USTA U16 Girls Clay Court Nationals set for Huntsville
HUNTSVILLE – For eight consecutive days, the top under 16 girls tennis players in the United States will spring to action at the Athletic Club of Alabama located on Leeman Ferry Road in Huntsville and the nearby Huntsville Tennis Center for the 2025 United States Tennis Association (USTA) U16 Girls Clay Court Nationals July 7-13. Close to 200 players from across the country will invade the Rocket City for what is expected to be an action-packed filled tournament.
“It’s becoming to be a worldwide event from the standpoint winners and finalists can qualify for international tournaments and move up the ranks into becoming a professional player,” said Eddie Jacques, owner of the Athletic Club of Alabama and acting Tournament Director for the event. “This tourney we’ve hosted prior is always a good event and very well received. Our staff does a great job of hosting this event. We make this a more enjoyable tournament then the grind many of these players go through playing in tournaments yearround. It’s a grind. We try and do things a little different for the players, coaches and parents. Hosting this tournament gives me a chance to give back to the community to make this experience a very positive one and we were successful in getting this tourney.”
One of those elite players to qualify for the tournament and the lone local player to do so is Mazie Mac-Grotty a rising junior at Huntsville High who finished runner-up in the 2025 AHSAA Class 7A State Tournament and has been the No. 1 singles player for the Panthers since seventh grade, but has had a splendid summer of USTA play. She’s held a national ranking as high as No. 66.
MacGrotty has played in this event in prior years and feels her experiences from those efforts will assist her in approaching this year’s nationals. She added, “It’s super high-level so I know what I’m getting into as I know these girls play really good tennis and I’m excited to play against them,” said MacGrotty, who will turn 17 next month. “My game has grown as I’m definitely more confident on the court and being aggressive and taking control of points. I think my serve has improved.”
MacGrotty’s previous play in these tournaments, which will include players as young as 13 who move up in age division to participate, has been into the third round, so her experience and playing on her home clay courts should be a huge plus as she rolls into action.
“I love to be aggressive on the court and control the points with my forehand as I use my forehand a lot,” added MacGrotty, who began playing tennis at age seven by hitting tennis balls up against a wall at her home in Hampton Cove.
“There are only four of these tournaments every year so these girls only have four opportunities to win the ‘Gold Ball’ so at this level of play your season revolves around these four tournaments, which can propel you to a potential professional career,” added Jacques. “Now they’ve added a wild-card to this event as if you win you get to play in some international events. It’s becoming a worldwide event.”
The finals of the tournament will include doubles on Saturday and singles on Sunday.
“Junior tennis has really progressed over the last 10-15 years even more than high school as they travel playing in the South and nationally as that’s some of the goals of some of these athletes to go to the highest level and now Huntsville and junior tennis has turned into that,” added Jacques, who himself played at a high level junior tennis as a player at Huntsville High. “There are only three girls from the state of Alabama playing in this tournament and to have a local member of the club playing is something special.”
