Four USTA Florida Athletes Capture Victories at 2024 USTA National Clay Court Championships
Jul 19, 2024
One of the most highly anticipated junior tournaments of the summer, the 2024 USTA National Clay Court Championships, took place between July 6 to July 14. With players gathering in Florida, Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina across four different age groups, the competition was intense.
Each draw consisted of Boys’ and Girls’ Singles and Doubles with 128, or even close to 200 in the 18s, players taking the courts with their eyes set on the prize. With so many athletes in action, USTA Florida was well represented on the national stage as they gave everything they had.
Overall, it was a successful weekend for Florida tennis as four individuals left with some hardware for their performances.
Starting with the 18s division, there were some great performances all around from USTA Florida athletes. One duo, Max Pettingell (Sarasota) and Jack Satterfield (Tampa) went in as the top seed and played like it throughout the tournament. The pair handled business in their first four matches and in the semifinal, showed great adversity. After splitting the first two sets, they found their groove and took the final set 6-1. Riding that momentum in the championship, they dominated their opponents, winning 6-1, 6-2 to claim the title. Jack adds this title alongside his Bobby Curtis win from 2023.
Above: Max Pettingell (Left) and Jack Satterfield (Right).
Over in the Girls’ draw, Linda Ziets-Segura (Wesley Chapel) teamed up with Kady Tannenbaum (New York) and entered as the top seed. It was pure domination from the girls as they didn’t back away from anyone on the other side of the court. Linda and Kady didn’t drop a single set as they became Clay Court Champions. The stats looked even more impressive as they won 72 of 98 games across their 12 sets in 6 matches played.
Above: Linda Ziets-Segura (Far Left) and Kady Tannenbaum teamed up to win the Girls’ 18s Doubles.
In the Boys’ 12s draw, David Bender (Indian Harbour Beach) had a phenomenal week. In the Singles draw, David found his stride early, taking down some tough foes, and even battling backing to win some matches in a tiebreaker. He would fall in the semifinals to eventual champion, Daniel Gardality (California).
However, David and Daniel would team up for the Doubles draw and this duo was nearly flawless. They rolled through their first few matches to reach the championship. There, they found themselves down as David and Daniel dropped the opening set. Unphased, the two battled back, winning the following two sets and becoming Clay Court Champions. This win adds to David’s already impressive resume at a young age. He won the Bobby Curtis Green Ball Section Championship in 2022, and at this year’s Bobby Curtis, he finished third.
Above: David Bender (Farr Left) and Daniel Gardality won the Boys’ 12s Doubles.
Other top performers from the National Clay Court Championships included Anita Tu (Melbourne) in the Girls’ 18s as she took down some of the best junior players at the tournament. She finished second, losing a close match in the finals. Also in that division, Bella Payne (Bradenton) finished in third.
Above: Anita Tu was the Girls’ 18s Singles Finalist.
Over in the Boys’ 18s, Brennon Chow (Miami) reached the semifinals, before withdrawing due to injury. Lyla Messler (Largo) and Maria Navarro (Palm Beach Gardens) were semifinalists in the Girls’ 16s. While Teaghan Jou An Keys (Boca Raton) and Riko Pang (Boca Raton) both reached the semifinals in the Girls’ 14s.
USTA Florida congratulates the winners from the 2024 USTA Clay Court National Championships.
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Written by: Jaret Kappelman, Marketing & Communications Coordinator for USTA Florida. Be sure to check out USTA Florida, the governing body of amateur tennis in Florida, offering tennis programs for all ages and ability levels. Photos courtesy of USTA Florida.