Youth Girls Tennis: Local stars continue climb in national rankings
By Michael Bower
The trophies blanket nearly every room in her house, representing countless hours of practice and hard work.
But 11-year-old tennis prodigy Amy Huang is still not satisfied, especially because of her handful of second-place awards.
“I hate taking second,” said Huang on a hot afternoon at the DoubleTree by Hilton Golf Resort tennis courts in Rancho Penasquitos, where she practices just about every day with her friend Giulia Hayer — another 11-year-old tennis prodigy — and coach Anna Hedden, a United States Professional Tennis Association instructor and former National Team player in the former Soviet Union. “I really hate it.”
Hayer and Huang are two of the top 11-year-old girls tennis players in San Diego and the nation.
Hayer, ranked No. 112 nationally, No. 25 in Southern California and No. 6 in San Diego in the Girls 12U Division, will be a sixth-grader at Maranatha Christian Schools in 4S Ranch. Huang, ranked No. 37 nationally, No. 12 in Southern California and No. 3 In San Diego, is a sixth-grader at Mesa Verde Middle School.
The two tennis stars have traveled around the country — Arizona, Florida, Oregon, Texas, Georgia and of course all throughout California — facing the toughest competition the nation has to offer.
The highlight of Hayer’s brilliant tennis resume is a second-place finish at the USTA Regional Tournament in Houston in early July. The tournament was open to only 32 players based on the strength of their national ranking. Hayer entered unseeded, but scored upset victories over the No. 8 seed and No. 2 seed to reach the finals. She also finished in third place in doubles.
Huang, who like Hayer already has a lengthy list of accomplishments, had a July to remember. She finished second in both singles and doubles at the USTA National Open in Oregon. She followed it up with two more second-place finishes (singles and doubles) at the USTA Regional Tournament in Irvine. Huang, who was clocked with a serve of 92 mph a little over a year ago, entered that tournament as the No. 6 seed in singles, but was able to fight her way to the finals.
The two girls, who became friends and practice partners after meeting on the USTA tennis circuit a few years back, both have very supportive parents. Surprisingly, neither set of parents have much tennis in their background.
“I wasn’t into tennis,” said Giulia’s father, Bill Hayer, who owns an architecture business in Del Mar. “I was a baseball, basketball and football guy. I played baseball at the University of Cincinnati and sports have been a big part of my life, but tennis wasn’t.”
Giulia’s mother, Nuccia, was a star track and field athlete — running the 1,500-meter in 4 minutes, 45 seconds — and a semi-professional volleyball player. But no tennis.
Amy’s father, David Huang, perhaps has the closest ties to tennis. He was a professional badminton player in China, but that skill he says has not helped him on the tennis court against his daughter.
“She beats me all the time, 6-0, 6-0,” he said with a chuckle. “She is pretty good.”
Both Giulia and Amy tried several other sports before picking up a tennis racquet. Giulia, who is 5-foot-11, tried soccer, horseback riding, ice skating and gymnastics. Amy tried swimming and ice skating among others.
“The other sports didn’t really workout,” Giulia said. “I picked up tennis really fast because I really loved it and wanted to learn more.”
Said Amy: “I tried a lot of different sports, but nothing really worked. There was a tennis court near me so I just decided to try to play tennis. I liked it and got good pretty fast.”
So, tennis has become the focus and the aspirations for both players are as high as they can go. Both hope to play professionally one day.
“I really want to be a pro player when I grow up,” Giulia said. “It seems like a lot of fun traveling all over the world and playing tennis.”
Hedden, who trains numerous other top-ranked junior players in the nation at the DoubleTree by Hilton Golf Resort, is on board with the goal. “I am hoping to be in the stands at Wimbledon,” she said with a smile.
Outsiders will often think parents are behind the push and the passion, which sometimes is the case with young athletes. But Hedden says all the drive comes from the two girls.
“I have been teaching tennis in Southern California since 1998,” explained Hedden. “I have seen a lot of girls and you can tell the difference between the ones that are really committed and the ones that are not. I am not at all worried about these two girls.”
“It’s fun,” Amy said. “We just like to go out there and have fun.”
And that attitude just might take these two young tennis stars all the way to the top.