Four American teens earn spots in Templeton pro tennis tournament
Thea Frodin won the Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships last month in San Diego. Photo by Jon Mulvey/USTA Southern California.
Julieta Pareja rallies past rival Thea Frodin; Kristina Penickova, Kayla Day play Wednesday
– Four 17-year-old American prospects earned spots in the singles main draw at the Central Coast Tennis Classic, a $100,000 women’s professional tournament underway this week at the Templeton Tennis Ranch, according to tournament organizers.
Thea Frodin of Woodland Hills and Annika Penickova of Campbell received wild cards from the U.S. Tennis Association. They joined Penickova’s twin sister, Kristina Penickova, and former world junior No. 1 Julieta Pareja of Carlsbad in the main draw.
Frodin, ranked No. 540 by the Women’s Tennis Association, drew a familiar opponent in the first round Tuesday. Pareja, ranked No. 261, came back to win 5-7, 6-4, 6-1, according to results posted by the International Tennis Federation. Frodin had beaten Pareja in the semifinals of the girls’ nationals last month, and the two played in the 2025 Wimbledon girls’ doubles final.
Last month, Frodin played in the main draw of the women’s singles event at the US Open, falling to eventual champion Elena Rybakina. She earned that wild card by winning the singles title at the Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships. At the US Open, the Penickova sisters teamed up to win the junior girls’ doubles title.
Annika Penickova, ranked No. 548, fell to No. 5 seed Akasha Urhobo 6-2, 6-3 on Tuesday. The US Open title was her second Grand Slam junior doubles title; she and Kristina also won the Australian Open junior title in 2025.
Kristina Penickova plays No. 6 seed Iryna Shymanovich in the first round Wednesday in the second match on Court 2. The sisters are also scheduled to play doubles together later in the day on the same court.
Also on Wednesday, top-seeded Tatjana Maria of Germany faces qualifier Lucciana Perez Alarcon of Peru, and defending singles champion Kayla Day, who won her 11th career International Tennis Federation singles title last weekend in Berkeley, meets qualifier Amelie Van Impe of Belgium not before 1 p.m. on the Championship court. No. 2 seed Mary Stoiana of Connecticut plays Hanna Chang of Fontana not before 6 p.m.
The other former singles champion in the field, No. 8 seed Madison Brengle, advanced Tuesday with a 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 win over Mimi Xu, who plays at Duke University.
The tournament’s entry list includes players ranked from No. 85 to around No. 275 in the world, according to organizers. The event runs through Oct. 4 and is open to the public. Tickets start at $15. Templeton Tennis Ranch is located at 345 Championship Lane in Templeton.
For tickets and tournament updates, visit www.centralcoasttennisclassic.com.
