United States sweeps Junior Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup Finals
On Saturday, the United States won both titles at the Junior Billie Jean King Cup and Junior Davis Cup Finals in Antalya, Turkey to make recent history: It's the first time that American teams swept both titles at the world's premier 16-and-under team competitions.
The Junior Billie Jean King Cup team of Tyra Grant (16; Orlando, Fla.), Julieta Pareja (15; Carlsbad, Calif.) and Kristina Penickova (15; Campbell, Calif.) defeated Romania, 2-1, on Saturday to capture the third consecutive and ninth overall junior BJK Cup title for the U.S.
Trailing Romania 0-1 after the first singles, the first match lost by the U.S. in five ties for the week, second-ranked Grant won the tie's second singles match and paired with Pareja to win the clinching doubles match. Grant, this year's junior Australian Open and Wimbledon doubles champion with Iva Jovic, did not lose more than three games in any of her 10 singles sets for the tournament overall.
The U.S. girls have also won six junior Billie Jean King Cup titles in the last seven years (having not sent a team to the 2021 competition in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic).
The Junior Davis Cup team of Keaton Hance (16; Torrance, Calif.), Jack Kennedy (16; Huntington, N.Y.) and Jack Secord (16; Lake Forest, Ill.) also defeated Romania, 2-0, after Hance and Kennedy swept the tie's two singles matches. The title is the fourth Junior Davis Cup crown won by the U.S., and the first since the last U.S. sweep in 2014. The U.S. team did not lost a match across its five ties.
The 2014 sweep featured a Junior Billie Jean King Cup team of Sofia Kenin, CiCi Bellis and Tornado Alicia Black. The Junior Davis Cup team that year featured Michael Mmoh, William Blumberg and Gianni Ross. The U.S. also swept both titles in 2008 with a girls' squad including Sloane Stephens, Christina McHale and Kristie Ahn. The boys' team that year featured Denis Kudla, Evan King and Ray Sarmiento.
USTA national coaches Georgi Rumenov and Jose Caballero captained the girls' and the boys' teams, respectively. Full results from both finals are below:
Junior Billie Jean King Cup Final – USA 2, Romania 1
Giulia Safina Popa (ROU) d. Julieta Pareja (USA), 7-5, 6-4
Tyra Grant (USA) d. Maia Ilinca Burescu (ROU), 6-2, 6-1
Grant / Pareja (USA) d. Popa / Burescu (ROU), 6-1, 7-5
Junior Davis Cup Final – USA 2, Romania 0
Keaton Hance (USA) d. Alejandro Mateo Berge Nourescu (ROU), 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-0
Jack Kennedy (USA) d. Yannick Theodor Alexandrescou (ROU), 6-3, 6-2
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