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, many special players, and we will give you a sampling of the players in each age division at Weil & give you some background on a few of our players to watch in 2007-2008!

Yuki Chiang	Ashley Dai	Monica Turewicz

In our Girls 12s Division we have 2 standout players in Yuki Chiang and Alyza Benotto-Wood. Yuki, Ojai, CA, went to the Quarterfinals last December at the Eddie Herr Int'l Championships in Florida as an 11 year old, and will be hunting for the title this year as a healthy 12 year old. Yuki has been hampered by injuries most of 2007 but is quickly regaining her form. Alyza, Encino, CA, has climbed steadily up the ranks and is now Top 5 in So Cal in Girls 12s and Top 20 in Girls 14s as well as Top 30 in the US in Girls 12s. Alyza will also play the Eddie Herr and should go far in the draw as she is developing more weapons to add to her touch game.

In our Girls 14s Division we have many impressive young players headed by Top 5 ranked Monica Turewicz, and closely followed by Rio Kitagawa, Ashley Dai and Shayne Austin, but we have many girls right behind them in Valerie Thong, Riko Shimizu, Rina Kanazawa and Kirra Simonson. Monica, San Jose, CA, had a stellar summer reaching the semifinals of both the USTA Hard Crts and USTA Clay Crts. Monica has great movement and is a top defensive player, but this year she will focus on developing more dangerous weapons in her game. Monica will compete in the Eddie Herr and Orange Bowls and should be a force in both. Rio Kitagawa, Japan, has started her ITF career this fall and has done well winning her first 2 matches. Rio is ranked Top 5 in So Cal and would be Top 10 in the US if she could compete here. Rio will also compete at the Florida International tournaments in December. Ashley Dai, Temple City, CA, is also Top 5 in So California, and Top 25 in the US in G14s as a 13 year old. Ashley has great movement and stinging shots that will take her far. Ashley will represent Weil at the FL tournaments as well this fall. Shayne, Thousand Oaks, CA, is Top 10 in G14s and Top 50 US, but has started to focus on her G16s ranking and has done exceptionally well in both So Cal and national tournaments this year. Shayne has a lot of weapons and competes as hard as any player at Weil. Valerie, Pasadena, CA, joins Weil this year as a Top 15 So Cal player and Top 100 US player who has shown quick improvement and will quickly catch Ashley and company. Riko, Chicago, IL, is also moving up fast, ranked in the Top 100 in the US. Riko has a solid baseline game and is improving her all around attacking game to add more weapons. Rina Kanazawa, Japan, is probably the most improved player at Weil over the last 3 years. Rina is a Top 20 US level player who will start her ITF career shortly. Kirra, Ojai, CA, has a steady game that has grown in the last year -- we expect Kirra to begin moving up the rankings in So Cal this fall to break into the Top 20.

Gail Brodsky	Tanya Raykova	Rebecca Marino

In our Girls 16s and 18s Divisions in addition to our ITF Players, Gail Brodsky, Tanya Raykova, Rebecca Marino and Ksenia Milevskaya, our national level players include Yurie Hashiguichi, Taylor French, Abby Haley, Samantha Kaneta and Jenna Ritz. Yurie has just begun her ITF career and will move up quickly in the rankings. Yurie, Japan, reached many semifinals in So Cal tournaments and is a Top 20 level player. Taylor French, Newbury Park, CA, is a Top 200 US player who is a talented lefty and will join a great college next year to play tennis and study. Abby, Houston, TX, has moved up 600 spots in the national rankings this year into the Top 200 and will continue to improve. Samantha, Hawaii, arrives as a national player with great natural ability and will work to re-tool her game this year in order to compete successfully in the G18s next year. Jenna, Thousand Oaks, CA, has a big game that has propelled her into the Top 150 US and should continue to improve as she enters the G18s division next year. Jenna has had strong success on the sectional level and should enjoy greater success on the national level this year.

Ksenia Milevskaya	Yurie Hashiguichi	Jenna Ritz

In our Boys 12s Division, Thomas Pecor, Masa Ono, Kei Ezaka, Jack Laplante and Collin Altamirano are an impressive group coming up quickly. Jack Laplante, Ojai, CA, will complete a Boys 10s division this year as a Top 20 So Cal player, improving from #200 when he joined the academy over a year ago. Collin, Santa Barbara, CA, has jumped right from a Top 10 Boys 10s ranking to the Top 15 in Boys 12s and has a National Final to his credit this fall. Kei Ezaka, Japan, is having another strong year and is playing at a Top 10 level. Masa, Japan, after winning 2 So Cal Designateds in the 10s last year is having great success in Boys 12s as well. And Thomas Pecor, Ojai, CA, reached the final of his first So Cal Designated and looks to finish 2007 with a Top 50 ranking in Boys 12s.

Thomas Pecor	Andrew Hutchison	Vladimir Kruk

In our Boys 14s Division, Andrew Hutchison and Shogo Shimizu bring a lot of talent and drive. Andrew, Houston, TX, has a national ranking that is improving quickly and Andrew has reached deep into the So Cal Designated Draws this fall. Shogo, Japan, is a tough competitor and plays at a Top 10 level here in So Cal. Shogo will play mostly 16s this year.

In our Boys 16s Division we have a terrific group of young players from Jr. US Open finalist Gigor Dimitrov to Vladimir Kruk, David Watson, Drew Superstein, Adam Luba, Billy Pecor, Moustafa Ismail, Tyler Schultz and Skyler Davis. Vladimir, of Belarus, comes to Weil #280 ITF but we see him quickly moving into the Top 100 by the spring. Vlad has 2 ITF titles to his credit and will certainly add more this fall. Vlad's dream is to become a pro player and with his training attitude, no one should bet against him. David, of England, has a terrific all around game and a big serve that should help him transition to become a true ITF player this year. David has had mild success in the Boys 16s reaching the Top 20 in England, but his goal is more international and David wants to establish a Top 200 ITF ranking this year, then go for the Jr. Grand Slams in 2008. Drew, of Ojai, has sky rocketed this year and is making such huge leaps that even he is amazed. Drew has had solid showings on both the national and ITF levels and should do some damage at the Eddie Herr, Orange Bowl and Winter National 16s events. Drew should be Top 100 US and Top 500 ITF by January. Adam, of Monterey, CA, is a tough lefty who has great feel for the ball, an all around game and an aggressive attitude on court. Adam is coming on this year and is clearly going to break into the Top 100 by the end of the year. Adam is also improving his ITF ranking this year with the intention to play more international events next year. Billy, of Ojai, finished 2006 in the Top 20 in the US and has had a great start to his 16s year by qualifying for USTA Hard Courts and breaking into the Top 20 in So California. Billy has a potentially big game and moves extremely well for a tall guy. Billy is playing more ITF events this year to establish a ranking and shooting for a Top 50 ranking in US Boys 16s. Moustafa, of Egypt, has improved steadily over the past 2 years but looks to really jump a level this year. Moustafa has a nice all around game, strong tactics and great touch at the net. Moustafa should continue to improve and position himself for a great college placement next year. Tyler, of Ojai, is really coming on this year as one of our surprise 16 year olds and is putting his big game together to advance in some big So California tournaments. Tyler's goal is to qualify for the Nationals this fall and spring. Skyler, of Malibu, just joined Weil and brings a tough all around game to the court. Skyler can hit all the shots and is comfortable moving forward. Skyler will improve his national ranking this year and certainly break into the Top 100 US by spring.

David Watson	Radu Albot	Denis Lin

In our Boys18s Division, besides top world ranked Radu Albot, we have some strong US and International players like Denis Lin, Evan Rose, Noah Simonson, Yuske Kusuda, Leo Christofides and Yu Kanehiera. Denis, of Thousand Oaks, is ranked Top 30 in the US Boys 18s as a sixteen year old! Denis has a big game from the baseline, moves well for a big guy, and competes like a champion every time out. We look for Denis to move up quickly in both boys 18s Nationally and Internationally when he can put more time into his training. Evan Rose, of Berkeley, CA, is top ranked in Nor Cal and has committed to Berkeley for next fall. Evan has an all around game with an emphasis on serving and volleying. Evan is a strong young man with more game to develop and we can see Evan breaking into the Top 50 nationally by next summer. Noah Simonson, of Ojai, has really come on this fall with a booming serve, a big forehand and more passion to win. Noah has surprised quite a few players this summer and fall and should continue to rise in the rankings to become a Top 10 So Cal player. Yuske, of Japan, brings a big baseline game, relentless pressure, great movement and tremendous fitness to the court every time out. Yuske has established himself in So California as a Top 20 player and is now focusing on his ITF ranking to improve. Leo, of Cyprus, comes to Weil with a complete game, but will work on his attacking style to add to his steady baseline game. Leo will also improve his ITF ranking this year. Yu, of Japan, can be a big time player if he can stay healthy. Keeping himself off the injured list will be Yu's main focus. Yu's game is ready to be a Top 10 So California game and we look forward to his rise.

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.