The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is “the national governing body for the sport of tennis and the recognized leader in promoting and developing the sport’s growth on every level in the United States, from local communities to the crown jewel of the professional game, the US Open.” Coronado resident Lisbeth Blum is the co-director of the upcoming USTA Girls 16s & 18s Nationals, which will be held at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego from August 6-14, 2016. The event features nearly 400 girls between the ages of 16 and 18. According to the event’s website, “At stake in these Championships is the title of National Champion, and with it a Wild Card entry into the main draw of the US Open Women’s Championships (for the 18s Champion) and a Wild Card into the US Open Junior Championships (for the 16s Champion).”
Liz, as she’s known, has been in “love” with the sport of tennis since she started playing at the age of eleven. When her children were junior tennis players Liz became as passionate about volunteering her time with tennis organizations as she was about playing tennis herself.
Before moving to Coronado in 2007, Liz lived in Northern California’s Palo Alto. In Palo Alto Liz belonged to a small tennis club, where she became involved with the junior program. Along with the tennis pro at the club, Liz ran a juniors tournament for about 20 years.
When Liz and her husband Larry moved to Coronado, a friend of hers who was actively involved in the youth tennis program at the Barnes Tennis Center got Liz involved too. Liz served on the tennis board there.
At that time the Girls’ 16s and 18s Nationals were held in two separate locations with the 18s playing in Northern California and the 16s playing at the Barnes Center. (The Boys’ 16s and 18s Nationals were both held in the same location in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and are still held there.) “The USTA was very interested in getting the two girls’ tournaments together at the same site because it was felt that it was a hardship on girls’ families if they had two players with one in Northern California and one in Southern California,” Liz says of the USTA’s decision to combine the girls’ 16s and 18s at same location.
As fate would have it, the Barnes Tennis Center didn’t end up having to compete with the tennis center in Northern California to see which tennis center would host the Girls’ Nationals. It was decided that both age groups would compete at the Barnes Center. 2010 marked the first year that the combined tournament was hosted in San Diego.
At that point Liz was serving on the Girls’ Nationals committee alongside her friend Ellen Ehlers. Liz recalls how she and Ellen went from helping with the committee to becoming the co-directors. “We were at the US Open. We were actually sitting together watching a match, and we both got texts at the same time that the director of tennis at Barnes was leaving. His text said, ‘Okay! The girls’ tournament is yours!’ We were terrified at the time, but it’s gotten easier every year,” she says with a great sense of satisfaction.
“We kind of tag team,” Liz explains of the responsibilities she and Ellen juggle as co-directors. Liz, whose name is the one that appears on the USTA website link where players register, is the one who fields communication, including emails and phone calls, from the players, coaches, and parents. She is also the one mostly responsible for sponsorship. “Ellen does most of the work with regard to the satellite sites,” Liz explains. Early-round matches are hosted at secondary sites including San Diego State University and the University of San Diego.
What does Liz want the people of Coronado to know about this upcoming tournament? “Each draw (age division) is 192, and they are the best young women players in the country. If you look at the Americans on the WTA (Women’s Tennis Association) tour, every one of them played in this tournament at some age group.” Among those WTA players who have competed in the USTA Girls’ 16s & 18s National Championships are Chris Evert, Jennifer Capriati, Lindsay Davenport, Coco Vandeweghe, Madison Keys, Sloane Stephens, and Shelby Rogers. “This is the future of American women’s tennis. It absolutely is. There’s no question about it,” Liz says of the significance of the players who will compete at the USTA Girls’ 16s & 18s National Championships.
Girls can play up, meaning that if a 15 year old has tennis skills advanced enough to play in the 18s tournament, she can. Younger girls’ motivation to play up is the automatic entry wildcard that the winner of the 18s gets into the US Open Women’s draw. Cici Bellis was 15 when she won the Girls’ 18s in 2014, and she used her wildcard entry, where she beat a seeded player in the first round of the US Open.
What does this tennis tournament mean to Lisbeth Blum personally? “I love seeing the future of American women’s tennis. It’s a lot of work, but it’s very rewarding. For the most part, we think we do a good job, and it’s reflected in our evaluations and the thank yous that we get. It’s very gratifying.”
At present time there aren’t any girls from Coronado participating in the upcoming tournament, but that shouldn’t deter Coronado families from attending the tournament. Admission is free, and on-site parking at the Barnes Tennis Center is free throughout the tournament. Matches held at SDSU and USD also offer free admission, but fans will have to pay a nominal charge for parking at both campuses.
For those people who don’t play tennis, Liz is confident that they will enjoy the competition of the Girls’ Nationals just as much as those people who do play tennis. “Whether you are a tennis player or not, I think you can appreciate the work these girls have to put in to get as good as they are. It’s amazing! You’re not watching little kid tennis; this is big girl tennis! If you’re any kind of a sports fan, it should be well worth your while to come out and see it,” she says.
Liz notes the differences between singles and doubles, both of which are featured in the Girls’ Nationals. “Singles is very intense; they have no one to laugh with, no one to high five with. Doubles is a lot of fun to watch also. You can just see them relax when they’re playing doubles; they’re having fun. They still want to win; there’s no question about that. For me it’s almost more fun to watch the doubles than the singles because you really get to see their personalities,” she comments.
In between her duties as co-director of the Girls’ Nationals, Liz still finds time to play doubles tennis a few times a week. Both she and and her husband Larry belong to the Coronado Tennis Association, where Larry serves as treasurer. Liz appreciates that tennis is a sport she can continue to play, citing the former tagline of the USTA, The Sport of a Lifetime. “You can pick it up at any almost any time in your life, and you can come back to it at any almost any time in your life,” she notes.
Liz reflects that there are a lot of life lessons that come with the sport of tennis. “You’re out there by yourself. You can’t call on your parent, you can’t call on your coach. Whatever’s going on, you have to figure it out for yourself,” she reflects.
It’s still too soon for Liz to speculate which players will win the 16s and 18s this year. Registration for the Nationals started in May, and close on July 9th. Girls from almost all 50 states and U.S. territories will be represented at the Nationals.
For Coronado boys and girls who are interested in participating in the Girls’ Nationals, “ball kids” from Coronado are selected to help during the finals on the last weekend of the tournament. “It’s really exciting! They get to be right on the court during the finals,” Liz says of the experience ball kids have. Any parent who’s interested in having his or her child as a ball kid can contact Lisbeth Blum at [email protected].
Additional Information and Schedule of Events:
(Starting times for tournaments will be announced in July.)
To see a complete player list click here. (The list will be available in early July.)
August 6th: The opening ceremony for the USTA National Girls’ 16s & 18s National Championships is scheduled for 5:00 pm. International Tennis Hall of Fame’s Gigi Fernandez, the former tennis professional who 17 Grand Slam doubles, will be the guest speaker.
August 6th: The girls’ 16s event will begin. (Early-round matches will also be held at SDSU’s Aztec Tennis Center from August 6-9.)
August 7th: The girls’ 18s tournament will get underway. (Early-round matches will also be held at USD’s Skip and Cindy Hogan Tennis Center from August 7-10.)
August 13th: The girls’ 16s event will conclude with the single and doubles finals.
August 14th: The girls’ 18s singles championship will be held.
