Kayla Day will be playing in her first Junior U.S. Open at 14 years of age.
It’s been an exciting week for Santa Barbara’s Kayla Day as the 14-year-old took over the No. 1 national USTA ranking in the Girls 16s while also earning a wild-card entry into her first Junior U.S. Open.
Day, who turns 15 at the end of September, will travel to Flushing Meadows for the grand-slam tournament that begins in late August.
“It’s a great tournament to play. All the pros are playing there too, so it’s fun to see them play and be able to play at the same place,” Day said this week before a practice session in Montecito.
“I’ve never been to the U.S. Open.”
An exciting week for sure, but also an exciting summer that has seen her travel to Virginia for the USTA Junior Clay Court Championships and to Louisiana for a USTA Intersectional. In June, Day captured the Girls 18s Division without dropping a set at the 99th Santa Barbara Junior Open.
“It’s fun. I really like traveling,” said Day, who’s gone as far as the Azores to play in a tournament.
Most recently, Day is coming off a runner-up finish at the USTA National Championships held in San Diego and has made a habit doing well in big-time youth tournaments.
A left-hander that does most of her training at the USTA Tennis Complex West in Carson, Day spends at least three days a week in Los Angeles refining her game.
“I have a big serve that sets me up on a lot of points. I’m an all-court player but I like to play aggressively too,” Day explained.
Day’s draw for the U.S. Open won’t be revealed until the week before the tournament. Day will be up against many of the best junior tennis players in the world but relishes the opportunity to be challenged. Before the Open, Day will be in Maryland for the ITF warm-up tournament, the Prince George’s County International Hard Court Junior Tennis Championships.
“I definitely want to start playing a lot of ITFs and some smaller pro events, and see how well I do,” Day said.
