USTA moves Orange Bowl to Clay

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. - The US Tennis association is moving the Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships back to clay courts this year.

The junior tournament will be played Dec 5-11 at the Frank Veltri Tennis Center in Plantation FL. Its been held on hard courts in Key Biscayne since 1998; before that it was played on clay in Miami Beach.

USTA Player Development general manager Patrick McEnroe said Wedsnesday he likes the switch to green clay because "if you if you play more on clay as a youngster, you'll become just a better all-around player."

The Orange Bowl includes singles and doubles events for boys and girls in 18-and-under and 16-and-under divisions.

Past winners include Roger Federer, Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Andy Roddick, Chris Evert and Anna Kournikova. copyright 2011 by The Associated Press