Bridgewater Teen Plays for National Tennis Title

Though it wasn't quite the U.S. Open, for Junior Team Tennis players, the national championships is the ultimate destination.

And Bridgewater's Arthi Palani, 14, was among six New Jersey teens who vied for a United States Tennis Association national title at the championships the weekend of Oct. 30.

Palani's team, representing the USTA Easter 18s intermediate section, finished fifth overall, an accomplishment considering there are 6,000 Junior Team Tennis teams in the league. The tournament was held in Surprise, Arizona.

"I've never played tennis outside of New Jersey, so it's really big for me," said Palani. "It's big for me and my dad, because he's always helped me so much."

The tournament is different from a typical tennis tournament, with the teams playing five games per overall match. The total score is a combination of scores from mixed doubles, girls doubles, boys doubles, boys singles and girls singles matches.

"It's fun, the atmosphere is great and there are a lot of good players here," said teammate Shawn Peterson, of Piscataway. "The play is definitely harder."

Another teammate, Chi-Wei Man of Basking Ridge, was amazed by the level of competition.

"It's really tough," he said. "It's a challenge, but it's definitely cool."

Palani, an eighth grader at , was among the youngest players in the tournament. Rather than being intimidated, she said she thrived on the opportunity to see what kind of competition she can expect to face in high school.

Palani has played tennis for about nine years, often hitting with her dad or her older brother, who plays varsity tennis at .

"You can learn a lot from watching them," Palani said of her competitors. "It's nice to see that these people are really good, and to see where I can go with this."