JR. FED CUP, DAVIS CUP teams named for Finals

Coco Gauff (pictured above), the 2018 French Open girls’ singles champion and a recent junior world No. 1, and Alexa Noel, the current world No. 10 junior, headline the top talents selected to represent the United States in the Junior Fed Cup and Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Finals, the premier 16-and-under world team competitions, Sept. 25-30 on red clay courts in Budapest, Hungary. The full U.S. team nominations are:

Junior Fed Cup

Cori (Coco) Gauff (14, Delray Beach, Fla.; Coach: Corey Gauff)

Alexa Noel (16, Summit, N.J.)

Connie Ma (15, Dublin, Calif.; Coach: Max Taylor and Tompkins Tennis)

Captain: USTA National Coach Erik Kortland

Junior Davis Cup

Alex Lee (16, Oak Brook, Ill.; Coach: Tom Lockhart)

Toby Kodat (15, Bradenton, Fla.; Coach: Ales Kodat)

Martin Damm (14, Bradenton, Fla.; Coach: Martin Damm Sr.)

Captain: USTA National Coach Eric Nunez

The competition includes 16 nations on both the boys’ and girls’ sides, competing first in round-robin groups, then in a knockout bracket to determine the winner. The U.S. girls’ team is the defending champions, winners in four of the last 10 years, while the U.S. boys’ team finished as the runner-up last year, falling to the Czech Republic in the final.  For complete tournament information, visit the International Tennis Federation’s website.

Gauff, at 14, became the fifth youngest French Open girls’ singles champion in June, a year after becoming the youngest US Open girls’ singles finalist at the 2017 US Open. She is currently ranked as the No. 4 junior in the world by the ITF. Noel notably reached the girls’ 18s singles final at the Easter Bowl in the spring. Ma, who stands at No. 19 in the USTA girls’ 16s national standings, reached the Round of 16 at the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships in August, falling to Gauff. 

Lee, ranked No. 17 in the USTA boys’ 16s national standings, won the doubles title at the USTA Boys’ 16s National Championships last month and also reached the singles semifinals of the USTA Boys’ 16s National Indoor Championships last winter. Kodat is ranked amongst the ITF’s Top 100 juniors in the world and is rated No. 1 in the nation in Tennis Recruiting’s Class of 2021. Damm, ranked one spot behind Lee in the USTA boys’ 16s national standings, at No. 18, won the USTA Boys’ 16s National Championships singles title last month. 

The U.S. has won four Junior Fed Cup titles (2008, 2012, 2014, 2017) and three Junior Davis Cup titles (1999, 2008, 2014). Former U.S. junior international team members include Jim Courier, Andy Roddick, James Blake, Lindsay Davenport and Sloane Stephens. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic also have also represented their respective countries in junior international team competition.