Zhengqing Ji, Christasha McNeil win 2023 USTA National Clay Court 18s singles titles

Top juniors Zhengqing Ji and Christasha McNeil won the singles titles at the USTA Boys’ and Girls’ 18s National Clay Court Championships this past weekend. As a reward for their efforts, boys' winner Ji (17; San Diego) and girls' titlist McNeil (16; Lindenhurst, N.Y.) will receive main-draw wild cards into the 2023 US Open Junior Championships.

The USTA National Clay Court Championships, one of five junior USTA National Championship events in 2023, were held last week at seven locations across the country with singles and doubles competition across the 18s, 16s, 14s and 12s age groups.

Ji, the tournament’s No. 8 seed, knocked off six consecutive seeded players en route to the title, including the tournament’s No. 1 overall seed in the quarterfinals. The Yale commit defeated No. 9 seed Cyrus Mahjoob (17; Rockville, Md.) in the final, 6-4, 6-1. In the boys’ 18s doubles final, Stiles Brockett (Fairfax, Va.) and Cassius Chinlund (Los Angeles) defeated No. 7 seeds Tygen Goldammer (Estero, Fla.) and Charlie Spencer (Orlando, Fla.), 7-5, 6-2.

In the girls’ 18s singles final, McNeil prevailed in a battle of unseeded 16-year-olds as she defeated Claire Shao (Boca Raton, Fla.), 6-4, 6-3. McNeil, who is one of the top-ranked rising high school juniors in the country, notably reached the singles final at last year’s USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s National Championships.  In the girls’ doubles final, hometown favorite Piper Charney (Mount Pleasant, S.C.) partnered with Jessica Bernales (Las Vegas) to defeat Ahmani Guichard (Seminole, Fla.) and Mia Yamakita (Johns Creek, Ga.), 6-3, 6-4.