Lauren Embree, 18, of Naples, Fla., is ranked No. 603. In April, Embree won the USTA Roland Garros eleven-player women’s wild card tournament to earn a main draw wild card into the 2009 French Open where she then faced No. 11 seed Nadia Petrova in a tough first round match. On the USTA Pro Circuit, Embree won her first professional title in 2008 at $10,000 Ft. Worth, Texas and reached the quarterfinals of $25,000 Augusta, Ga., that year. On the Junior circuit, she advanced to the final of the 2009 ITF Easter Bowl, losing to fellow American Christina McHale, and reached the quarterfinals at the USTA International Spring Championships. Embree also had a very strong 2008 junior season, winning the girls’ 18s titles at both the USTA National Clay Court Championship and the Eddie Herr International. In addition, she reached the girls’ 18s final at both the ITF Easter Bowl and the USTA Spring National Championships, and reached the semifinals at the Dunlop Orange Bowl, where she also captured the doubles title.  Embree is currently No. 1 in the USTA Girls’ 18s National Standings and No. 9 in the ITF World Junior Rankings.  She has signed on to play for the University of Florida this coming fall.  

Allie Will, 18, of Boca Raton, Fla., is ranked No. 791. Will recently teamed with Caitlyn Williams to win the doubles title at the $10,000 USTA Pro Circuit event in Sumter, S.C., for Will’s first USTA Pro Circuit title. In singles this year, she reached the quarterfinals of $10,000 Hilton Head Island, S.C., and qualified for $25,000 Jackson, Miss., and $50,000 Charlottesville, Va. In 2008, she reached the quarterfinals at $25,000 Surprise, Ariz., her best showing on the USTA Pro Circuit in singles. In juniors, Will reached the semifinals of the 2007 Easter Bowl and reached two semifinals on ITF junior circuit events in 2006, including an event in South Carolina in which Will was a qualifier. In 2007, Will and Coco Vandeweghe teamed up in doubles to reach the finals of the Orange Bowl.

Jarmere Jenkins, 18, of College Park, Ga., recently competed in the main draw at the USTA Pro Circuit $15,000 event in Harlingen, Texas, after winning three singles matches in the qualifying draw. Though he lost in the first round of the singles main draw, he won the doubles title with partner Javier Herrera-Eguiluz to capture his first career USTA Pro Circuit title. Jenkins also won four singles matches in the qualifying draw at $10,000 Tampa, Fla., on clay in May to reach the main draw.  Jenkins had a strong year on the 2008 junior circuit, reaching the final of both the International Spring Championships last March and the Dunlop Orange Bowl in December. Jenkins also swept the doubles titles at the Eddie Herr International and the Dunlop Orange Bowl with partner Devin Britton.

Matthew Kandath, 17, of Gansevoort, N.Y., is ranked No. 96 in the ITF Junior Standings. Off to a strong start in 2009, Kandath reached the third round of both the Easterbowl US Closed Championships and the USTA International Spring Championships back in April. On the USTA Pro Circuit, he won two singles matches in each of the qualifying draws at $15,000 Harlingen, Texas, and $10,000 Rochester, N.Y., marking only his second and third attempt to qualify for a professional event. On the Junior Circuit, he had his best showing in June 2008 at the USTA Boys’ 18s International Grass Court Championships after reaching the semifinals, and later advanced the quarterfinals at the Eddie Herr International Junior Tennis Championships in December of 2008. In addition, Kandath advanced to the quarterfinals at the Boys’ 16s Orange Bowl in December of 2007.

Andres Pedroso, 30, of Coconut Grove, Fla., was hired as a USTA Player Development National Coach at the USTA Training Center in Boca Raton, Fla., in 2008. He entered the coaching ranks in 2006 after six years on the pro tour and an outstanding college career at Duke. He was a teaching pro at the Biltmore Tennis Center in Coral Gables, Fla., before serving as the personal coach to top American junior Rhyne Williams, who reached No. 10 in the ITF World Junior Rankings and won a USTA Futures in Pittsburgh at the age of 16 (the youngest player ever to win a USTA Pro Circuit men’s event) under Pedroso’s tutelage. As a pro, Pedroso was ranked as high as No. 271 in the world. He was a two-time All-American at Duke, where he helped lead the Blue Devils to four consecutive ACC Championships.