Angelina Fosbinder named ITF Wheelchair Tennis Junior of the Year

American junior wheelchair tennis player Angelina 'Gaila' Fosbinder has been honored by the International Tennis Federation as its female Wheelchair Tennis Junior of the Year.

First presented in 2020, the award, given to a junior boy and girl, recognizes young wheelchair tennis players for both on-court results and off-court displays of leadership and sportsmanship. 

The 18-year-old Fosbinder, born in Ukraine but adopted and raised in Charlotte, N.C., made her debut for the U.S. junior national team this summer at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup in Sardinia, where the U.S. competed with a junior team for the first time in four years. The squad received the Team of the Year award at the close of the event.

Fosbinder was honored alongside Japan's Tokito Oda, who became the sport’s youngest world No. 1 boy in the Cruyff Foundation Junior Wheelchair Tennis Rankings at the age of 14 in April. The pair were selected from a shortlist that was provided to the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Committee earlier this year.