U.S. Has the Power of London : Girls’ tennis: Standout for Peninsula will give up shot at CIF Southern Section title to play in the Continental Cup.

Southern California’s best girls’ high school tennis player will not win a Southern Section individual singles title this year.

And unless she changes her mind, Palos Verdes Peninsula High junior Nicole London won’t win one next season, either.

It’s a matter of priorities.

London is a member of the United States Tennis Assn. junior team that has an important amateur tournament scheduled for next month.

So while her peers strive for glory in the Southern Section individual championships next Thursday and Friday, London will be in Florida preparing for the Continental Cup.

“It’s a big opportunity for me,” she said. “In the Continental Cup, I’ll be playing for the United States in team competition against players from other countries. That’s pretty important to me.

“I’d like to play for a CIF (individual) title, but right now I feel like this is the thing I should be doing.”

Teammates Janet Lee and Amber Basica will represent the Panthers in the singles competition, but London will play today when top-seeded Peninsula defends its Division I team title in a match against Dana Point Dana Hills at the Claremont Tennis Club.

London leads a team that fields five nationally ranked players. The Panthers (23-0) have won 47 in a row, including last week’s 17-1 semifinal victory over Santa Barbara, the squad they beat in last year’s team title match.

Last summer, London, 16, returned to New York for her third U.S. Open, and won the qualifying tournament and a first-round match in the main field. London, who lost to the world’s 45th-ranked player in the next round, could have earned about $17,000 had she turned professional.

Rated No. 3 in the nation by the USTA in the 18-and-under age group, London has competed in the French, Italian and Australian opens and will try Wimbledon next summer.

“I played against some of the same girls in other tournaments, so I knew I could compete,” she said of her U.S. Open performance.

“And I felt less pressure playing in the pros than in the juniors, where there’s so much importance on ranking. It’s a huge step up to the pros and I wasn’t expected to do much, so a lot of the pressure was missing.”

London (24-2) has not lost a singles match since her freshman year, when she was beaten twice by Keri Phoebus, now playing at UCLA.

A broken arm two years ago forced London to compensate by developing a forehand shot that is considered one of her most devastating weapons.

At 5, London’s older sister Stephanie began joining her parents at Jack Kramer’s new Palos Verdes tennis club, and soon demonstrated a knack for the game. In a short time, she became one of the center’s most accomplished young players.

She won the 1986 Southern Section title while at Miraleste and was a four-time All-American at USC. She now assists at USC.

Nicole London says that watching her sister prompted her to give up a promising diving career and concentrate on tennis.

“When I was younger, I used to go to her tournaments and watch her all the time,” she said. “But we really didn’t compete or play against each other that much. She definitely had an influence on me, though.

“After watching her play and going along to tournaments and then starting to play myself, I just stopped diving completely.”

Peninsula’s Jim Hansen, Stephanie’s coach at Miraleste, sees similarities between the two players.

“They play the same kind of game,” he said. “They have tremendous concentration and make very few unforced errors.”

London said she often is called on to defend the game she loves against charges that it is boring and fails to present a legitimate physical challenge.

“I tell them: Yeah, it’s a stupid sport . . . to watch,” she said. “Playing it is a lot different, though. If I didn’t play, I’d probably agree. But anyone who has ever played tennis knows how difficult and physical it really is.”

London competes in about half of Peninsula’s matches, but practices six days, takes lessons and volleys with friends and family several times each week.

“I love to play the game, but I’m not obsessed with it,” she said. “If I played any more than I do now, I’d probably get sick of it.”

Said Peninsula co-Coach Tom Cox: “I’d like to see her win the CIF championship sometime in her career, but now she only has one more chance. But the other side of the coin is that we have a lot of good players, and this gives someone else a chance to play.”

Said London: “If the situation was the same next year and I had a chance to represent my country again, I’d have to go to Florida again,” she said.