Top Seeds Prevail in 12s, 14s at 2021 “Bobby Curtis” Junior Section Championships

Rychkova is a 2019 Little Mo International Championships girls’ 10s divisional winner. According to TennisRecruiting.net’s recruiting rankings, the 8th grader is ranked No. 11 in Florida, No. 19 in the Southeast, and No. 66 nationally.

The top two seeds in the boys’ 14s division also cruised through the main draw. No. 2 seed Yubel Ubri (Hollywood) is a “Bobby Curtis” regular, who won the Florida state tennis title in the 10 and under division in 2016. He overcame the No. 14, No. 5 and No. 11 seeds to make it to the finals in his quest for another title. Seeded at No.1, Darwin Blanch (Deerfield Beach) claimed two 6-0 sets in the round of 16 and a third in the quarterfinals, where he took down the No. 8 seed to advance to the semifinals. There, he defeated the No. 4 seed and clinched his spot in the championship match, where he found a 6-1, 6-2 victory over Ubri.

“[Winning the state championship] means a lot,” said Darwin after the finals. “I spent two months practicing for this tournament because I knew it was coming up. I came here and played my game and I won.”

Blanch, a freshman, is ranked No. 6 in Florida, No. 8 in the Southeast, and No. 20 nationally on TennisRecruiting.net’s recruiting rankings. Blanch is the younger brother of American tennis player Ulises Blanch, who currently sits at No. 247 in the ATP Rankings. 

The final of the girls’ 14 division saw an east coast-west coast matchup play out on the courts of the National Campus. No. 5 seed Gabriella Rawles (Bradenton) powered through the early rounds against unseeded players before defeating the No. 7 seed in the semifinals. Meanwhile, No. 2 seed Lauren Kettlewell (Doral) vanquished the No. 9, No. 8 and No. 3 seeds on her quest for the title. Kettlewell and Rawles went head-to-head on the championship court where Kettlewell prevailed with a 6-4, 6-4 victory.

“Coming into this tournament I was pretty nervous because I was seed two, so I felt like there were expectations,” shared Kettlewell, who trains at MGT Academy in Doral. “Winning feels pretty good but I was just trying to complete my objectives and perform well mentally.”

This is Kettlewell’s first Florida section championship title. She reached the round of 16 in her quest for the girls’ 12s title in the 2018 edition of the USTA Florida “Bobby Curtis” Junior Section Championships and made it to the quarterfinals in the 2018 “Bobby Curtis” Doubles competition. According to TennisRecruiting.net’s recruiting rankings, the freshman sits at No. 11 in Florida, No. 17 in the Southeast, and No. 43 nationally.

Champions and finalists (seeds in parenthesis):

Boys’ 12s: (2) Jordan Lee (Orlando) d. (1) Teodor Davidov (Bradenton) 6-1, 6-1
Boys’ 14s: (1) Darwin Blanch (Deerfield Beach) d. (2) Yubel Ubri (Hollywood) 6-1, 6-2

Girls’ 12s: (1) Anastasiia Rychkova (Boca Raton) d. (2) Abigail Gordon (Boca Raton) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Girls’ 14s: (2) Lauren Kettlewell (Doral) d. (5) Gabriella Rawles (Bradenton) 6-4, 6-4

The USTA Florida “Bobby Curtis” Junior State Singles Championships is the most competitive USTA Section junior championships in the U.S., spawning the most players of any USTA Section to go on to the professional circuit and rank No. 1 in the world.

Former “Bobby Curtis” champs who have gone on to rank No. 1 in the world on the ATP and WTA rankings are Chris Evert (1971 18s, 1970-69 16s, 1968 14s, and 1966 10s champion), Jennifer Capriati (1986 12s champion), Jim Courier (1986 18s champion) and Andy Roddick (1996 14s, 1994 12s champion).

Other notable winners over the years have been current WTA players Amanda Anisimova (2014 14s, 2011 10s champion), Sofia Kenin (2010 12s), Bethanie Mattek-Sands (1998 14s) and Danielle Collins (2011 & 2009 18s, 2006 12s); three-time Grand Slam runner-up and two-time Olympic gold medalist Mary Joe Fernandez (1983 14s, 1982 12s); former world No. 8-ranked Carling Bassett (1980 12s); former world No. 7 and current U.S. Fed Cup Captain Kathy Rinaldi (1980 14s, 1979 12s); former world No. 7 Jay Berger (1985-84 18s, 1983 16s); former world No. 3 and two-time Slam doubles winner Brian Gottfried (1970 18s, 1966 14s, 1963-64 12s); former world No. 5 and two-time French Open semifinalist Eddie Dibbs (1969 18s, 1967 16s, 1965 14s); and former ATP player and legendary tennis organizer Charlie Pasarell (1958 15s, 1957 13s).

In 2012 the tournament was renamed the USTA Florida “Bobby Curtis” Junior State Championships in honor of legendary Florida junior tennis organizer Bobby Curtis.

For full results, go to playtennis.usta.com.