Eight advocates for the sport of tennis at the grassroots and local levels were honored with seven awards at the 2023 USTA Annual Meeting and Conference in Phoenix, Ariz.
Masato Perera of Santa Barbara, Calif. and Sophia Wang of St. Petersburg, Fla. were named the recipients of the USTA National Junior Scholar Athlete Award at the 2023 USTA Annual Meeting and Conference in recognition of their academic and athletic achievements throughout their junior tennis careers.
A highly-touted product of the Saddlebrook Academy, Wang is now a freshman on the Columbia University women’s tennis team. She had impressive showing at a number of USTA national junior tournaments and won the Sportsmanship Award at the 2021 USTA National Winter Championships. Off the court, Wang excelled in a number of AP classes, holding an impressive 4.5 weighted GPA.
Currently a freshman on the Harvard University men's tennis team, Perera is a 2022 graduate of San Marcos High School, where he became the first player in school history to win the CIF-Southern Section Individual Singles Championship. Off the court, Perera held an impressive 4.81 weighted GPA and was a member of the Accelerated Academic Program for Leadership and Enrichment.
Additionally, he spent his time tutoring first graders at a local elementary school and helped run a summer tennis camp.
“Sophia and Masato’s achievements on the court, in the classroom and in the community truly make them exemplary leaders among their peers,” Craig Morris, Chief Executive, Community Tennis, said. “They are both very deserving of this honor and have bright futures ahead of them.”
This is the 10th year the USTA has awarded its National Junior Scholar Athlete Award. To qualify, students must have an unweighted GPA of at least 3.75 on a 4.0 scale and be ranked in the Top 100 of the USTA Boys’ or Girls’ 18s national standings. A written essay, as well as leadership and sportsmanship, were also considered.
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