Indian American junior tennis players Shristi Selvan and Aarini Bhattacharya claimed the top two positions at the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16s National Championships, completing an all-Indian American final in San Diego.
Selvan, the tournament’s No. 1 seed, defeated 14th-seeded Bhattacharya 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 in the championship match. The victory earned Selvan the USTA Gold Ball and a main-draw wild card for the US Open Junior Championships. Bhattacharya received the Silver Ball as the national runner-up.
Both players train at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, Maryland. They advanced from opposite sides of a 192-player main draw, winning six consecutive matches apiece before meeting for the national championship.
Selvan reached the final with a 6-4, 6-2 semifinal victory over sixth-seeded Avita Beitler. Bhattacharya defeated second-seeded Nikol Davletshina 6-2, 6-2, producing one of the tournament’s notable upsets.
The final added to a strong 2026 season for Selvan. She won the Girls’ 16s singles championship at the USTA Winter National Championships before capturing both the singles and doubles titles at the Easter Bowl. Her San Diego championship gave her a third national singles Gold Ball during the year.
Selvan lives in Laurel, Maryland, and comes from an Indian American family with roots in Chennai. She has trained at JTCC from an early age and received the academy’s Keith Robert Larson Scholarship in 2025, providing need-based support for promising junior players.
Bhattacharya, who lives in Oakton, Virginia, entered the championship as the No. 14 seed. Her run through the national field followed four International Tennis Federation junior titles earlier in 2026.
The two finalists train under the same coaching team and also participate in JTCC’s adaptive tennis and community outreach programs. Academy leaders said their performance reflected years of development and the strength of the center’s high-performance program.
With Selvan earning a place in the US Open Junior Championships and Bhattacharya establishing herself among the country’s leading Girls’ 16s players, the final marked a significant milestone for two young Americans of Indian heritage in national junior tennis.
Key Takeaways About Shristi Selvan and Aarini Bhattacharya
- They reached the final from a field of 192 players.
- Selvan won the championship in three sets.
- Selvan earned a US Open Juniors main-draw wild card.
- Bhattacharya received the USTA Silver Ball.
- Both players train at JTCC in College Park, Maryland.
