If you’ve never considered tennis to be a team sport, be sure to spend some time at this weekend’s Junior Team Tennis (JTT) Spring Section Championships, where more than 650 players will comprise 88 teams in a two-day USTA sanctioned competition.
The largest contingent of players will come from Orange County, which boasts 23 teams under area league coordinator Heidi Stryker. Orange County has the largest Junior Team Tennis program in Southern California.
This year, the event will be centered at Great Park Sports Complex in Irvine, a sprawling new facility that once served as a US Marine Air Station. Under the direction of City of Irvine Tennis Coordinator Steve Riggs, the Great Park tennis complex includes 24 lighted courts and an additional showcase court, and is home to the Brymer Lewis Tennis Academy. Great Park also includes soccer, volleyball, and various other recreational areas.
The JTT Section Championships (8am-6pm Saturday/Sunday) will play at Great Park, Heritage Park, David Sills Lower Peters Canyon Park, and the Tennis Club of Newport Beach. All tournament sites are free and open to the public.
The event will also feature an Orange Ball Invitational. Orange Ball is a component of the USTA Youth Progression model that incorporates red, orange, and green balls based on a junior player’s emerging skill and development.
More on Great Park:
http://www.cityofirvine.org/orange-county-great-park/sports-complex
More on USTA Junior Team Tennis:
https://www.usta.com/en/home/play/programs-for-everyone/national/about-junior-team-tennis.html
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