NEEL RAJESH, EMMA NAVARRO WIN USTA BOYS’ AND GIRLS’ 18s
NATIONAL CLAY COURT CHAMPIONSHIPS SINGLES TITLES
Rajesh, Navarro Earn Wild Cards into 2018 US Open Junior Championships, Future USTA Pro Circuit Event
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., July 23, 2018 – Seventeen-year olds Neel Rajesh, of Oyster Bay, N.Y., and Emma Navarro, of Charleston, S.C., each won singles titles at last week’s USTA Boys’ and Girls’ 18s National Clay Court Championships to earn wild card entries into the 2018 US Open Junior Championships.
Rajesh defeated defending champion Axel Nefve, of Boca Raton, Fla., 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(7) in the singles final at the Delray Beach Tennis Center in Delray Beach, Fla. Rajesh is coached by Derek Porter.
Navarro (Coaches: Jerry Albrikes and Peter Ayers), a semifinalist at the prestigious Easter Bowl junior tournament earlier this year, defeated Chelsea Kung, of Fort Worth, Texas, 6-2, 6-2 in the singles final at the LTP Tennis Club in Navarro’s hometown of Charleston, S.C. Navarro swept the singles and doubles titles, partnering with Chloe Beck (Watkinsville, Ga., Coach: Craig Jones), to defeat Carly Briggs (Calhoun, Ga., Coach: Stephan Diaz) and Alana Wolfberg (Orlando, Fla.), 6-0, 6-0.
In addition to their US Open junior wild card entries, Rajesh and Navarro each receive a wild card into a future USTA Pro Circuit event.
Logan Zapp, of Fleming Island, Fla., and Allura Zamarripa (Coach: Dave Zamarripa), of Saint Helena, Calif., won the Boys’ and Girls’ 16s singles titles, each earning a wild card into a future USTA Pro Circuit event. Zapp beat Ryan Fishback (Coach: Nason Fishback), of Geneva, N.Y., 6-0, 6-2, in Delray Beach and Zamarripa defeated Valencia Xu (Coach: Gill Acosta), of Livingston, N.J., 6-4, 6-3, in Memphis, Tenn.
Zapp, along with Rudy Quan (Sacramento, Calif., Coach: Mike Gennette), joined Navarro as the only players to sweep the singles and doubles titles, as Quan won the Boys’ 12s titles at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
Singles and doubles finals results from all four age groups can be found on Page 2. For complete tournament results, visit the USTA website.
