Tournament Profile & History
Road to the Nationals • Eye on the Prize
Maureen Connolly Brinker Award
An Opportunity for a College Scholarship
Chronology

Road to the Nationals
Unlike most tennis tournaments, the girls who play The Nationals have been endorsed to be here by their USTA Sections or have been exempted from endorsement by the USTA because of their outstanding ranking. They are the cream of the crop in junior tennis from both the amateur and professional ranks. The USTA has assigned each Section a number of players it may endorse - this is their quota and these players are guaranteed a spot in the draw. The total quota for all 17 Sections is 100. In addition to these players, the top 40 girls in the country are automatically in (and they do not count against their Section’s quota) and up to 8 Wild Cards may be awarded. The USTA also holds four USTA National Open tournaments and the top three finishers also receive entry into the Nationals. The size of the singes and doubles draws are 192 players and 96 teams, respectively.

Eye on the Prize
Just what is the importance of success at The Nationals?  At stake is the title of National Champion and, with it, a Wild Card entry into the US Open.  This holds true for both the winners of the singles and the doubles draws.  The USTA will award their traditional gold, silver, and bronze tennis balls to the first, second and third place finishers in singles and doubles.  In addition, The Nationals continues the tradition it began in 1989 of presenting gold bracelets to the first through sixth place finishers in singles competition and the first through fourth place finishers in doubles play.  There will also be two sportsmanship awards, the USTA Sportsmanship Award and the Chairman’s Award.  The USTA Sportsmanship Award winner receives a plaque from the USTA and the Chairman’s Award winner receives a gold bracelet.

Maureen Connolly Brinker Award
In 1969, the Maureen Connolly Brinker Foundation began this award to recognize the most outstanding full season performance by a junior girl in the United States.  The honor encompasses not only performance, but sportsmanship as well.  The Nationals is honored with being the tournament at which this player is selected and recognized.  Click here to read more about Maureen Connolly Brinker and the foundation.

An Opportunity for a College Scholarship
The Nationals has long been the place where young American women have had the opportunity to show their mettle and impress a college coach eager to fill their team roster.  In 1996, the tournament began assisting both players and coaches in the recruitment process when it organized its first College Coaches’ Forum.  Intended to bring down the barriers to first introductions between coach and player, the CCF as it’s more affectionately known by tournament volunteers, has proven to be a fixture of Registration Day and the springboard for many a college career.  Click here to learn more about this year’s Forum.

Chronology

1918-1921.  The first National Championship for girls was held in conjunction with the Women’s National Championship (today known as the US Open) at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in 1918.  Competing on grass courts, local girls vied for the singles title and Catherine Porter became the first winner of The Nationals.  In that inaugural year, singles was the only event, but in1919 Elizabeth Warren and Penelope Anderson both of Richmond, VA won the first doubles title.  The event continued to be held at the Philadelphia Cricket Club in conjunction with the women’s tournament through 1920.

1921.  The Girls’ National Championship moved with the women’s event to West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, NY.  Although the entries were disappointingly small this year, fenom and NorCal resident Helen Wills took the title.  Helen would go on to win 31 Grand Slam titles and two Olympic gold medals.

1922-1923.   The tournament returned to the Philadelphia Cricket Club for two years and became a stand-alone event.

1924.  The Nationals moved across town to the Germantown Cricket Club for one year in 1924.  The champion at this site was Helen Jacobs, an eventual 5-time Grand Slam champion.

1925 - 1978.  Once again, the Philadelphia Cricket Club became the home to The Nationals, where the tournament stayed until 1978.  Over the course of these years, the USTA introduced National Championships on various surfaces, including the “Hard Courts” played at Berkeley Tennis Club in various years during the 1930s and 1940s; however the event held in Philadelphia on grass continued to be identified as the ancestor of the USTA Girls’ 18 National Championships.  The 1948 Tennis Lawn Almanac stated that the event held that year “boasted an all-time record of ninety-five entries, representing all sections of the country.  Such a tremendous amount of interest being shown in the young girls of today will surely produce a fine class of women champions for the future, that is, if they have a goal in mind and the burning desire to achieve that goal step by step.”  In 1952, the name of the tournament was changed to the United States Lawn Tennis Association Girls’ National Championship and in 1954, it was specifically designated as an 18-and under event.  The USTA dropped “Lawn” from its official name and the USTA Girls’ 18 National Championships took on its modern-day title.  A variety of girls who went on to prominence in the women’s game were crowned National Champion at the Philadelphia Cricket Club including: Maureen Connolly, Chris Evert, and Tracy Austin.

1979 - 1981.  After 53 years in Philadelphia, The Nationals moved to the Westover School in Middlebury, CT.  For the first time, the event was held on hard courts and youngster Andrea Jeager took the title the first year at the age of 14, only one year before she was voted the WTA Rookie of the Year.

1990 - 1998.  The USTA national tournament system underwent significant changes including the elimination of the USTA National Hard Court Championships, an additional national tournament once held during the summer.  The consolidation lead to Almaden Valley Athletic Club putting in a bid for the USTA Girls’ 18 National Championships because it was losing the National Hard Court tournament in the 16s division it had organized for five years.  The USTA selected AVAC to host the event and The Nationals moved to the San Jose area of USTA NorCal in 1989.  Under the leadership of owner Joe Shank, the event became one of the most well-run and respected events in the country.  During this period five women took turns at the helm of the event as tournament director - Betty Murphy, Liz Blum, Lise Frank, Dana Seandle, and Jennifer Pitzen.  During this entire period, USTA NorCal Official of the Year Arline Stepovich provided guidance as Tournament Referee.  Some of the basics now seen at all tournaments - water and ice stations, guest speakers, complimentary meals, gold bracelets to the winners, special sportsmanship awards - were all conceived by Joe and the tournament committees with which he worked.  In particular, the Nationals was a forerunner in the creation of a college-recruiting forum.  During Jennifer Pitzen’s term as director, The Nationals’ first College Coaches’ Forum was organized in1997 to facilitate the building of relationships between the players and visiting college coaches.  During this span, the Nationals was also fortunate to have worked with several tennis facilities in the area to accommodate early round matches - Leigh High School, Almaden Swim & Racquet Club, and Almaden Country Club.

1999 - 2006.  The year 1999 saw little change on the face of the tournament, but many significant things were taking place underneath the surface. Tournament Directors Jennifer Pitzen and then Assistant Director Andrea Norman joined forces to form a California non-profit corporation, National Tennis Championships (NTC), for the purpose of running The Nationals.  Almaden Valley Athletic Club continued to be the host site, but all organization - volunteering, budget and finance, sponsorships - were handled by the independent group and the new Co-Directors and Co-Chairwomen Norman and Pitzen.  The event thrived under this structure as it introduced the element on not only giving back to tennis, but of giving to the community as a whole.  Each year NTC has made donations to local tennis and sports programs that now total over $100,000.  Other significant changes to impact the event during this period included sole responsibility for the tournament in the hands of volunteers, the increase in draw size from 128 players to 192 in 2000, the temporary name change to “Super Nationals,” the 1999 renovation at AVAC that eliminated two tennis courts, and the move to Los Gatos Swim & Racquet Club as the official offsite in 2000.