Weil Stays on Top with the best Group of Young Tennis Players in the World!

Weil Tennis Academy has consistently attracted top players from the United States, Bulgaria, Japan, Brazil and other great tennis countries, but this year's players stand out both on and off the court. There are many special players, but we will give you some background on a few of our players to watch in 2007!

Ranked #3 in the world, Ksenia Milevskaya, 16, from Belarus is one standout among many young standouts. Ksenia's goal is to be #1 in the world in ITF and #1 in the WTA, and she is very determined to make it happen. We wouldn't bet against this hard hitting player who has honed her hard court game at Weil. Look for Ksenia to burn up the courts in Australia in January, France in June, Wimbledon in July and New York in September.

Bozhidar Katsarov,17, ranked Top 5 in the United States Boys 18s is in his third year at Weil after finishing 2005 ranked #1 in Boys 16s. Bo led the So Cal Davis Cup Boys 18s Team to victory this last August against the top players in the US. Bo played #1 for the team and didn't lose a match. Bo will be signing with a top Division 1 college this fall.

Gail Brodksy, 15, currently top 10 in the U.S. in G18s and Top 100 ITF as a 15 year old, is making her name known around the world. Gail has been playing big time tennis this year and has won several matches at the WTA Challenger Level. Gail hasn't broken out at a Grand Slam yet, but figures to be a factor in each of the 4 Jr. Grand Slam events in 2007. Gail is in her 4th year training at Weil.

Ahmed Ismail, 17, is in his 3rd year at Weil, ranked Top 10 in So Cal, and Top 250 ITF having played a limited schedule. Ahmed is the top ranked boy in Egypt in Boys 18s and this fall will be visiting colleges like Duke, Stanford, and UC Berkeley as he heads off next year to play Top Division 1 College Tennis.

Catherine Isip, 15, had a terrific summer winning the So Cal Sectionals in G16s, and then reaching the Quarterfinals of the G16s Clays and G16s Hard Crts. Catherine is Top 5 in G16s in the US and is now focusing on improving her G18s US ranking and her ITF ranking.

Pedro Zerbini, 17, is in his 2nd Year at Weil has improved faster than any player in 2006-Pedro has risen to top 5 in So Cal Boys 18s and Top 300 ITF after only 5 events. Pedro is a hard hitting right hander who will play Division 1 Men's Tennis at a great school. Pedro is looking at Pepperdine, Duke, UC Berkeley, and others. Pedro's goals are to play Orange Bowl and finish 2006 raked Top 100 ITF.

Jordan Sanford, 14, is already ranked in the Top 40 in G18s in the United States. Jordan reached the finals of SO cal Sectionals Girls 18s, then won a G18s National Open and reached the rd of 32 at the Girls 18s National Hard Crts in august. USTA Coach Robin White considers Jordan one of the top 4 14 year olds in the US, and this fall Jordan will focus on improving her ITF ranking as well as competing for titles at the two international events this fall, the G14s Eddie Herr & the G14s Orange Bowl, as well as attempting to qualify into the Orange Bowl G18s event.

Grigor Dimitrov, 15, of Bulgaria is in his 2nd year at Weil and has risen quickly to Top 250 ITF and Top 5 in ETA Boys 16s. In 2005, Grigor won the prestigious Bys 14s European Championships & the Boys 14s Eddie Herr, and reached the finals of the Orange Bowl. By the end of 2007, Grigor is set to be a top 50 ITF player and play all the Jr Grand Slams as well as begin his professional career.

Yuki Chiang, 11, of Ojai is in her 3rd year at Weil and has had a breakout 2006 by winning the So Cal Sectionals Girls 12s Title this summer as a 10 year old. Yuki will focus on her G14s ranking this fall and prepare to enter international competition by playing the G12s Eddie Herr and G12s Orange Bowl events in December. We will be looking for Yuki to do some damage in both events.

Tanya Raykova, 15, is in her 2nd year training at Weil and has jumped another level this year by winning 2 ITF events, one Grade 5 in Egypt and one Grade 4 in San Antonio. Tanya's ITF ranking should move into the Top 200 by the end of 2006 as she prepares to qualify for the Jr Grand Slams in 2007.

Ester Goldfeld, 13, of Brooklyn, NY is in her first year at Weil and reached the final of her first ITF Main Draw at El Paso this fall. Ester is one of the top 13 year olds in the US and should do some damage this year at the international level both in the Under 14s and 18s. Ester will play more ITF's this year with the goal of moving into the top 300 by the end of 2007.

Billy Pecor, 14, of Houston TX, is in his first year training at Weil and has improved by leaps and bounds this fall. Billy had been playing in B16s in Texas and nationally, but will focus on finishing the year as one of the US's most promising 14 year olds. Bill will play the Eddie Herr, Orange Bowl Boys 14s as well as the Winter National 14s with the goal of finishing Top 10 in the US in 2006. The big right hander has a great shot at reaching his goals.

Ashley Dai, 12, of Temple City, CA has joined Weil this fall and is already Top 20 in the US in G12s. Ashley will travel to the Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl to compete for the G12s titles there before returning west to try to capture the winter nationals in December. Ashley is a feisty young player and will be a force for years to come.

Weil has a large group of top young girls starting with Nikki Sanders & Britney Sanders, both 14, are fast improving and will be playing the Eddie Herr ad Jr Orange Bowl 14s this fall. In So Cal, both girls are in the Top 10 in G16s and Top 100 G16s in the US. Anna Chkhikvishvili, 15, from San Diego is a Top 5 US Player who should be Top 20 by the end of 2006. Yurie Hashiguchi, 15, from Japan has already reached the semis of a designated and should have strong results all year. Diana Isaeva, 14, from Moscow, is fast becoming a force in under 14s and will compete at Eddie Herr and Orange Bowl. And Rio Kitagawa, 13, the 2006 Copper Bowl Champion, is improving quickly and will also compete internationally this year and should have solid results.

From Egypt we have Moustafa Ismail, Rafik Zaher and Khaled Abu Ouf who are all strong players under 16 and will begin ITF play in 2007. And Nick Ballou, Carlo Chichi, Henry Chi, Noah Simonson, David Humphreys, Yoke Kukupa, are just a few of our 15-17 year old boys who are improving their National, Sectional and ITF rankings.

Weil has so many terrific young players that we cannot list them all here, but go to our Current Players Page to find out more about our entire group.