Kehrer Swings for Top

With competition fierce to even gain entry to national level tournaments, winning a gold medal at a United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Open Championship’held four times yearly in cities across the United States’is one of the toughest challenges in junior tennis. Winning back-to-back USTA National Open gold medals is even harder. Winning three straight is a rare accomplishment. Yet that’s exactly what 14-year-old Palisadian Walker Kehrer just did. He and doubles partner Michael Lin of San Diego claimed their third successive victory in a National Open doubles final, winning gold last Wednesday in the Boys’ 14 Division at the USTA National Open in Newport Beach. The pair of eighth-graders also took gold in their age division at USTA National Open tournaments in May and July to begin their perfect 12-0 run. If the first event of the year had not been rained out, the duo might have completed the ‘grand slam”winning all four National Open events in the same calendar year. Though he is not yet old enough to play high school tennis, Kehrer looks forward to playing next year at Brentwood School. And while much of his success has come in doubles, Kehrer is also an accomplished singles player. In singles, he reached the finals at Newport Beach and also netted back-to-back silver medals in the Boys’14s division, raising his USTA singles ranking into the Top 25 for the first time in his blossoming career. And with nearly a year left in his age group, Kehrer has his sights set on moving even higher. As one of America’s top junior players, Kehrer maintains a tournament schedule that rivals that of many professional players. In one six-week stretch last summer, he played five national events in four states, taking two first-place, two second-place and a third-place in singles, doubles and team competition. Along the way, he compiled a 34-9 record (singles and doubles) over 42 days against the best players in the nation. Kehrer credits the doubles ‘live-ball’ program at Palisades Tennis Center, which he has played since he was 7, with helping him develop quick hands and a feel for the doubles game. Kehrer and Lin have played doubles together since age 11 on the national stage. Although they live 120 miles apart and rarely meet outside of tournaments, they’ve joined forces at National Open and National Championship events coast to coast. They were also quarterfinalists at the summer National Hard Court Championships in San Antonio, Texas and semifinalists in the Southern California Doubles Championships in November. With a full slate of National Championship tournaments ahead of them in the 14-and-under age division next year, Kehrer and Lin team will try to become the No. 1-ranked doubles team in the country.