National

Juniors to compete at French Open Junior Championships

Sally Milano | June 03, 2017



Main-draw play has been underway for a week at the French Open, and now it's time for the world's top juniors to take center stage. This year, a deep and talented group of American boys and girls will be among the favorites, led by 2016 French Open girls' finalist Amanda Anisimova and world No. 10 Trent Bryde.

Overall, the U.S. has 20 players – 11 boys (including one wild card) and nine girls – entered into the main draw or qualifying at Roland Garros. Russia, the next-highest country, has 13.
    
The U.S. has several top seeds on the girls’ side. That includes No. 2 seed Anisimova, who, as the winner of the USTA Pro Circuit's French Open Wild Card Challenge, made her Grand Slam main-draw debut at Roland Garros last week as the youngest player to compete in the French Open women's draw since 2005. World No. 6 Claire Liu, No. 7 Whitney Osuigwe and No. 10 Taylor Johnson are also seeded in the girls' draw this year.

American juniors have had great success over the last few years in Paris. Prior to Anisimova’s run to the girls’ final as a 14-year-old last year, three of the French Open boys’ singles semifinalists in 2015 were American, with Tommy Paul beating Taylor Fritz in the first all-American French Open boys’ singles final, dating back to 1947. In addition, CiCi Bellis reached the girls’ semifinals in 2015.

USTA Player Development National Coaches Sylvain Guichard, Leo Azevedo, Erik Kortland and Jean Desdunes will be providing support to all American players participating in the French Open Junior Championships. Players participating in the main draw will receive a $1,250 grant from USTA Player Development, and their full-time, personal coaches traveling with them to Paris will also receive a grant of $1,250.

The U.S. junior players competing in Paris this year includes:

Main Draw - U.S. girls
Amanda Anisimova (15, Hallandale Beach, Fla.; Coaches: Henner Nehles, Konstantin Anisimov)
Claire Liu (17, Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Coach: Mike Gennette)
Taylor Johnson (16, Redondo Beach, Calif.; Coaches: Erik Kortland, Rosie Casals)
Whitney Osuigwe (15, Bradenton, Fla.; Coach: Desmond Osuigwe)
Sofia Sewing (17, Doral, Fla.; Coach: Robert Gomez)
Ellie Douglas (17, McKinney, Texas; Coach: Luis Herrera)
Elysia Bolton (17, Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.; Coaches: Erik Kortland, Mark Bey)
Hailey Baptiste (15, Washington, D.C.; Coach: Vince Spadea)
Caty McNally (15, Cincinnati; Coach: Lynn McNally)

Qualifying
Hurricane Tyra Black (16, Boca Raton, Fla.; Coaches: Sly Black, Lawrence Carpio)
Amanda Meyer (17, Delray Beach, Fla.; Coach: Mandy Wilson)

Main Draw - U.S. boys
Trent Bryde (18, Suwanee, Ga.; Coaches: Will Wright, Vivian Chhetri)
Oliver Crawford (18, Spartanburg, S.C.; Coach: Kelly Jones)
Alafia Ayeni (18, San Diego; Coach: Anthony Ayeni)
Vasil Kirkov (18, Tampa, Fla.; Coach: Stoyan Kirkov)
Sam Riffice (18, Roseville, Calif.; Coach: Sylvain Guichard)
Danny Thomas (17, Columbus, Ohio; Coaches: Kelly Story, David Kass-Friend)
Alexandre Rotsaert (17; Boca Raton, Fla.; Coach: Jean-Philippe Fleurion)
Gianni Ross (18, Burr Ridge, Ill.; Coach: Sylvain Guichard)
Patrick Kypson (17, Raleigh, N.C.: Coaches: Mat Cloer, Leo Azevedo)
Sebastian Korda (16, Bradenton, Fla.; Coach: Petr Korda)
*Brian Cernoch (17, North Bethesda, Md.; Coaches: Vesa Ponkka, Asaf Yamin)
*Granted wild card as a reciprocal agreement with the FFT

Qualifying
Lukas Greif (17, Newburgh, Ind.; Coach: Stephanie Hazlett)
Andrew Fenty (17, Washington, D.C.; Coaches: Vesa Ponkka, Brandyn Fisher)

The French Open junior main draw begins on June 4 and runs through June 10.

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