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Bill Mountford, USTA Director of Junior Tournaments, had a busy August, spending time at both the Girls’ 16s and 18s National Championships in San Diego and the Boys’ 16s and 18s National Championships in Kalamazoo before returning to his office at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, Fla.

While Mountford was in Kalamazoo, I had an opportunity to talk with him about new initiatives in USTA junior competition, as well as other issues that are likely to shape policy moving forward.

Colette Lewis: The Girls’ 16s and 18s had live Tennis Channel coverage this year for the first time. Is this something the USTA is interested in promoting?

Bill Mountford and 2016 ACI Champion Thai Kwiatkowski
© zootennis.com

Bill Mountford: The USTA would love to see more of that, it just costs money.

The new tournament director [Lorne Kuhle] is a bit of a visionary and he's really interested in keeping the tournament in Southern Cal, specifically in San Diego, over the long term. We've very pointedly compared it to the Boys’ 16s and 18s. In my role, I've never viewed it as an apples versus oranges thing. I've thought it's the same thing and San Diego should be as special to young women as Kalamazoo has traditionally been to young men.

A conclusion that he drew was the tournament must have assets, so getting it on air live on the Tennis Channel is something they're going to be able to sell for 2018, ‘19 and ‘20, as they're seeking more civic support and sponsorship.