doubles champion at Les Petits As, one of the biggest junior competitions in the world. Kaitlyn Carnicella, also part of the American contingent at Les Petits As, and Stephanie Yakoff, a 2019 Easter Bowl semifinalist, are a few more names competing for USA.

 

Brazil’s lineup includes Carolina Laydner and Isabelle Torres, the winners of the ITF World Junior Tennis South American Championship. Their teammates for Big Apple, Gustavo Tedesco and Lucas Silva, finished second in the same event on the boys’ side. Rodrigo Pacheco—part of Team Mexico—defeated the current Les Petits As champion en route to capturing the Bohemia Cafex Cup title in the Czech Republic. And Team Spain’s Miguel Avedaño recently won the 14U Barcelona Open Conde de Godo.

 

With so many talented juniors in the mix this year, “the Big Apple International Cup looks set to have some very exciting, high-quality matches,” says Jay Devashetty, USTA Player Development National Coach and Director of Training Center-East. “It is these kinds of exciting events that push and elevate player performance and accelerate improvement. The importance of having an event like this in the USTA Eastern Section—where the players can experience international competition at home—cannot be overstated."

 

Updated: Live Big Apple International Cup Standings (through 6/6)

 

12U

1. USA 4-0 (22 matches won, 2 matches lost)

2. Spain 4-0 (18 matches won, 7 matches lost)

3. Brazil 2-2 (12 matches won, 14 matches lost)

4. Mexico 2-2 (13 matches won, 12 matches lost)

5. Israel 0-4 (10 matches won, 24 matches lost)

6. Canada 0-4 (3 matches won, 21 matches lost)

 

14U

1. USA 4-0 (19 matches won, 5 matches lost)

2. Canada 3-1 (13 matches won, 13 matches lost)

3. Spain 2-2 (14 matches won, 11 matches lost)

4. Mexico 2-2 (11 matches won, 15 matches lost)

5. Israel 1-3 (10 matches won, 14 matches lost)

6. Brazil 0-4 (8 matches won, 16 matches lost)

 

 

Below are team rosters for this year’s Big Apple International Cup:

 

USA

 

14U

Stephanie Yakoff                            

Kaitlyn Carnicella 

Ariana Pursoo 

Cooper WIlliams 

Ari Cotoulas 

Alan Hua 

 

12U

Anika Paul

Claire An

Cristasha McNeil

Andrew Ena

Braeden Gelletich

Mark Krupkin

 

Brazil

 

14U

Gustavo Tedesco            

Lucas Silva                          

Carolina Laydner             

Isabelle Torres

 

12U

João Fonseca

Victor Lima

Olivia Carneiro

Sofia Perovani

 

Canada

 

14U

Stewart Aronson

Sasha Rosin

Haitam Aboufirassi

Nawal Youssef

Teah Chavez Babyak

Josie Usereau

 

12U

Sava Uncianschi

Anyan Xu

Finn Muller

Emma Gong

Clemence Mercier

Maria Komar

 

Israel

 

14U

Laim Oved                          

May Baranes                     

Elizabeth Shaykis             

Volodymyr Bazilevskyy

Ido Samimyan                  

Ofek Shimanov 

 

12U

Sapir Cohen

Mika Buchnik

May Fadida

Tim Vaisman

Leon Soloschhanskykrast

Itai Ezra

 

Mexico

 

14U

Natalia Castañeda           

Ximena Garzón                

Rodrigo Pacheco             

Luca Lemaitre

 

12U

Carolina Alonso

Emily Velasco

Diego Vega

Ignacio Ruiz

 

Spain

 

14U

Vitoria Solís                     

Maria Garcia Cid           

Alejandro Verdasco      

Miguel Avedaño

 

12U

Cristina Ramos

Maria de la Paz Alberto

Luis Llorens

Ángel Fonseca