Katherine Hui, Santa Fe Christian (SFC) 8th-grade student, has achieved one of four spots in the playoffs at Les Petits As USA. She’ll now go on to play in the Les Petits As Jr. International Tournament in France in January 2019. As it stands, Hui is one of the top ten best female tennis players in the nation for her age group (14-year-old division).
Hui’s 2018 Accomplishments
Hui has had an incredibly strong season. She started off the year in January at the USTA National Level 3 Tournament in Irvine, CA, successfully making it to the quarterfinals. In May, she won the championship title for the Girls 14 division at the USTA National Level 2 Tournament in Roseville, CA.
She later went on to win the tennis championship title in her division (Girls 14) in the prestigious Zimmerman National Tournament at Stanford University in September. It is a highly competitive group of young athletes, as only 16 players nationally from each age group are selected to compete.
Following that big win, Hui participated in the Les Petits As USA playoffs in October, where the top 16 nationally-ranked girls played in New Jersey. Hui was one of the top four who qualified to compete in January 2019 at the Les Petits As Jr. International Tournament in France — the most prestigious 14-and-under tennis tournament in the world. In fact, many US Open players have participated in Les Petits As during their junior careers. Sponsored by Lacoste, it is held in Tarbes, France, every January.
Having just returned from the USTA National Camp in Florida last month, Hui says, “The past tournaments have really motivated me to keep on pushing myself and working harder to reach my goals.” So far in 2018, she has competed in eight national tournaments, with a tremendous winning average of 73.9%. She’s also competed in nine national tournaments in 2017, seven in 2016 and six in 2015.
Get to Know Hui
Hui fell in love with tennis at the tender age of six, after attending a local pro-tennis tournament with her family. Her most memorable tennis achievement is winning three Silver Balls in doubles: (1) the National Winter Championship Girls 12 Doubles in 2016, (2) the National Clay Court Championship Girls 12 Doubles in 2017, and (3) the National Clay Court Championship Girls 14 Doubles in 2018.
Hui is coached by Christian Groh and plays right-handed. She lives with her family in Santaluz and has a younger 6th-grade sister, Margaret, who also attends SFC, plays competitive tennis, and is also one of the top junior players in Southern California. A love for the sport definitely runs in the Hui family!
In addition to Hui’s rigorous competition schedule, she manages to stay on top of her academics as well. She already has her sights set on attending Stanford University upon graduation from SFC, and of course, playing collegiate tennis. After university graduation, she wants to play tennis professionally. Her favorite tennis player is Roger Federer, and — like many any other teenage girls — Hui enjoys hanging out with her friends, listening to music, reading books, creating art, and shopping at the mall.
UPDATE ON KATHERINE HUI: Hui went on to compete at Les Petits As (the biggest tennis tournament for the 14-and-under age group in the world, where almost all Grand Slam winners played as juniors). She was among four girls and four boys to represent the US to play two tournaments. In Bolton Category 1, she reached semi-finals in both singles and doubles. Later, she reached quarterfinals in the singles by losing to the eventual champion, and was runner-up in the doubles. She was the only US girl to reach those stages. She has proven that she’s one of the best players in her age group, in the world! Hui’s father, Yan Hui, says “I hope this is also a good testimony for SFC… as the students can do well spiritually, academically, and also in sports.” Well done, Katherine Hui!
