USTA National Clay Court Championships Start Sunday

Later this week as the competition heats up at Wimbledon, the best junior boys tennis players in the country will descend on Delray Beach for the USTA Boys' 18 and 16 National Clay Court Championships. The tournament takes place Sunday, July 7 through Sunday, July 14.

Some of the current pros battling on the grass courts at Wimbledon first made their mark as juniors on the clay courts in Delray Beach, which is hosting the event for the 18th year. Palm Beach County resident Tommy Paul, who is ranked among the world’s top 15 on the ATP Tour, won these junior singles and doubles titles in 2013 and 2014, matching seven-time Grand Slam champion John McEnroe’s four junior clay court titles in 1975-76. Paul was a finalist earlier this year at the Delray Beach Open ATP tournament and recently won his first grass court title on the pro tour.

More than 400 junior players are competing in the weeklong tournament, with 192 players in each of the 16s and 18s singles draw and 96 doubles teams in each division. Besides being named national clay court champion and receiving a USTA gold ball, new this year for the 18s winner is a wild card entry into the main draw of the Men’s USTA M15 pro event in Boca Raton, in addition to main draw entry into the Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Championship, one of the world’s premier junior events. 

Over the course of the week, 950 matches will be played using more than 3,000 tennis balls, and 86 area clay courts will be used as match and practice courts. Two highlight shows for later broadcast will be created, one for the 18s event and one for the 16s. For a look back at last year's tournaments, check out the 2023 Boys 18s show and the 2023 Boys 16s show videos posted below.

Singles matches will begin at 8:15 a.m. daily, with doubles matches not to begin before noon at the four venues. Admission is free: 

• Sunday, Day 1 - Wednesday Day 4: Boys 18s (Delray Beach Tennis Center, Boca Raton Swim & Racquet Center) & Boys 16s (Palm Beach Gardens Tennis Center & PGA National Resort)

• Thursday, Day 5: Boys 18s (Delray Beach Tennis Center) & Boys 16s (Palm Beach Gardens Tennis Center)

• Friday, Day 6 - Sunday, Day 8: Boys 18s & 16s (Delray Beach Tennis Center)

Click to see the Boys 18s seeds and Boys 16s seeds (see third column). The top 16 are seeded 1-16, numbers 17-32 are all seeded 17, and numbers 33-64 are all seeded 33. Local seeds in the 18s include No. 6 Lachlan Gaskell of Delray Beach, No. 16 Jaden Brady of Palm Beach Gardens, No. 33 Brennon Chow of Miami and No. 33 Stefan Correa of Miami. Local seeds in the 16s include No. 9 Nikolas Stoot of Miami, No. 17 Joaquin Blanco of Delray Beach, No. 33 Matthew Shapiro of Boca Raton and No. 33 Gabriel Valdes of Miami. The draws and schedule will be posted here by Friday, July 5 at 6 p.m. For more information about the event, visit DelrayBeachOpen.com/usta-nationalclays.

The event serves as a major college scouting event, as well. More than 75 college coaches and scouts are expected to attend the event, which will be staged at four different venues the first four days, with the Delray Beach Tennis Center – site of the ATP Tour’s annual Delray Beach Open – the site for matches the final three days, including the championship matches.

The City of Delray Beach is the official Host-Site sponsor. The South Florida BMW Centers is the sponsor of the daily Boys 16s Player of the Day. Baptist Health, official Medical Partner for both events who will provide medical services and support for the players, will present the daily Boys 18s Player of the Day. 

The Boys 16s & 18s Sportsmanship Award will be presented in honor of Jeff Rothstein, one of the most respected USTA referees, who passed away in 2023.

Past champions of the boys’ 18s singles event reads like a who’s who of pro tennis, including Harold Solomon (1970), Vitas Gerulaitis (1972), John McEnroe (1975 16s singles and doubles, 1976 18s singles and doubles), Aaron Krickstein (1983), Luke Jensen (1984), Jay Berger (1985), David Wheaton (1987), Bob Bryan (1996 singles and doubles with brother Mike Bryan, future six-time Delray Beach Open ATP doubles champions), James Blake (1997), Delray Beach Open ATP champion Jack Sock (2009 singles and doubles), Bjorn Frantangelo (2009 16s, 2010 18s), Tommy Paul (2013 16s singles and doubles, 2014 18s singles and doubles), and Sebastian Korda (2016). Tournament Director Ivan Baron took home the 16s doubles gold ball in 1988. The full list of winners is a smorgasbord for tennis history buffs.

2023 Videos

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Source/Photos: USTA National Clay Court Championships