BNP Paribas Showdown Announces Junior Match Participants

Zane Khan will take on Nathan Han in the opening match presented by HEAD Penn Racquet Sports

February 23, 2017 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff

The annual BNP Paribas Showdown has a rich history of junior matches featuring some of the world’s best young tennis talent. This year Zane Khan will take on Nathan Han in an opening match presented by HEAD Penn Racquet Sports at Madison Square Garden on March 6, it was announced today.

The stars of tomorrow hit the court to kick off the 10th anniversary of the BNP Paribas Showdown featuring tennis icon Venus Williams, world No. 5 Kei Nishikori, rising American Jack Sock, fiery Australian Nick Kyrigos, 2009 US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro, and French Open champion Garbine Muguruza. The Showdown will also include a legends match with American superstar Andy Roddick squaring off against former world No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt as part of a team format featuring The Americas vs The World.

Zane Khan, fourteen-years-old from New Braunfels, TX, has won six junior titles dating back to 2013. Most recently Khan won the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships in of Bradenton, FL and the National Clay Court Championships in Fort Lauderdale, FL.  Khan is coached by his uncle, Shariq Khan, a former player at the University of Texas. This past July, Khan and his twin brother, Faris, won the doubles final of the USTA National Clay Court Championships while dropping just one set throughout the tournament.   

Nathan Han, fifteen-years-old from Tulsa, OK, has won three USTA tournaments including the USTA National Selection Tournament in Norman, OK, in 2016, the USTA National Championships in San Antonio, TX in 2015, and the USTA National Open in Springfield, MO in 2013. Han is coached by Trent Tucker.      

Kahn and Han join a very impressive list of junior tennis stars to appear at the BNP Paribas Showdown including notable players Francis Tiafoe (2015) and Sloane Stephens (2009)

Previous junior matches featured include:

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)
2014: Francis Tiafoe (16) vs Reilly Opelka (16)
2015: Cori “Coco” Gauff (10) vs Gabriella Price (11)
2016: Tyra Hurricane Black (14) vs Carson Branstine (15)


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
Centercourt
USTA NTC

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