Finals Set for Wednesday Live Broadcast of USTA Florida ‘Bobby Curtis’ Junior State Tennis Championships

The finals are set for the 2018 USTA Florida “Bobby Curtis” Junior State Singles Championships, which will broadcast the boys’ and girls’ 18s finals live with commentary on Wednesday, June 13 from the USTA National Campus in Orlando.

Fourteen-year-old Coco Gauff of Delray Beach won the 18-under girls’ title last weekend at the French Open, and now Plantation’s 13-year-old Alexis Blokhina will try and duplicate the feat in the 18-under girls’ “Bobby Curtis” final on Wednesday against former girls’ 12s champion Sophia Edwards of Nokomis. The boys’ final will feature two players vying for their first state championships singles title.

The 18s finals will be (seeds in parenthesis):

10 a.m. — Boys’ Final: (3) David Lins (Boca Raton) vs. (6) Matthew Segura (Apopka)
1 p.m. — Girls’ Final: (3) Sophia Edwards (Nokomis) vs. Alexis Blokhina (Plantation)

The finals will be broadcast live with commentary at www.youtube.com/ustaflorida (times listed on YouTube in Pacific Time due to a YouTube bug, see correct times above).

On the broadcast call will be USTA Florida Player Development Coordinator and tennis podcaster Andy Gladstone, and USTA Florida Marketing & Communications Coordinator and former ATP World Tour staffer Rick Vach.

“The live stream is very innovating and exciting, we’re looking forward to featuring these four future stars,” said USTA Florida Director of Tennis Jason Gilbert. “Like past winners, these are the players you’ll next see starring in college tennis or on the pro tour in the next few years.”

Former “Bobby Curtis” champs who have gone on to rank No. 1 in the world on the ATP and WTA rankings:

* Chris Evert (1971 Girls’ 18, 1970-69 Girls’ 16, 1968 Girls’ 14, and 1966 Girls’ 10 champion)
* Jennifer Capriati (1986 Girls’ 12 champion)
* Jim Courier (1986 Boys’ 18 champion)
* Andy Roddick (1996 Boys’ 14, 1994 Boys’ 12 champion)

Other notable winners over the years have been current WTA players Bethanie Mattek-Sands (1998 Girls’ 14 champion) and Danielle Collins (2011 & 2009 Girls’ 18, 2006 Girls’ 12) ; three-time Grand Slam runner-up and two-time Olympic gold medalist Mary Joe Fernandez (1983 Girls’ 14, 1982 Girls’ 12); former world No. 8-ranked Carling Bassett (1980 Girls’ 12); former world No. 7 and current U.S. Fed Cup Captain Kathy Rinaldi (1980 Girls’ 14, 1979 Girls’ 12); former world No. 7 Jay Berger (1985-84 Boys’ 18, 1983 Boys’ 16); former world No. 3 and two-time Slam doubles winner Brian Gottfried (1970 Boys’ 18, 1966 Boys’ 14, 1963-64 Boys’ 12); former world No. 5 and two-time French Open semifinalist Eddie Dibbs (1969 Boys’ 18, 1967 Boys’ 16, 1965 Boys’ 14); and former ATP player and legendary tennis organizer Charlie Pasarell (1958 Boys’ 15, 1957 Boys’ 13).

In 2012 the tournament was renamed the USTA Florida “Bobby Curtis” Junior State Championships in honor of legendary Florida junior tennis organizer Bobby Curtis. To read this year’s tournament preview click here. 

To view the finals beginning at 10 a.m. EST on Wednesday go to www.youtube.com/ustaflorida.