Bill Talbert Sportsmanship Award

PRESENTED AT

The USTA Boys’ and Girls’ 18s National Championships

HISTORY

The Bill Talbert Junior Sportsmanship Award, presented by the USTA and International Tennis Hall of Fame, is a prestigious recognition that honors young tennis players who exemplify outstanding sportsmanship both on and off the court. Named after the legendary American tennis player, Bill Talbert, this award recognizes those who embody the values of fair play, respect, and dedication to the sport, serving as role models for aspiring athletes worldwide. Recipients of this award are selected for their exceptional character and conduct, making them shining examples of sportsmanship in the world of junior tennis.

ELIGIBILITY/CRITERIA

A junior player who holds a current USTA membership and is in good standing with the USTA.
The nominee must be 18 or under on January 1 st of the year in which the award is being presented. All information submitted must be for play completed prior to this date.
This award is given to a junior player who exemplifies the finest qualities of sportsmanship in competitive play including tournaments, USTA Junior Team Tennis, and USTA Junior Circuit events.
Leadership off the court is a bonus. Examples could include taking on leadership roles, volunteering in the community, or volunteering in the association.
The USTA Awards Committee will take into consideration only the information that pertains to the criteria of the award.
A nominee is ineligible if there is a Code of Conduct on file in the last twelve (12) months against him/her.

SELECTION PROCESS

Each USTA Section Association may submit one male and one female nominee meeting the above criteria. No more than five (5) letters of recommendation should accompany the nomination. The Awards Committee will review and select the recipients from the submissions received.

CONTACT

Janet Hanasik

PAST WINNERS

2024 Karan Raghavendra and Natasha Rajaram

2023 Dylan Tsoi and Emerey Gross

2022 Nicholas Chen

2021 Patrick Toman and Valencia Xu

2020 (No award given due to COVID-19 pandemic)

2019 Stevie Gould and Cherrial Odell

2018 Bill Duo and Sara Ruth Choy

2017 Andrew Ton and Timothy Sah

2016 Lane Leschly and Tiffany Chen

2015 (No award given due to change in timeline)

2014 Star Makarome and Jessie Aney

2013 Kimberly Yee and David Ball

2012 Hadley Rose Berg, Xavier Gonzalez Spencer, Olivia Liang, Aaron J. Revzin

2011 Andrew Ball, Josh Hager, Sierra Halverson, Whitney Kay

2010 Ashok Narayana, Molly O'Koniewski, Jamie Pawdid, Samuel Shropshire

2009 Shaun Chaudhuri, Neil Karandikar, Caroline Price, Marc Powers

2008 Jeremy I. Efferding, Ryan Lipman, Ryan Thacher, Gary Wang

2007 Alexa Glatch, Evan M. King, Alison M. Riske, Michael T. Sicora

2006 Houston Barrick, Sam Querrey, Ashley Turpin, Kacie Wagner

2005 Spencer Mendoza, Davey Sandgren, Spencer Vegosen, Ashley Weinhold

2004 Ashwin Kumar, Elizabeth Lumpkin, Taylor Matsumoto, Sierra Poske

2003 Audra Cohen, Ashlee Davis, Lauren Lui, Sutton Shackelford

2002 Tyler W. Browne, Francis Deason, Jennifer Larson, Caitlin Loprinzi

2001 Ryler DeHeart, Michael Kantar, Rajeev Ram, Christy Roth

2000 Courtney Bergman, Jonny Lu, Seth McKinley, Christine Nolan

1999 Melissa Esmero, Lori Grey, Vincent Ng, Jason Ontog

1998 Jake Cram, Rick Phillipp, David Martin, Rebecca Reynolds

1997 Janet Bergman, Julie Lynn Hladik, Maren Haus, Whitney Laiho

1996 Brandon Hawk, Andres Pedroso, Megan Russell, Lindsay Sullivan

1995 Rebecca Dirksen, Lindsay Nielsen, Lilia Osterloh, Ramsey Smith

1994 Jack Brasington III, Derek Myers, Jakub Pietrowski, Helen Wang

1993 Erin Gowen, Rafael Jordan, Anne Miller, Lauren Nikolaus

1992 Angela Balsiger, Keith Brill, Wendy Crabtree, Richard Gray

1991 Cristina Caparis, Holyn Harkins, Chris Pressley, Frederick Taino

1990 Preety Sorathia, David Joerger, Paul C. Layman, Jamie Nance

1989 Elizabeth Barker, Cary Lothringer, Blair Strassner, Stephen Sullivan

1988 Julie Exum, Joey Gonzalez, Meredith Geiger, Laura Graham

1987 Carrier Bentzel, Joey Gonzalez, Marine Le Ray, Chris Sappington

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