What happened at the Girls’ 14s USTA National Clay Court Championships?

Instead, Wang came back stronger than ever, particularly with an improved forehand to go with her powerful two-hand backhand, solid serve and blossoming net attack. On a sunny Sunday morning on the clay courts of the Veltri Racquet Center, Wang, the fifth seed from San Jose, Calif., utilized her entire arsenal in a dominant 6-2, 6-2 victory over third-seeded Enya Hamilton of Dallas to win the Girls’ 14s USTA National Clay Court Championships. 

Wang, a native of San Diego. who trains at the Mission Hills Racquet and Swim Club in Freemont, Calif., with coach Austin Ansari, added her third gold ball but first in the14s’division. Previously, she won the National Hard Courts 12s last year and the Winter National 12s in 2022, where she also defeated Hamilton in the quarterfinals 6-0, 6-3. 

Above: Allison Wang. Photo credit: Michele Hogarth, Frank Veltri Racquet Center / City of Plantation Parks and Recreation.

“I was just trying to execute my aggressive game,’’ said the 5-foot-8 Wang with her Chinese mother Shanshan nearby. “My backhand wasn’t working that well last match, so I tried to add more spin with less flat while timing the ball well and taking it on the rise. 

“Mostly my goal was to win a gold ball in 14s. And also before I got injured [last October] my forehand wasn’t that big of a weapon, but now it’s improved a lot. I’m proud of my comeback.” 

Wang, who was sidelined from October through January with strained ligaments and a cyst in her right wrist, jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Hamilton, 14, made just one first serve out of 13 in the first set, which is clearly her most dominant stroke. Unlike most junior and pro tennis players, Hamilton’s ball toss is extremely low a-la great servers such as Roscoe Tanner and Goran Ivanisevic, but she’s able to generate great pace with her lightning-fast acceleration.  

She credits her former coaches Cole Reeves in Bentonville, Ark., Steve Smith of Great Base Tennis as well as her current coach Dave Anderson at Brookhaven Tennis Academy in Dallas, for helping her attain her career-best finish in a Level 1 national tournament. 

“I could’ve played better,’’ said Hamilton, who earned her first national ball (silver). “Everyone has their days. She has a really good serve and especially her forehand has so much spin on it.” 

Above: Enya Hamilton. Photo credit: Michele Hogarth, Frank Veltri Racquet Center / City of Plantation Parks and Recreation.

Wang spoiled a Florida hometown reunion, as Hamilton’s father, Russ, who quietly kept her daughter’s match statistics, was born in Plantation. He attended Plantation High and grew up at this vast park, only he was more familiar with the baseball diamonds and soccer pitches than the tennis courts. 

“I saw Jennifer Capriati play here,’’ Russ Hamilton said, referring to Capriati’s last junior match at the Sunshine Cup when she was 13 in 1989. “Enya started slow in her matches all week. That is something we have to work on.” 

Hamilton is believed to be named after renowned Irish singer/composer Enya while her older sister Alanis, who reached the consolation final of this tournament three years ago, was named after iconic and ‘Ironic’ singer Alanis Morrissette. 

But in the final, Hamilton, who possesses similar powerful groundstrokes and formidable swinging volleys like Wang, was unable to compose a winning formula against her opponent’s masterful performance. 

Above: Allison Wang and Enya Hamilton. Photo credit: Michele Hogarth, Frank Veltri Racquet Center / City of Plantation Parks and Recreation.

Hamilton, whose mother is Taiwanese to further emphasize the depth of Asian-American players in junior tennis, did shake off three set points to avoid the dreaded bagel, before an errant backhand sealed the first set for Wang. 

Hamilton seemed to settle down at the start of the second set but at 1-1 was broken when her forehand sailed long. Wang then raced to a 5-1 lead before Hamilton finally located her big serve to swat awaythe first match point. Wang faced a break point in the final game but ended the match with her trademark forehand winner which elicited a rare show of emotion accompanied by a loud, “Come on!” 

On Saturday, Wang knocked out the top-seeded Reiley Rhodes in a thrilling 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 semifinal match in which she held two match points at 5-3 of the second set before two consecutive double faults opened the door for the alpha-competitive Connecticut native to eventually force a third set. 

Wang would not repeat the same mistake on Sunday against Hamilton. 

Above:  Allison Wang, Tournament Supervisor Dan DeBruyne, Enya Hamilton, and Mayor of Plantation Nick Sortal. Photo credit: Michele Hogarth, Frank Veltri Racquet Center / City of Plantation Parks and Recreation.

“At 5-2, I just stayed loose, knowing the pressure is on her, not me,’’ Wang said. “I tried to play my best and close it out.” 

That she did. 

Rhodes, a lanky 5-9, 14-year-old, plays a more defensive game than Wang, but owns a brilliant tennis IQ and fiery spirit. She earned her fourth national ball, albeit the bronze, after she won the third-place match, 6-3, 6-1 over 14th-seeded Corinne Winningham, an Iga Swiatek lookalike, who trains at the Birmingham [Ala.] Tennis Academy with coach Mark Baker. 

Winningham, 14, who has soared from 106th to 21st in the USTA national rankings this year, also won the tournament's Sportsmanship Award and a pair of K-Swiss sneakers for her positive attitude and fair play. 

“I’m proud of my [fourth-place finish], but not the last match,’’ smiled Winningham through tears. “Mentally, I got stronger. I reached the finals of a Level 2 in Mobile last week and that gave me confidence coming into this tournament.” 

Rhodes moved to Annapolis, MD., three years ago, to train at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park where former 10th-ranked Frances Tiafoe honed his game. After a brief rest, she went on to earn her first gold ball by winning the doubles final with partner Emery June Martin of Los Angeles, after the third seeds downed the eighth-seeded duo of Olivia De Los Reyes and Emery Combs, 6-1, 6-1. 

Above: Emery June Martin and Reiley Rhodes. Photo credit: Michele Hogarth, Frank Veltri Racquet Center / City of Plantation Parks and Recreation.

“I could’ve played better in my semifinal singles match, but I competed and fought really hard, which I needed to do,’’ said Rhodes, who finished in the quarterfinals here last year. “Other than that, I’m super happy to get a bronze [and gold] in the doubles. This is the first time I got two balls in the same tournament. The JTCC has pushed me to be a way better player. I was hitting next to [Tiafoe] and he was like, ‘Look at that backhand!’ ’’ 

Florida standouts

Other Floridians who enjoyed an outstanding tournament were Rico Pang, who trains at the Evert Tennis Academy in Boca Raton, and fellow Boca resident Teaghan Jou An Keys, who works with coach Marco Guida, a former coach at Evert’s now on his own at Woodfield Country Club. 

Keys, the 10th seed, reached the round of 16 in singles before falling to Sophia Osipova, the 33rd seed, who trains at the Sunrise Tennis Club.

Keys and partner Grace Hong of Edison, N.J., the fourth seeds, then captured the bronze medal after winning the third-place playoff over Pang and Adelyn Gross, the second seeds, 7-6 (3), 6-2. 

“The first set could’ve gone either way,’’ said Keys, 13, whose dad is Taiwanese. “We just kept consistent and carried the momentum in the second set.” 

Osipova went down in the quarters, 7-6 (1), 6-4 to Rhodes, who had to save eight set points in the first set. 

Pang, who won three rounds in the 192-player singles draw, and made the semis of doubles, was all smiles after her week’s work. 

“It’s my best national tournament ever and I’m pretty proud of myself,’’ said Pang, a left-handed, athletic, defensive backboard. “We came up a little short, but we lost to a very good team in the semis and then in the playoffs we gave it our all.

"The Evert Academy is so awesome. The coaches are constantly cheering me on; even Chris Evert comes to watch me when I play the Battle of Boca [a UTR tournament at Rick Macci’s complex at the South Country Regional Park]. I feel very supportive.” 

Aleksandra Jerkunica, the 17th seed from Fort Lauderdale, whose parents are Croatian, won four matches without dropping a set. She advanced to the quarterfinals before running into Wang, the eventual champion, bowing 6-3, 6-2. 

In the players to watch category, arguably the most pro-like match of the tournament came in the third round, when 33rd-seed Armira Kockinis outslugged fourth-seeded Daniela Del Maestro, 6-4 in the third set.  

Kockinis, who hails from Compton outside of Los Angeles where the Williams’ sisters began their Hall of Fame careers, was a relative unknown because she mostly plays in the 18s’ divisions. Del Maestro, of Minneapolis, avenged that loss in the consolation semifinal, 6-3, 3-6 (10-2) over Kockinis in the super breaker and then routed Braylen Michelsen, 6-3, 6-0 to finish in fifth place. 

Dan DeBruyne, supervisor of racquet sports at Veltri, and tournament supervisor, deemed the tournament a rousing success.

Above: Florida Tennis Editor and Publisher Matt Pressman talks with Tournament Supervisor Dan DeBruyne. Source: Florida Tennis.

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Harvey Fialkov covered all South Florida pro sports teams over a 35-year sportswriting career including three decades of the Miami Open, Delray Beach Open, both the Junior and Orange Bowl tennis tournaments as well as the Girls' 14s National Clay Courts.