2012-13 Offseason Update - December 10th

A few more odds-and-ends as the countdown to the 2013 season -- now less than three weeks away -- officially begins.



* - the final big junior event of the season, the Orange Bowl in Plantation, Florida, was won by 14-year old Croatian Ana Konjuh, who also won the Eddie Herr title a week ago. She joins Lauren Davis (in 2010) as the only other girl since 1993 to sweep both end-of-season events. Konjuh knocked off Katerina Siniakova 6-3/6-2 in the final and, despite two weeks of tiring performances, still had the energy to jump on the Czech at the start of each set, taking a 5-0 lead in the 1st and a 4-0 advantage in the 2nd. Read Colette Lewis' recap of the final at Zoo Tennis for a far more detailed rundown of what happened.

* - the Orange Bowl doubles title was claimed by Taylor Townsend and Gabby Andrews. While Townsend lost in the singles SF to Konjuh, she still finished the season as the Girls #1-ranked player, becoming the first American to do so since Gretchen Rush in 1982.

* - in a $10K challenger in Bangkok, China's Wang Qiang, 20, won her fourth ITF singles title of 2012, defeating countrywoman Wen Xin in the final. Recently, Wang lost out on Asia's wild card into the Australian Open main draw, losing in the determining match to another Chinese player, 18-year old Zhang Yuxuan.

* - later this week, the WTA Prediction Blowout will debut in this space, with my picks for next season's singles Top 10, plus other prognostications, such as the "early outlooks" for 2013's grand slams.

All for now.