JA Plantation 2019 Tennis Tournament | ITF
Dates: 09 Dec - 15 Dec 2019
Host nation: USA
Hospitality: Yes
Surface: Clay - O
Grade: NSLB
Date: 09 Dec, 2019
Host nation: USA
Hospitality: Yes
Surface: Clay - O
Grade: NSLB

Overview

JA Plantation - also known as the Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships - is one of six Grade A events outside of the Grand Slams that carry the greatest ranking points on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors.

Thiago Agustin Tirante of Argentina and American Robin Montgomery won the 2019 Orange Bowl titles after defeating Juan Bautista Torres and Jana Kolodynska, respectively.

History

The Orange Bowl tournament was founded in 1947 by Eddie Herr. When his daughter Suzanne began playing as a junior, Herr discovered there were few tournaments in the Miami area. He decided to launch the Orange Bowl event at the nearby public clay courts at Flamingo Park, where it stayed for 51 years.

Whilst the early years of the competition were dominated by players from the USA, from the late 1950s onwards a more global feel began to develop. The tournament was seen as increasingly significant and the top juniors began travelling to play. Over the years, winners have come from more than 20 nations.

The Orange Bowl was added to the list of Grade A tournaments in 1978.

The list of champions includes Bjorn Borg, Jim Courier, Elena Dementieva, Chris Evert, Roger Federer, Mary Joe Fernandez, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick and Gabriela Sabatini.

In 2012, the tournament returned to clay courts for the first time since 1998 - in which time it has been held on the hard courts of Crandon Tennis Park (home of the combined ATP/WTA Key Biscayne event). The new venue is the Frank Veltri Tennis Center in Plantation, Florida.