Top American juniors Darwin Blanch and Alyssa Ahn won the USTA Boys’ and Girls’ 18s National Championships on Sunday, each earning a main-draw wild card into the US Open.
The 17-year-old Blanch, who was the tournament’s top seed, did not drop a set en route to the final, where he defeated No. 8 seed Jack Satterfield (18; Tampa, Fla.), 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, Sunday in Kalamazoo, Mich. The Boca Raton, Fla., native has predominantly been playing on the ITF World Tennis Tour recently, winning his first professional singles title at a M15 event in Spain in February.
Blanch also became only the second player this century to win both the boys’ 16s and 18s titles in Kalamazoo, having won the 16-and-under title in 2022 at the age of 14.
Ahn, meanwhile, also completed the 16s and 18s sweep of the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ National Championships in her native San Diego, having also won the 16-and-under title in 2022. This year, the 18-year-old and No. 7 seed handily defeated No. 17 seed Maya Iyengar (18; Paradise Valley, Ariz.), 6-1, 6-2, in Sunday’s singles final. Ahn is committed to play college tennis next season at Stanford.
The top seeds in the boys’ doubles field also raised the trophy this weekend as Max Exsted (18; Savage, Minn.) and Cooper Woestendick (18; Olathe, Kan.) won the boys’ 18s doubles title in Kalamazoo. Meanwhile, the No. 2-seeded pair of Thea Frodin (16; Woodland Hills, Calif.) and Kristina Penickova (15; Campbell, Calif.) prevailed in San Diego, bringing home the girls’ 18s doubles title. Both pairs will be rewarded with a US Open main-draw doubles wild card.
Singles finalists Satterfield and Iyengar will both receive a US Open Qualifying wild card.
