close
close

houdoebrabant

NL News 2024

The Golden Hill Climb – Rhiannon Potkey
powertid

The Golden Hill Climb – Rhiannon Potkey

Tournament function

Hill remains confident as she secures first Gold Ball at Girls 18s Clays

by Rhiannon Potkey, July 19, 2024



Part:

Claire Hill knew her chances of winning a coveted Gold Ball were dwindling. The rising senior from Cary, North Carolina had every other color in her championship collection, but she wanted to complete the trifecta with the most important one.

Last Sunday, Hill finally made her breakthrough at the USTA Girls 18 National Clay Court Championships.

Singles champion Claire Hill
© Contributed photo

The top-seeded Hill defeated second-seeded Anita Tu 7-5, 6-2 in the singles final at LTP-Mount Pleasant in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.

Hill, who has committed to the University of North Carolina, had previously reached national finals in singles and doubles but failed to finish each time.

“It was really exciting and great for me to finally get the Ballon d’Or,” Hil said. “I think I played more freely this time. Normally, when I’ve made the final before, I was nervous because it’s such a big tournament. But in the final (Sunday) I just tried to stay aggressive and play freely.”

With her heavy forehand on clay to her advantage, Hill did not lose a set in her seven matches at the tournament. She defeated No. 7 Bella Payne 7-5, 6-1 to reach the final. Hill closed each match strongly, never giving up more than three games in the second set of each victory.

“I think overall I played really well and I was proud of myself for finally winning. I had the confidence to play freely throughout the tournament,” Hill said. “I was a little nervous in the first round but once I got through that I definitely had more confidence.”

Tu, a blue-chip rising sophomore from Melbourne, Florida, reached the final with a 7-5, 6-0 win over No. 33 Lucia Donnelly. Her toughest match before facing Hill came in the round of 16, where she defeated Kady Tannenbaum 6-2, 2-6, 6-2.

Tannenbaum teamed up with Linda Ziets-Segura to win the doubles title. The No. 1 seeds defeated No. 9 Emerey Gross and Anna Bennett 6-4, 6-2 in the final. Tannenbaum and Ziets-Segura lost a combined 33 games in their six straight-sets victories.

“I’m so happy to have won doubles at Clays. After winning national doubles twice with my partner Linda, we felt confident that we could win here,” said Tannenbaum, who will be a freshman at Wake Forest in the fall. “Thanks to my coaches, including my coaches at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy, parents and everyone who supported us.”

Now that she has her first Gold Ball, Hill would like to add a few more to her collection. Her next chance is in a few weeks at the USTA Hard Courts in San Diego.

“I don’t want to get ahead of myself,” Hill said. “But I’m absolutely confident that I can hopefully go far on Hard Courts there as well.”

Other results:

Play-off singles 3-4: Payne defeats Donnelly 7-5, 7-6 (3)

Comfort for singles: Andra Braicu defeats No. 33 Chloe Qin 6-3, 2-6, 10-3

Play-off doubles 3-4: No. No. 4 Vessa Turley-Riley Crowder defeated No. 11 Alston Myatt-Ansley Cox 6-2, 6-2.

It’s a wrap

And that’s it. Eight articles in 4 days – a recap of all age groups from the USTA Clay Court Nationals from around the country. We hope you enjoyed TRN’s exclusive coverage of Clay Court Championship Week – check out all the articles you may have missed!

Leave a comment

More tournament features

19-07-2024

Long distance for golden ball in boys 18 clay pigeons

Dylan Long’s first national ball was the gold variety after he captured the singles title with a three-set victory at the USTA Boys 18 Clay Court Nationals in Florida. Max Pettingell and Jack Satterfield won the doubles title.

18-07-2024

Traynor Wins First Ball, Captures Gold at USTA Girls 16 Clays

Olivia Traynor overcame hot conditions in Huntsville, Alabama, to win the USTA National Girls 16 Clay Court singles title without dropping a set. Reagan Levine and Addy Rogin won the doubles title.

18-07-2024

Grumet captures first golden ball in familiar final on clay 16s

Gus Grumet captured his first Ballon d’Or by winning the singles title at the USTA Boys 16 National Clay Court Championships in Delray Beach, Florida. Grumet faced a familiar opponent in the final, having defeated Andrew Johnson in an ITF event earlier in the month.

About Rhiannon Potkey


Rhiannon Potkey is a seasoned sports journalist with over two decades of experience in journalism. Potkey has written about many sports at many levels and has a passion for finding great stories. Potkey has covered the US 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 via email at
(e-mail address).