News & Features

Lauren Davis has a shelf-load of trophies at home, including the fourth USTA gold ball that she earned at the 2009 Girls 16s National Hardcourt Championships this week.

But trophies are not what drive Lauren to play tennis. She loves to compete more than anything else.

This year, the Gates Mills, Ohio, native returned to Barnes Tennis Center in sunny San Diego to defend her title. Not for the gold ball, but to have another shot at the U.S. Open wild card that goes to the winner.

Her trip to New York last year was a dizzying experience: she walked through the temple of American tennis as a participant, played on the courts where all the greats have, and saw today's top guns, including Federer and Nadal. It was simply overwhelming to a talent who was only 14 at the time.

Her nerves got the better of her, and she lost in the first round to Alja Tomljanovic respectably: 6-3, 6-2.

But since then, Lauren has compiled an incredible 75-5 record and an even more astonishing 39-match winning streak in USTA 18s events since April, when she lost to another Lauren - Embree. Of those matches, only three have gone three sets.

In San Diego, she never lost a set. She outplayed Chanelle Van Nguyen (Coconut Grove, FL) 6-0, 6-4.