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Junior Player
spotlight By Brian Coleman
Centercourt Tennis Academy’s Big Three
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arlier this summer, Samir Banerjee recorded one of the biggest wins from an Eastern junior in recent memory, as the New Jersey native captured the Wimbledon Boys’ Singles Title in London. Banerjee brought home the Wimbledon trophy to the TriState area, and specifically Centercourt Performance Tennis Academy, the place where he did the bulk of his junior training growing up. “It was phenomenal to see what he was doing,” said Conrad Singh, the CEO of Centercourt. “Samir walked into Centercourt as a nine-year-old boy, and watching him go from that to winning Wimbledon is mind-blowing.” Banerjee’s win shined a light on the success of Centercourt’s junior program, and if you look deeper, there exists a wide range of top junior players in the program who are aiming to try and replicate Banerjee’s success. As an example of that success, three players who symbolize this talented pool of players are Nick Kotzen, 22
Adit Sinha and Michael Zheng. The three of them were the highest-ranked high school players in the country via UTR, a remarkable accomplishment for three players who are part of the same program. “It was very exciting to have some of the best players in the country all training together at the same academy, as well as only living about 30 minutes away from each other,” said Zheng. “I think the training at Centercourt was very good and the coaches are all top notch. I think everyone had to commit to going there at least three times a week otherwise it wouldn’t have worked out.” Kotzen, Sinha and Zheng have all compiled illustrious junior careers, with Zheng and Kotzen currently being high school seniors, and Sinha competing as a freshman with the Cornell Big Red. Sinha got his start playing tennis when he was around six-years-old, as his parents, who were big cricket fans, could not find a cricket bat to purchase in the United States
New York Tennis Magazine • November/December 2021 • NYTennisMag.com
