Karki, who turned 18 in November, fell behind 4-0 in the first set, made unusual unforced errors and lacked depth in his basic strokes. He saved a set point serve at 1-5, then broke Li in the next game and held, giving Li a second chance to serve out the set at 5-4. He fell behind 15-40, but the 18-year-old from San Diego won the next four points to secure the set.
Karki was broken at 1-1 in the second set, but that marked the start of a series of four consecutive breaks before Karki broke for 5-3 and kept the match in the balance.
Li was broken in the third game of the third set and when he lost his next service game, Karki was in control, with more depth and aggression proving too much for Li.
Karki, who trains in Orlando, is no longer eligible for the ITF Junior Circuit, but his Top 20 finish in the year-end ITF Junior rankings gives him access to eight Challenger-qualifying wildcards this year. He will be eligible for Kalamazoo in 2026 and this title will go a long way toward earning his spot in the draft without the need for a wild card.
No. 8 Kenzie Nguyen, 18, defeated top seed Carlota Moreno 6-4, 7-5 to win the girls 18 title. In a two-hour, 15-minute straight-sets match, Nguyen and Moreno took turns. Nguyen led 3-1 in the first set but lost the next three before taking the final three games of the set with another break. There were only three serves in ten service games in the first set.
Moreno took a 3–1 lead in the second set, but then lost four games in a row, giving Nguyen the chance to serve for the match at 5–3. She got no closer than 30-all, with unforced errors costing her and Moreno managed to tie at 5. Nguyen held on for 6-5 and was able to beat Moreno for the seventh time in the match to earn the championship.
Ellery Mendell[4] defeated Carrie-Anne Hoo[3] 6-2, 6-0 to finish third, with Joanna Kennedy[17] beating unseeded Rose Biria 6-4, 6-3 to win the consolation title and finish in fifth place.
Gordon Gallagher[10] finished third in the boys 18s via a walkover from Noble Renfrow[13]. Liam Alvarez won the consolation tournament, beating Tristan Stratton 6-4, 6-3.
No. 9 seed Nile Ung, 16, defeated Akshay Mirmira, a No. 17 seed, 7-6(7), 6-4 to win the boys’ 16s singles title.
The bronze ball in the boys 16 went to Rafael Lopez[4]who defeated Lennart Hammargren[3] 6-2, 7-5. Piotr Gradzki[5] finished in fifth place with a 6-4, 6-3 victory in the consolation final over Advay Singh.
In the girls’ 16s final, No. 2 seed Shristi Selvan, 15, defeated No. 4 seed Olivia Lin 6-3, 6-1 to take the golden ball.
Nikol Davletshina[5] won the bronze ball in girls 16 when Vanessa Kruse retired trailing 6-3 and 2-0. Elle Groslimond[8] finished fifth, beating Natalie Frisbie 6-3, 6-1 in the consolation final.
There were sweeps in the 14s division for Andres Quijada and Oleana Zerres.
No. 3 Quijada defeated unseeded Nathan Lee 7-6(6), 6-0 in the singles final after capturing the doubles title with Sebastian Zavala yesterday.
Andy Wu[9] took third place in the boys 14s, then Jiarui Zhang[2] withdrew due to injury.
No. 6 seed Oleana Zerres defeated No. 9 seed Eugenia Alvarez 6-2, 6-4 to add to her golden ball collection. Zerres and Ava Chua won the doubles title on Friday.
Third place in the girls 14s went to Reese Ellingson[5]who defeated Charlotte Kim[17] 7-6(4), 6-1.
The top seeds in the 12s advanced to the titles, with Dimitriy Flyam beating No. 16 seed Ethan Kim 6-2, 6-1 and Anna Sandru beating No. 2 seed Mary Podkhyneychenko 6-0, 6-1.
Third place in the boys 12s went to Aaron Peng[7]who defeated William Zhang[2] 6-2, 6-3.
Chloe Anthony[5] finished third in the girls 12s, beating Lailah Cowgill[15] 7-5, 6-4.
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