Special Feature
Team USA Seeks Players for 2025 World Maccabiah Games
by Rhiannon Potkey, 18 September 2024
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Team USA is trying to build a strong tennis roster with medalist potential for the 2025 World Maccabiah Games in Israel.
Held every four years, the Games are sometimes referred to as the Jewish Olympics. The international multi-sport event, which was first held in 1932, is the world’s largest Jewish athletic competition in the tradition and values of Maccabi.
The 2025 Games will be held July 8-22, and feature more than 10,000 athletes competing. The tennis divisions include Open, Junior, Masters, and Paralympic. The junior division includes Under-16 and Under-18 boys and girls teams in singles, doubles and mixed doubles.
Jewish athletes born 2010 and earlier are eligible to participate. All Jews by birth or Jews by choice can apply to participate (https://maccabiusa.com/tennis/).
Selection is based on UTR/WTN/USTA rankings and/or video analysis and coaching recommendations. Players must pay their own way to the event, but grants and scholarships are available.
At the 2022 World Maccabiah Games, Stanford junior Alexis Blokhina won gold and Texas redshirt junior Vivian Ovrootsky took silver in U18 girls singles. The duo joined forces to win the gold in U18 doubles. Gavriella Smith won gold in Women’s Open singles while a member of the University of Pennsylvania team.
“Traveling around the world to compete with fellow athletes is always an eye-opening experience. But to also have a common religious/cultural heritage in a place that has been the ancestral homeland for millenia makes it even more special,” said Brandon Feldman, the Team USA 16U head coach. “The Team USA junior athletes spend a week before the Games practicing together, but also engaging in a cultural program in Israel that covers most of the small country.”
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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
[email protected].
