SoCalamazoo: Predictions for Girls Hard Court Nationals

For the junior USTA circuit, there really isn’t a bigger tournament than the Hard Court National Championships. For girls, this is located in San Diego, California, and is referred to as  “SoCalamazoo” to mimic the boys event located in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The event’s prestige stems from the fact that the winner in the 18’s division receives a wildcard into the ...

SoCalamazoo: Predictions for Girls Hard Court Nationals

For the junior USTA circuit, there really isn’t a bigger tournament than the Hard Court National Championships. For girls, this is located in San Diego, California, and is referred to as  “SoCalamazoo” to mimic the boys event located in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

The event’s prestige stems from the fact that the winner in the 18’s division receives a wildcard into the main draw of the US Open, and the finalist receives a wildcard into qualifying. Past winners include: Chris Evert, Tracy Austin, Jennifer Capriati, and Lindsay Davenport.

Photo by: https://www.bbc.com/

In the past couple years, well-known champions like CiCi Bellis, Sofia Kenin, Kayla Day, and last year’s champion, Ashley Kratzer have all had success on the professional tour, despite their young ages.

Kayla Day, the 2016 champion, is the #1 seed in the tournament and has looked solid so far. She isn’t my pick to win, though. Struggling with injuries, Day hasn’t won a main draw match in a professional-level event since March.

Other notable competitors include:

  • #2 seed Whitney Osuigwe, the 2017 Orange Bowl and girls French Open Champion
  • #3 seed 2018 French Open champion Cori Gauff (who I wrote about here)
  • #4 is seed is Salma Ewing, a USC commit who’s been doing well in challengers this summer

My pick to win is Gauff, she’s got the game to win the tournament. It would also be cool to see her win the event multiple times. She is still only 14 and therefore can’t play enough professional events to have a ranking on par with other top American juniors. So to compete on the big stage, she basically has to win this event.

Osuigwe or Day winning wouldn’t surprise me. My more out-of-the-box pick would be UCLA commit and rising senior Abigail Forbes from Raleigh, North Carolina. She is the 17th seed and has looked solid in her run to the round of 16, beating #6 seed Alexa Noel 6-0, 6-1 in the round of 32. She’s got a game that can give anyone trouble, and she’s incredibly athletic.

Phoyo by: USTA

It’s honestly such a stacked draw, and I am so excited to see who comes out on top. Whoever it is, I’ll be rooting for them to make a run at the Open like CiCi and Kayla have, it’s always great to have new Americans to root for!   


Who do you think will win big at “SoCalamazoo”? Let us knwo in the comments below.