Home Boys' Lists Girls' Lists Men's Teams Women's Teams News Photos Contributors Links Help Sign-UpOnline Store
Latest News | Categories | Authors | News Archives
 
 

News & Features

Wheelchair News
US Juniors Capture BNP Paribas World Cup Team Title
Share:    

The U.S. juniors snapped a seven-year drought by capturing the BNP Paribas World Team Cup wheelchair title last weekend in Turkey.

The sixth-seeded American squad, which included returners Charlie Cooper (La Quinta, Calif.), Tomas Majetic (Boulder, Colo.), Max Wong (Flushing, N.Y.), and rookie Sabina Czauz (Thornton, Colo.), won the Americans’ fifth all-time title with a 2-0 win over Australia in the final at the Megasaray Club Belek in Antalya, Turkey.

The championship match was a repeat of what transpired in the group stage. Majetic beat Jin Woodman 6-0, 6-3 and Cooper served as the clincher with a 6-2, 6-1 win over Benjamin Wenzel. The doubles was not played.

"These kids came in and I think a lot of people thought they would be one of the favorites even though they were the No. 6 seed,” head coach Kevin Heim said. “To actually get to the point where we won, I think it exceeded all of my expectations. I think the biggest celebration of the entire week was that everyone got a chance to play multiple matches and contributed wins. This was a team victory, and top to bottom, they all did really well.”

The Americans were last victorious in the competition in 2017, which capped a run of three straight titles. But after the three-peat, the US did not field a junior team in 2018 or 2019. The Americans placed last in the field of eight teams in 2021, and seventh in 2022. Last year, the team won its pool and reached the final, where it lost to Great Britain.

This year, the Americans went 3-0 in round-robin play against Australia, Great Britain and the Netherlands. In their five ties in the week overall, the Americans lost just one match in 14 played.

"Coming into this year we put in a lot of work," Cooper, 16, said. "We had that one goal in mind of getting gold, so we all knew that it would take all four of us to get it done and we had to believe in each other and stay humble. We had to put a lot of work in and I couldn't be happier to get it done here in Turkey.”

The World Team Cup is the ITF’s flagship wheelchair tennis event. The inaugural event in California in 1985 involved six men’s teams. The women’s competition began the following year, with quad and junior events introduced in 1998 and 2000, respectively.

The USTA was officially designated by the United States Olympic & Paralympic Committee as the national governing body for the Paralympic sport of wheelchair tennis in June 2002, becoming the first Olympic national governing body to earn this recognition. As the national governing body for wheelchair tennis, the USTA manages wheelchair tennis in the United States, including the sanctioning of tournaments, overseeing wheelchair rankings, creating and managing a high-performance program for developing elite disabled athletes, and selecting teams to compete internationally for the United States.

 
 

Leave a Comment

 

More Special Features

11-Jun-2025
The Long Game: Observing Italy's Junior Tennis Culture
Dylan Friedman has spent the clay court season in Italy watching his blue chip sister, Leena, participate in junior events. During the trip, Friedman has observed how Italy's tennis culture works compared with how it's done in the United States.

30-May-2025
SoCal Pro Series Serves Up Homegrown Success
The SoCal Pro Series has provided local talent the chance to play tournaments close to home during the summer. USTA is trying to see if the format can be replicated in other sections around the country to give Americans more pro opportunities.

23-May-2025
US Junior Team Takes Silver at BNP Paribas World Cup
The United States Junior Wheelchair team captured the silver medal at the BNP Paribas World Team Cup played earlier this month at the Ali Bey Club in Manavgat, Antalya, Turkey. The team members were Max Wong, Sabina Czauz and Lucy Heald.

 
 Special Feature Index |   Subscribe

 

About Rhiannon Potkey

Rhiannon Potkey is a veteran sportswriter with more than two decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has covered many sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories. Potkey has covered the U.S. Open, junior sectional and national events, college conference championships and Davis Cup matches. Potkey is currently Content Strategist for Tennis Recruiting. You can reach Rhiannon by email at rhiannon@tennisrecruiting.net.
 
  TENNIS WAREHOUSE - EQUIPMENT
 
RECENT COMMITMENTS
 
RECENT HEADLINES
ITA NEWS
 AEON SCHOOL
 
Rethink Possible
 
Rethink what is possible and get ready to change the world with AEON School.
 
THE LATEST FROM ZOOTENNIS
7/02 June Aces: Eight US Juniors in Wimbledon Qualifying; Pareja Reaches ITF J300 Roehampton Semis, Kovackova Ousts Top Seed Tagger; Americans Struggle in…
7/01 Only Five US Juniors Advance to Round of 16 at Roehampton ITF J300; Phillips Wins J200; Johnson Sweeps Titles at J100; Three Kalamazoo 18s Champions…
7/01 Johnston, Pareja Advance to ITF J300 Roehampton Quarterfinals; 12 Americans Advance at Wimbledon, but Gauff and Pegula Upset; Pinnington Jones and…
6/30 Svajda and Cayetano Complete Sweeps at SoCal Pro Series in Lakewood; Qualifiers Jauffret and Matisse Among Ten US Juniors Advancing at Roehampton ITF…
6/29 18 Americans Start Junior Grass Fortnight at Roehampton ITF J300, Tagger, Vasami Top Seeds; Three Current Collegians Reach SoCal Pro Series $15K…
Colette Lewis has covered topflight junior events as a freelance journalist for over a decade. Read her weekly column, follow her on Twitter, and and find more of her daily commentary at ZooTennis.
 

Page updated on Monday, March 10, 2025
Contact our web team with any corrections