
SAN DIEGO – (August 12, 2022) – San Diego’s Katherine Hui advanced to the 18s semifinals of the United States Tennis Association Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s and 18s National Championships as she scored a hard-fought 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 quarterfinal victory over top-seeded Reese Brantmeier of Whitewater, Wis.
Playing under bright, sunny skies on Stadium Court at Barnes Tennis Center, Brantmeier, who reached last year’s 18s singles final, opened the match with a service break and later built a 5-3 first-set lead. After Hui held serve to cut the deficit to 5-4, Brantmeier fought off a break point and won a 16-point game to hold serve and close out the set.
In the second set, Hui, a Wild Card entrant who is seeded eighth, gained the momentum with two service breaks and established a 4-1 lead. However, Brantmeier rallied to even the score with two service breaks of her own. Serving at 5-5, Hui overcame three double faults and held serve for a 6-5 lead. In the 12th game, Hui scored a critical service break to win the set and level the match.
The 17-year-old Hui used her aggressive baseline game to take control of the third set as she broke Brantmeier’s serve twice to take a commanding 5-1 lead. The top-seed once again rallied, winning three consecutive games to get back on serve. With Brantmeier serving at 4-5, Hui took advantage of a double fault at 40-30 and two points later she secured the deciding service break to win the match in three-hours and 12 minutes.
“Reese is an amazing player and a great competitor. She competes so hard. I really had to be on top of every point. I kept the mentality I had all week, I fought on every point,” Hui said. “I knew it was going to be a tough match. I was ready to fight and play long points. I’m super happy and ready for the next (match).”
Ninth-seeded Katie Codd of Carlsbad, Calif., attempted to become the second San Diego County competitor to reach the 18s semifinals, but fell to 17th seeded Ariana Pursoo of Westbury, N.Y., 6-4, 7-5 in her quarterfinal match which took one-hour and 56 minutes to complete.
In other Girls’ 18s quarterfinal action, fourth-seeded Eleana Yu of Mason, Ohio, dispatched 33rd seed Kinaa Graham of Austin, Texas, 6-3, 6-3 and 17th seeded Valerie Glozman of Bellevue, Wash., defeated ninth-seeded Maya Joint of Grosse Pointe, Mich., 3-6, 6-0, 6-2.
Hui will meet Glozman and Yu will face Pursoo in Saturday’s 18s singles semifinals which are scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. (PDT) on Stadium Court.
A pair of talented 15-year-old San Diegans who were seeded No. 9, went head-to-head in the Girls’ 16s semifinals. Alyssa Ahn (Carmel Valley) outlasted Claire Zhang (Del Mar) 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in an entertaining match that lasted two-hours and 50 minutes.
Ahn will take on unseeded Christasha McNeil of Lindenhurst, N.Y., in the Girls’ 16s singles championship at 11 a.m. (PDT) on Sunday. McNeil edged ninth-seeded Tianmei Wang of San Marino, Calif., 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-6 (9) in three-hours and 55 minutes.
To view tournament draws for each division, click here.
CBS Sports Network, the 24-hour home of CBS Sports, will broadcast the Girls’ 18s singles semifinals at 12 p.m. (PDT) on Saturday. Both semifinal matches will be televised. CBS Sports Network will also provide live coverage of the Girls’ 18s singles final at 3 p.m. (PDT) on Sunday.
Veteran tennis broadcaster Sam Gore and tennis legend Pam Shriver, a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame, will call the action for CBS Sports Network.
The following wild cards to the 2022 US Open will be awarded to the tournament’s top finishers:
18s Champion – US Open Main Draw and US Open Junior Main Draw
18s Finalist – US Open Qualifying and US Open Junior Main Draw
18s 3rd Place – US Open Junior Main Draw
16s Champion – US Open Junior Main Draw
18s 4th & 5th Place – US Open Junior Qualifying
Admission is free each day of the tournament and there is no charge for parking at Barnes Tennis Center. Additional tournament information is available at: www.ustagirlsnationals.com/