Easter Bowl Kickoff Weekend Recap: Action Begins With Boys/Girls 14U And 12U Play

The 55^th edition of the FILA Easter Bowl kicked off over the weekend as top junior players from around the United States took the esteemed courts of the Indian Wells Tennis Garden less than one week removed from the conclusion of the 2023 BNP Paribas Open.

Weekend play featured R64 and R32 singles action for both Boys/Girls 14U and 12U divisions. See how the juniors fared on Saturday and Sunday as they compete for a coveted title at the USTA National Spring Championships.

Boys’ 12 & Under Singles
The Boys’ 12U singles draw started to take shape on Saturday and Sunday with the first two rounds of play taking place. No. 1 seed Zesen Wang and No. 2 seed Dylan Meineke began their tournaments strong with straight set victories each in their first two matches. They’ll take the courts again on Monday in the Round of 16 looking to stay hot on their collision course for a first-ever FILA Easter Bowl title.

Boys’ 12U singles Round of 16 play will begin Monday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden with play starting at 11:30am.

Girls’ 12 & Under Singles
Girls’ 12U singles play also got underway Saturday with 64 highly talented juniors looking to make a deep run in their Easter Bowl debuts. Making some early noise at the bottom of the draw is No. 2 seed Caroline Shao of Boca Raton, Florida. Shao dropped just five games total in her two straight-set victories over the weekend, and she’ll look to stay in good form in her Monday Round Of 16 match at 2:30pm against No. 9 seed Anshu Matham.

Boys’ 14 & Under Singles
The first two rounds are also now in the books for the Boys’ 14U singles division, and it’s clear that any victory in this draw is going to have to be hard-earned. Nine first round matches went to three sets on Saturday with many top seeds given early tests in their opening round matches. No. 1 seed Colin McPeek was upset in his R32 match on Sunday against Yashwin Krishnakumar of Dublin, California.

Boys’ 14U singles Round of 16 play starts at 11:30am on Monday.

Girls’ 14 & Under Singles
The Girls’ 14U singles draw began with a shock upset to start play Saturday morning with No. 1 seed Carrie-Anne Hoo falling in her opening match against Janae Preston. The top half of this draw is now wide open for anyone’s taking with Preston falling to Sena Yoon in her second match, unable to capitalize on the momentum of her first round victory.

No. 5 seed Anita Tu of Florida showed her promise with a near flawless performance in her first two matches, while No. 2 seed Nancy Lee of Massachusetts also showed strength over the weekend with two dominant straight set victories to her name.

Girls’ 14U singles Round of 16 play continues from the Indian Wells Tennis Garden starting at 3:00pm on Monday.

FILA Easter Bowl action will ramp up beginning Monday at Indian Wells with the Boys & Girls 16’s and 18’s taking the courts to kickoff play for the higher age divisions. The full round-by-round schedule of play can be found on the FILA Easter Bowl official website.

To keep up with live FILA Easter Bowl news and updates during the tournament, visit the official Easter Bowl website and follow along with the tournament’s official social channels:

• Facebook (facebook.com/EasterBowl)
• Twitter (@easterbowl)
• Instagram (@easterbowltennis).