January Boys 12 Youth Tennis Rankings

Calleros cracks the latest top-ten and deservedly so. He's played in two events since the last rankings, entering in both the singles and doubles. The 6th grader first competed in the BVTA Super Champ Major Zone, winning two matches in singles before losing in the Round of 16. In doubles, Calleros and his partner Trey Hilderbrand, advanced to the semifinals before losing 6-8.

Calleros made a very impressive run through the consolation bracket of the USTA National Winter Championships. After a loss to Anuj Watane in the first round, Calleros went on to win four straight matches, including a 6-4; 7-5 victory over Cannon Kingsley. The doubles portion of the tournament was a resounding success for Calleros and Hilderbrand. They won six consecutive matches to take home the title, beating RJ Fresen and Matthew Fenty in the finals 6-3; 6-3.

Shi is also making his first appearance in our national rankings thanks to his overall body of work. He has a 73-30 overall record, finishing third at the prestigious Nike Junior Tour National Masters in September and the USTA National Championships in August. He advanced to the Round of 16 at the Junior Orange Bowl before losing to eventual champion Yshai Oliel (Israel).

Shi has been playing up an age level, competing in B14 draws at the West Point Eastern Designated Closed Championships and the USTA National Winter Championships.

 
Nakashima has been extremely busy on the junior tour, with over 150 USTA matches played in his career (122-32). His latest tournament appearance came at the B12 USTA National Winter Championships in both singles and doubles. Nakashima won six straight matches in singles including a 2-6; 6-4; 6-3 win over Axel Nafve in the semifinals to reach the final. In the championship, Nakashima lost to Keenan Mayo 4-6; 3-6. In doubles competition, Nakashima and his partner Tristan Boyer won three matches but to the Yu brothers in the quarterfinals.

At the Junior Orange Bowl, the 6th grader lost to Boris Kozlov in the Round of 32 before winning three consecutive matches and losing to RJ Fresen in a tough three sets. Nakashima is the youngest player on our list.
 

Fresen occupied the eighth spot in our rankings last edition, and has been his usual consistent self since. Now with 76 wins against just 37 losses, the New Jersey resident finished third and second in this month's singles and doubles at the West Point Eastern Designated Closed Championships respectively. He defeated Shi 6-4; 6-1 in the first round, and beat Finbar Talcott 3-6; 6-4; 12-10 to take third. In the doubles, Fresen paired with Sean Patrick to win four consecutive matches and reach the finals.

Fresen was also successful at the USTA National Winter Championships, advancing to the quarterfinals and beating Jenson Brooksby 5-7; 6-4; 6-1 before losing consecutively to Keenan Mayo and Axel Nefve. In the doubles at the Winter Championships, Fresen and Matthew Fenty lost to Calleros and Hilderbrand 3-6; 3-6 in the finals. Fresen played nine matches in the Junior Orange Bowl, winning seven of them including victories against Shi and Nakashima.

Fenty slides down a tick this time around despite some recent defeats. With a 75-39 overall record, he is one of the more talented players on the 12-year-old level. At the Junior Orange Bowl, Fenty won three matches off the bat, including a 6-0; 6-2 victory over Blaise Bicknell. However, he lost back-to-back tilts against Ruldolf Molleker and was forced to retire against Chen-Jui Ho. Fenty is another one of the top 12-year-old competitors who plays up an age group to prepare against the bigger, faster opponents.

Kozlov also moves down a spot in the latest rankings, even though he's entered in just two singles events since the last publication. In the Junior Orange Bowl, Kozlov won three matches in a row including 7-5; 6-1 over Nakashima. After losing to former number-one ranked Roscoe Bellamy, he won three more matches in the consolation bracket before losing in the semifinals to Naoki Tajima.

Earlier this month, Kozlov entered a Level Four B14 sectional tournament called Cheval Winter in which he dropped his first match but then won three including one against Henry Cacciatore 6-2; 6-0. Kozlov has an overall record of 65-29 in USTA events.

Mayo finished third in last week's SSRC Junior Excellence B14 Tournament, improving his overall record to 112-36. He won the B12 division of the USTA National Winter Championships, winning seven consecutive matches and beating ranked players like Fresen and Nakashima in the finals (6-4; 6-3) along the way.

In the Junior Orange Bowl, Mayo lost to Nicholas Mejia (Columbia) in the Round of 16, 3-6; 4-6, but bounced back in his consolation match to beat Pedro Cordeiro 6-2; 6-2. Mayo currently holds the most USTA points for his age group.

The Californian advanced to the quarterfinals of the Junior Orange Bowl where he lost to eventual champion Yshai Oliel (Israel). He also participated in the USTA National Winter Championships singles draw, defeating three top-25 players, but lost to RJ Fresen in the quarterfinals. Brooksby has an overall USTA record of 65-32 and wins against top players like Nakashima and Kozlov. The 6th grader is a consensus top-three player in his grade, and highest ranked on our list.

Nefve finished third at last month's USTA National Winter Championships. He posted a 6-1 overall record and beat Fresen 6-7(7); 7-5; 6-1 in the consolation finals. Nefve partnered with Brooksby in doubles and won two matches before losing in the Round of 16 3-6; 4-6.

The Junior Orange Bowl did not go quite as well as the Winter Championships. Nefve was forced to retire from his match against Chen-Jui Ho in the consolation round due to injury. Fully healthy, expect Nefve to have a successful 2013 season.

Sridhar moves up two spots to take the top ranking. He played in the B14 draw of the USTA National Winter Championships beating Shi 7-5; 6-3, but posting a 2-3 overall record in the event. Sridhar has a USTA overall record of 58-38, but often plays against older competition.

At the Junior Orange Bowl, Sridhar lost to Mischa Lanz in the Round of 64, and was forced to retire in his consolation match against Steven Sun due to injury. When healthy, Sridhar has had great success against the top tier players his age and is well-respected amongst his peers.