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WORLD’S TOP JUNIOR TENNIS PLAYERS TO COMPETE AT 2008 DUNLOP ORANGE BOWL INTERNATIONAL TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS Girls’ 18s field features World No. 1 and Australian Open Champion
Arantxa Rus of The Netherlands and US Open Champion CoCo Vandeweghe Seven of the World’s Top 10 Entered in the Boys’ 18s
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y., November 4, 2008 -- The USTA today announced the acceptance list for the 62nd Dunlop Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships, which begins Sunday, December 7 at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Key Biscayne, Fla. The qualifying draw will take place beginning Friday, December 5.

The Orange Bowl features singles and doubles competition for boys and girls in 18-and-under and 16-and-under divisions. The boys’ and girls’ 18s singles winners receive a wild card entry in the qualifying round of the 2009 Sony Ericsson Open, a combined ATP and WTA Tour event at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park.

Founded by Eddie Herr in 1947, the Orange Bowl quickly became one of the premier international junior events in the world, and an annual showcase for the global scope of the game. Players from more than 50 countries have competed in the tournament, and champions have emerged from 23 different nations. Often, the race for the year-end world No. 1 ranking – and the title of ITF World Junior Champion – comes down to the Orange Bowl, and a number of Orange Bowl champions have used the occasion to announce plans to turn professional.

In 1998, the event moved from the clay courts at Flamingo Park in Miami Beach to the hard courts of its current location in Key Biscayne. Thirteen-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and Elena Dementieva, who won the gold medal in women’s singles at the Beijing Olympics this summer, were the first 18s champions at this event on hard courts.

Other past winners of the Orange Bowl 18-and-under singles titles include: Chris Evert (1969, 1970), Bjorn Borg (1972), John McEnroe (1976), Ivan Lendl (1977), Gabriela Sabatini (1984), Mary Joe Fernandez (1986), Jim Courier (1987), Anna Kournikova (1995). Andy Roddick (1999), Vera Zvonareva (2000, 2001), Marcos Baghdatis (2003) and Nicole Vaidisova (2003) all won the event on hard courts.

“The Dunlop Orange Bowl provides our top junior players a chance to play world-class competition right here in the U.S. without the costs and hassle of international travel,” said tournament director Lew Brewer, who also serves as Director, Junior Competition, USTA Player Development. “The tournament is traditionally one of the best junior events of the season and this year’s fields are as strong as ever.”

The Boys’ 18s field includes seven of the top 10 players in the world, led by Tsung-Hua Yang of Chinese Taipei, currently No. 2 in the ITF World Junior Rankings, and the winner of the boys’ singles title at Roland Garros. Chase Buchanan of New Albany, Ohio, and Devin Britton of Jackson, Miss., will lead the American contingent. Buchanan won the Boys’ 18s singles title at the Easter Bowl in April and captured his first USTA Pro Circuit singles title at $10,000 Vero Beach, Fla. Britton finished runner-up in boys’ singles at the US Open in September.
The Girls’ 18s field features three of this year’s Grand Slam winners, led by Aranxta Rus of The Netherlands, currently No. 1 in the ITF World Junior Rankings, and No. 6 Laura Robson of Great Britain. Rus won the girls’ singles title at the Australian Open, and was a semifinalist in girls’ singles at Roland Garros. Robson won the girls’ singles title at Wimbledon at just 14 years of age. The American contingent is led by world No. 16 CoCo Vandeweghe of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., who won the girls’ singles title at the US Open in September; world No. 33 Mallory Burdette of Jackson, Ga., who reached the girls’ doubles final at the US Open; and Lauren Embree of Marco Island, Fla., who won the USTA Girls’ 18s National Clay Court Championships in July.