Double the Dubs: Two Eastern teams win titles at 2026 USTA League National Championships

Parallelism that would make an English teacher smile. 

On the third week of action at the 2026 USTA League National Championships—held October 23-25 in various locations across the country—both Eastern’s 40 Over 3.0 Women’s and 40 & Over 3.5 Women’s squads defeated opponents from USTA Southern (in the semifinals, by a 4-1 scoreline) and USTA Northern California (in the finals, by a 3-2 scoreline) to claim titles in their respective divisions and bring two championship trophies back to New York. The wins mark the first time a team based out of the Long Island region lifted the championship hardware since 2023 and the first time a team based out of the Westchester/Rockland area achieved the feat since 2021.

Beginner's Pluck

Incredibly, the 3.0 contingent’s captain Mary Kwon was captaining for the first time ever, in what was also her very first season competing in a USTA women’s league. (She did have experience on the national stage, however, having served as a member of the 40 & Over 6.0 Mixed group that placed third at Nationals in 2025.)

“My co-captain Sophia Yang and I went into this without any expectations,” said Kwon. “We just wanted to have some fun playing tennis. But once we made it to USTA Eastern Sectionals and saw what this team was truly capable of, we knew we could go all the way.”

But their secret weapon may have been their off-court bonds. Kwon said they put a lot of work behind-the-scenes over the course of the season developing team chemistry, and those forged connections ultimately served as motivation throughout the event. In this way, even their losses propelled them forward. Kwon recalled that teammate Alpna Aggrawal contested a brutal singles court against an athletic competitor from USTA Middle States in the middle of the day in the Alabama heat, with the encounter culminating in a third-set match tiebreak. 

“The deciding match tiebreak was pure drama,” Kwon said. “Big serves, balls skimming the lines, heavy legs, and both teams rooting frantically for their players. Alpna narrowly lost the tiebreak 7-10, but that match was a turning point for us. That shared intensity and resilience brought everyone together and made us even more hungry.”

“I want to express my deepest gratitude to the USTA for fostering such an incredible, competitive community, for giving adult players this platform to challenge ourselves, and for organizing a first-class national championship experience we will cherish forever,” she said. “Since coming back home, our team has been meeting up every day to continue the victorious celebration, reminiscing over our entire season and bonding closer together. All to say, this is priceless!”

A Purr-fect Team

When Jen Rackoff, Katie Sweeney and their coach Seth Roberts (based out of the Chestnut Ridge Racquet Club in Mount Kisco, N.Y.) began forming a USTA League team dubbed the “Rally Cats” three years ago, they immediately knew they had a special group.

“I've never been a part of a team that felt this connected,” Rackoff said after lifting the championship hardware in the 40 & Over 3.5 division with her fellow Cats. “We were able to strike the right balance between the fight on the court and the friendships off it. This group was the perfect mix of talent, grit, heart, support, laughter, silliness, competitive spirit, hard work, dedication and commitment.”

“One of the things about representing Eastern is that getting to Nationals is tough and there are lots of playoff rounds,” Rackoff said of what ultimately helped them come out on top in those close encounters. “This path prepared us for these tight matches and the ability to just stay focused.”

But the results, strong form and general ability to stay clutch under pressure were also a testament to the Rally Cats’ chemistry. Sometimes that chemistry extended back over 40 years. Ali Miller and Laura Milano—one of the doubles pairings on the team—had been friends since they were just two years old and played doubles together in high school. Decades later, they partnered up again to help deliver three critical wins for the Mount Kisco squad.

“They were such a solid pairing, and we were absolutely thrilled to watch them play some of their best tennis of the season on the national stage,” said their teammate Ashley Allatt. “There's just something incredibly special about seeing two lifelong friends share a moment like that, and I think we were all just as excited for them as they were for each other.”

“What makes this team so special are the friendships,” Sweeney said. “Jen and I wanted to create a team of women who would choose to be friends off the court as well as on the court. We had so much fun together. We respected each other. And we were able to work hard all season and during nationals, but also able to laugh and stay loose. We knew how lucky we were to play a weekend of tennis with our friends at a national tournament. I think we did a good job always keeping that in mind.”