The US Junior Girls Report

Is Orange Bowl champ Kirkland a Top-20 pro in the making
Teltscher: 'I'm pretty comfortable with where the boys are now but the girls
are not as solid in the age groups'

By Matthew Cronin, TennisReporters.net

Richard Osborn

The American girl with the most promise: Jessica Kirkland.

Just how good is 17-year-old Jessica Kirkland, who crushed the field to win the Orange Bowl last week? One prominent tennis scout says she barely has Top-100 stuff. But USTA High Performance chief Eliot Teltscher likes what he sees.

"A lot of other girls can learn a lot from Kirkland, " Teltscher said. "She has a high enough WTA ranking so she doesn't have to play junior ITF events, but she's willing to test herself to see if she can handle the pressure. She did that very well."

Kirkland, of Dayton, Ohio, defeated Russia's Alla Kudryavtseva, 6-2, 6-0, in the final to become the first American to win the Orange Bowl girls' title since Luanne Spadea 15 years ago. She was winless in two prior meetings against unseeded Kudryavtseva (including a straight-set loss at Wimbledon), who had knocked off four seeded players en route to her first final of the year.

"She played very well the two times we played, but I had a lot of confidence going into this match," said Kirkland, the reigning USTA Girls' 18s champion, who had scorched 15-year-old US phenom Alexa Glatch in the semis.

Since her loss at Wimbledon, Kirkland has posted a 16-1 record on the ITF Junior Circuit and is on an 11-match winning streak, including a title run at the USTA International Winter Championships. Her only loss during that span was in the US Open girls' singles final to Michaella Krajicek, where she was clearly nervous. "I don't know what everyone else sees in her game because she doesn't do anything that special, but she keeps proving me wrong so maybe there is something there," the scout said.

While she doesn't play with a lot of variety, Kirkland is quite consistent and is stepping well inside the baseline to dictate play. Teltscher says she could make an impact on tour in the next two years. "She could use some work on her serve and forehand, but she's clearly headed in the right direction."

With the competition from the Eastern Europe girls growing stiffer every year, the US women's pro ranks sorely needs a new infusion of elite talent. Without a flurry of new US elite entrants in the next few years, the Williams sisters will be left very lonely holding the bag.

"I'm pretty comfortable with where the boys are now but the girls are not as solid in the age groups from top to bottom," said Teltscher. "The girls are where the guys were five years ago. But I like what I see from some of the girls."

Courtesy of Easter Bowl

Alexa Glatch is now over six feet tall.

GLATCH IS ANOTHER AMERICAN TO WATCH
Glatch had a solid showing until the semis against Kirkland, where as one observer said, she played much too defensively. The Easter Bowl champ had consistently outstanding results in 2004, which prompted her family to hire coach Katie Schlukebir away from the USTA. By this time next year, she could be playing a full pro schedule. Glatch hits a two-handed backhand drive and also throws in a one-handed backhand slice. She has a fairly big first serve and a healthy kicking second serve. Last summer, she spent 12 weeks on the road, winning two ITF crowns in South Africa and excelling in the US Open juniors. She also reached the semis of the 18s Super Nationals, falling in a tough contest to Kirkland.

"It's been very rewarding to see her improve," said Schlukebir. "She's willing to learn and soaks it all in. She willing to try different things and she's really been improving the little things, like going different ways with her slice, drop-shotting at different times, using her great hands at the net. But I want to see her get more aggressive and add a some more power on her serve, plus improve her quickness and movement."

Glatch is almost 6-feet-tall and growing. Next year, she'll play a full schedule of ITF junior tournaments and pro Futures and Challengers. Whether she will be a full-time pro by 2006 remains to be seen, but it appears to be in the cards if she keeps improving.

"She's part of a great core group who should really push her," Schlukebir said. "It's her choice whether she is going to get better and keep up with them or quit. I really like her attitude. She's gifted. She has the athleticism and the potential to go far, but then it's going to be up to her how far she can really go."

There are a number of US young women who have a shot at decent pro careers, including Julia Cohen, Jenni-Lee Heinser, Ashley Joelson, Jennifer Stevens, Megan Alexander, Andre Remynse, Jessica Nguyen and Audra Cohen, who is currently tearing up the collegiate ranks. Their biggest tests will be keeping up with the top flight girls of their age group like 15-year old Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic, who won a Tier IV WTA title last year and Sesil Karatantcheva, the Roland Garros junior champ who has also registered some big wins in the pros.

Richard Osborn

Vania King made some noise in Miami.

CALIFORNIA CONTINUES TO PRODUCE TALENT
Long Beach's Vania King made significant strides at the year's end at the Orange Bowl by reaching the singles quarters and the doubles final with Yasmin Schnack. USTA coaches feel that King needs more match play in ITF events. While she isn't the tallest player out there, the 15-year-old from Long Beach is a hard worker and gifted enough to hang in there with more physically imposing players. She's developed a good forehand and remains super competitive. King needs to improve in numerous areas, but thinks well and is ambitious enough to crack the pros.

"Don't count her out of a pro career," Teltscher said of King. "She's been a little up and down this year, but appears to be turning the corner."

Another scrapper who plans on making it big is Sara Fansler of Thousand Oaks, Calif., who had a good year both in junior and the pros. She reached the semis of two Futures and a $50,000 Challenger, knocking off Jessica Lehnhoff. In the US Open qualies, she had German veteran Barbara Rittner down a set and 3-1, and then fell apart, dropping the next 11 games. "It was mental. I got really tight," said Fansler. "But playing the pros turned out to be great. I learned a lot. They fight for every point and hit so much harder."

Fansler is now being home schooled and typically practices 2-4 hours a day, putting in around six hours a week in off-court training. Next year she'll play her fair share of national events and also continue to take her shots at the pros.

USTA coaches want the counter puncher Fansler to become more aggressive. In the juniors, the 16-year-old played up, winning El Monte, Roxbury, Muterspaw and Honolulu and reaching the quarters of the 18s Nationals. She'll end the year ranked in the Top 5 nationally.

While most of the big moves are being made by 15- to 17-year-olds, the coaches always keep the eyes on the 11- to 14-year-olds in case someone catches fire early. Santa Monica's Logan Hansen is the highest ranked 14-year-old in the USTA 16s and has the size and wherewithal to make it big. But, after winning the Easter Bowl, she incurred a back injury that took her out the rest of the year. She's supposed to return in January.

"Doctors say she should be okay," said USTA coach Wade McGuire. We've been monitoring her closely. She's very talented and needs to take it easy coming back. There's a long road ahead."