Junior Team Tennis Open debuts with spirited competition at Kossover in Topeka

A dozen teams descended upon Topeka, Kan., to participate in the inaugural USTA Missouri Valley Junior Team Tennis Open. The competitive team event took place at the recently refurbished Kossover Tennis Center on July 14-15.

The Junior Team Tennis Open — which replaced JTT Qualifiers and the JTT Section Championship of preceding years — emphasized standout sportsmanship, team spirit and player development within the USTA Missouri Valley framework.

“The team environment is what makes Junior Team Tennis so special,” said Tara Williams, senior manager of junior team play for USTA Missouri Valley. “Players experience tennis differently than in individual tournaments. They’re competing alongside their teammates, cheering each other on and building friendships throughout the weekend.”

Each team was comprised of a minimum of two boys and two girls as well as a Safe Play-approved coach or manager. Squads played a total of five round-robin matches with the cumulative number of games won determining overall placement. Each head-to-head matchup consisted of girls’ singles, boys’ singles, mixed doubles, girls’ doubles and boys’ doubles.

In 18 & Under play, the Tulsa-based Southern Hills Country Club Blue team accumulated 131 games to edge Wichita’s Genesis Greys, which won 126 games. Angie Wang from Genesis KC Racquet Club was selected as the sportsmanship winner, while the Genesis Greys claimed the team spirit award.

The race for the 14 & Under championship was especially tight, with the top four teams separated by only 11 games. Genesis Salina eked out the title with 123 games won, with Genesis KC Racquet Club Blue just one game behind. Ashwin Mukkamala of the Topeka Country Club Tadpoles received the sportsmanship award, and the Kossover squad won the team spirit award.

“The players competed hard, but they also showed respect for their opponents, teammates and coaches,” Williams said. “We saw countless examples of players encouraging one another, making fair calls and representing their teams well.