Israeli wins teen tennis world championships
Yshai Oliel nabs first place in Florida's Junior Orange Bowl for 2nd time in two years
Young Israeli tennis player Yshai Oliel on Tuesday won the prestigious Junior Orange Bowl games in Coral Gables, Florida — considered the unofficial world championships for teens — in the boys’ under-14 category.
It was the second such win for up-and-comer Oliel, who in 2012 was crowned champion in the under-12 category of the tournament.
He defeated Taiwan’s Chen-jui Ho 7-5, 7-5 to become only the ninth player in the 50-year history of the tournament to achieve a double win.
Yoel Lavi, mayor of Oliel’s hometown of Ramle, told Ynet: “This is an amazing achievement by a talented and modest player who brings honor and pride to the city and to the State of Israel.”
Many of the world’s top players have won the Junior Orange Bowl: Jimmy Connors (1964) and Andy Murray (1999) were winners in the “Boys 12 & Under” competition; Steffi Graf (1981), Monica Seles (1985) and Jennifer Capriati (1986) won the “Girls 12 & Under” tournaments.
In 2001, Israeli Shahar Peer won the “Girls 14 & Under” competition. Ten years later, Peer peaked with a career-best world ranking of 11 — the highest ranking ever achieved by an Israeli singles tennis player, male or female.