Juniors to Square Off at MSG as Part of Upcoming BNP Paribas Showdown

February 26, 2015 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
MSG_Tennis

Two talented junior players will once again be featured as part of the annual BNP Paribas Showdown at Madison Square Garden. The match, presented by HEAD Penn Racquet Sports, will feature Cori “Coco” Gauff and Gabriella Price as part of World Tennis Day on Tuesday, March 10.

The promising young girls will take to the court prior to tennis legends Monica Seles and Gabriela Sabatini facing each other in a 25th anniversary rematch of their famed 1990 five-set WTA Championship final and Roger Federer taking on Grigor Dimitrov in the main event of the eighth annual BNP Paribas Showdown.

"One of the most rewarding parts of World Tennis Day is seeing the juniors participate in clinics and matches,” said Jerry Solomon, president of StarGames Inc. “Sloane Stephens and Dennis Kudla, among others have played at the BNP Paribas Showdown before launching their professional careers and we hope others will follow in their footsteps. Maybe one day one of our juniors will be back to play in the main event!"

At 10-years-old, Cori “Coco” Gauff is a young tennis champion on the rise. She started playing tennis just short of her seventh birthday. Her love and dedication to the sport has resulted in a number of championship titles including the 2014 USTA girls 12 Clay Court Super National Singles where she was the youngest winner in USTA history at the young age of 10. There are many more wins for Coco on the horizon, so continue to be on the lookout for this up and comer!

Gabriella started playing tennis when she only four-years-old. Since then, she has grown leaps and bounds in her tennis skills, along with her love of the game. Currently, Gabby is 11-years-old and ranked third in the nation in Girl's 12 and under and top 90 in Girl's USTA 14 and Under. Her heart, will and spirit to compete have helped her endure tough challenges along the way and has increased her chances for success at a young age. Gabby wants to be the best she can be and dreams about winning many Grand Slams when she is older.

This will be the fifth time juniors have been included in the BNP Paribas Showdown. The previous junior matches featured:

►2008: Denis Kudla (15 years old) vs. Junior Ore (15)
2009: Sloane Stephens (15) vs. Gail Brodsky (17)
2010: Nicole Gibbs (16) vs. Sachia Vickery (14)
2015: Francis Taifoe (16) vs. Reilly Opelka (16)


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
Centercourt
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