Tournament Feature
Patel, Clarke Exceed Expecations with 18s Winter National Titles
by Rhiannon Potkey, 9 January 2025
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The enormity of the accomplishment didn’t fully register with Shaan Patel until he was flying home from Florida to Missouri. Only a few hours earlier, the five-star junior had completed a sensational run to win the Boys 18s singles title at the USTA Winter National Championships
Boys Singles Champion Shaan Patel
© Contributed Photo
Patel’s goal entering the event was just to win a couple of rounds and enjoy the experience. Leaving with his first gold ball was beyond his wildest expectations.
Playing on the hard courts at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Patel secured the title by defeating fellow co-No. 17 Arin Pallegar 7-6(2), 6-4 in the final.
“It's unbelievable. It’s always been my dream in juniors to get a gold ball,” the 16-year-old Patel said. “As a kid, I would see all the different balls from people who trained at the clubs that would host the tournaments and I was always like, ‘Oh, I really want to get one of those.’ Now I have one.”
Like Patel, Girls 18s singles champion Chukwumelije Clarke had never won a gold ball. In fact, Clarke had never won a national ball of any color before.
The unseeded blue chip sophomore from Humble, Texas broke through in a big way by defeating No. 3 Carrie-Anne Hoo 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(5) in the final to earn a gold ball and a main draw wild card into next week’s Palm Coast J30 ITF.
“It felt really amazing,” the 15-year-old Clarke said. “I feel like coming into the tournament, I was clear minded. I wasn't too stressed or worried about anything, so I felt like that helped my game a lot.”
