by On Sunday, the 17th-seeded Maya Iyengar of Paradise Valley, Arizona, and seventh-seeded Alyssa Ahn of San Diego will compete for the USTA Billie Jean Girls 18s National Championships singles title.
At Barnes Tennis Center on Saturday, both emerged victorious in thrilling three-set semifinal contests.
In front of a boisterous Stadium Court audience, Iyengar pulled off the upset of the day by defeating Carlsbad’s second-seeded Julieta Pareja 3-6, 6-4 7-6 (3) in two hours and forty-five minutes.
According to a tournament news release, Pareja, the world’s top-ranked junior, took a 3-0 lead in the second set and appeared to be headed for a straight-set victory after winning the opening set.
But then things started to change when Iyengar won six of the following seven games and broke Pareja’s serve three times to tie the match at one set all.
Iyengar maintained her excellent play and won the first five games to take a decisive 5-0 lead in the third set. After a furious comeback, Pareja won the next five games to tie the final set at 5-5, but she was far from done.
A third-set tiebreak would determine the result after the players traded service breaks. Iyengar won the last four points to end the match at 3-3 in the tiebreaker and move on to the 18s singles finals on Sunday.In the other Girls 18s singles quarterfinal, Ahn persevered to defeat fifth-seeded Alexis Nguyen of El Dorado Hills 6-1, 6-7 (1), 7-5 in three hours in front of a sizable audience on Court No. 10.
At 1 p.m., the final starts. 1 p.m. on Sunday.Hannah Ayrault of Atlanta, ranked 17th, defeated fourth-seeded Paige Wygodzki of Huntington, N.Y., 6-3, 6-4, in one hour and forty-four minutes on Stadium Court earlier in the day to win the Girls 16s singles title.It feels fantastic. I am overburdened. I had a strong desire to win this competition. After the game, Ayrault stated, “It’s been my main goal.”
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In the Girls 16s third-place singles match, 33rd seed Brooke Kwon of Diamond Bar defeated 17th seed Yilin Chen of San Diego 7-5, 7-6 (2) to win the USTA bronze ball.
On Sunday, all Stadium Court games will be aired live on Cracked Racquets.
The national championships have seen about 400 of the best junior tennis players in the nation, who are 16 and younger. Additionally, the top finishers in the tournament will receive wild cards that grant them automatic entry into the 2025 US Open.
The Barnes Tennis Center does not charge admission or parking fees.
