Pareja Reaches Wimbledon Junior Finals in Singles and Doubles; Qualifier Karki's Improbable Run Continues; Leach and Penickova Advance to Doubles Championships; Semifinals in U14s Set for Saturday; Fritz Falls to Alcaraz

©Colette Lewis 2025--

Wimbledon--

A scorching day at the All England Lawn Tennis Club ended Friday evening with Julieta Pareja set to contend for two Wimbledon Junior Championships, while qualifier Ronit Karki mounted a third straight comeback to advance to Sunday's boys singles championship.

The sixth-seeded Pareja had sailed through her first four matches, losing no more than four games in any set, and another routine win was developing when she took the first set of her semifinal with Great Britain's unseeded Mimi Xu 6-2. But Xu, who has spent the last six weeks competing on grass in her home country, revved up her serving, taking advantage of a slight wobble by Pareja. 

Serving for the match at 5-3, Pareja was broken at 15, with her only match point coming in the subsequent tiebreaker, which Xu saved with one of her 17 aces. Xu took the 70-minute set 7-6(9), yet Pareja refused to let that rattle her.

"I had a chance to serve it out, but she played a good game there," said the 16-year-old from Carlsbad California. "I made two mistakes but it wasn't easy mistakes either. I tried to just keep being focused, not get annoyed or frustrated, which I think really helped me in the third."

Pareja was philosophical about being aced on match point.

"There's nothing you can do," said Roehampton champion Pareja, who is now 11-0 in singles and 8-1 in doubles in her first two grass events. "She has a really good serve, she aced me on match point, you can't do anything about it, so next point."

Pareja broke Xu to take a 3-2 lead in the third set, and this time served it out, although another match point came and went before Xu netted a backhand to give Pareja a 6-2, 6-7(9), 6-4, two-hour and 32-minute win on Court 12.

Pareja's opponent in Saturday's final is unseeded Mia Pohankova of Slovakia, who needed barely half the time it took Pareja to advance, beating 2024 semifinalist Vendula Valdmannova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 6-0 in an hour and 17 minutes.

Pohankova, who will be 17 in October, had her patience tested when Valdmannova left the court for treatment before serving down 6-4, 5-0. While Valdmannova was gone, Pohankova didn't seek shade or sit down, instead spending the approximately 10- minute delay pacing behind the baseline on Court 18, shadow swinging and moving from one part of the court to another, while trying to keep her mind on the task at hand.

"She told me something really hurt in here," Pohankova said, pointing to her upper abdomen. "It's too tough, because it's 5-0 and everything's in my mind. I just say, focus, focus, stay in the game and I did it."

When Valdmannova finally returned, she went down 0-40, but wasn't quite ready to leave the court. She saved the first match point with a drop shot winner--not easy to do against Pohankova--then blasted a forehand winner to save the second. But that was her last gasp, with a double fault putting Pohankova into her first slam final, after reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open in January.

Pohankova's vocal cheering section expressed their delight at the slightly delayed victory, with Pohankova giving the dozen friends and family members credit for her success this week.

"So many people, my friends, my close family, I like it when the crowd push me on every point, I like it," said Pohankova, the second straight Slovakian girl to reach the final, with Renata Jamrichova taking the title last year. "It's so nice. It's unbelievable. After the semifinals, my emotions is, I don't know. I'm so excited and I think tomorrow will be a very good match."

Pohankova and Pareja have not played, but Pareja said they had practiced together at Roehampton last week and warmed up together this week, and she will prepare for the Saturday afternoon final on Court One with some pre-match scouting.

"I'll have to watch a bit more of her in videos," said Pareja, who cites that as a regular part of her preparation. "I'll be sure to have a good game plan."

Whether she'll have much time to do that scouting is an open question, as she spent Friday evening competing in the doubles semifinal with Thea Frodin. The No. 5 seeds, Frodin and Pareja advanced to the final with a 4-6, 6-4 10-4 win over Julie Pastikova of the Czech Republic and Julia Stusek of Germany.

An American girl will win the doubles championship, which will be delayed until Sunday due to Pareja's singles final on Saturday. Kristina Penickova, the Australian Open girls doubles champion with sister Annika Penickova, is partnering with Valdmannova this trip due to Annika's injury, and the No. 8 seeds have advanced to the final. They defeated the No. 3 seeds, sisters Alena and Jana Kovackova of the Czech Republic, 7-6(3), 6-2.

Ronit Karki found himself in a familiar position this afternoon on Court 12 against No. 12 seed Alexander Vasilev of Bulgaria. After losing a 12-minute service game to drop the opening set 7-5, Karki didn't let that faze him, going on to win his third sraight match over a seeded opponent from a set down.

Vasilev, a big-serving left-hander who hit 143 on the serve speed indicator during the match, struggled with his second serve, with 11 double faults assisting Karki in his comeback. Karki, who returned a 134 mph serve and won the point, got his first break in the second set aided by two of those double faults, then got another break to take a 5-2 lead, which came in handy when he was broken serving for the set. But the 17-year-old from New Jersey had no trouble in his second opportunity to even the match, thanks to his own excellent serving.

"I just served a little better in that game, made a few more first serves," said Karki, who made four of five in that game. "And that was the key. Most of those points were just serve and errors off of first serves. But I had a lot of confidence going into that game that I could serve it out and I ended up taking care of my serve well."

Karki broke at love to start the third set and as Vasilev again struggled with his second serve, Karki took control, winning the last four games for a 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 win.

Karki, the first qualifier to reach a boys junior slam final since Noah Rubin won the Wimbledon title in 2014, said he had no expectations coming into this grass court fortnight, but over the course of his seven matches has learned his strengths on the surface. 

"It's mainly the movement, I move well on the grass in my opinion," said Karki, who trains at the Gooding-Todero Academy in Orlando. "I realized it's not that different from a hard court, the ball bounces pretty normal most of the time...but it bounces much more how you would expect it to bounce than I thought it would going into this grass trip."

Karki will face No. 6 seed Ivan Ivanov of Bulgaria in Sunday's final, after he avenged his Roland Garros semifinal loss to No. 13 seed Max Schoenhaus of Germany 7-6(7), 7-6(5) to start the day on Show Court 18.

After trading breaks midway in the first set, Ivanov took a 6-3 lead in the tiebreaker, but was unable to convert, then double faulted to give Schoenhaus a set point. Schoenhaus couldn't accept the gift, double faulting himself for 7-7, and Ivanov then earned a fourth set point, with a forehand forcing an error from Schoenhaus. 

That set point ended in tragic-comic fashion depending on your perspective, with Schoenhaus controlling the point throughout, with a forehand sending Ivanov deep into the corner. Ivanov slipped and fell after barely getting a racquet on the ball to send it weakly over the net, and after he hit the shot, the racquet went flying into the air. That may have distracted Schoenhaus, standing on top of the net to put away the ball, and he netted it, giving Ivanov the set.

"I slipped, returned the ball somehow and he had all the court open," said the 16-year-old, who has trained at the Nadal Academy the past two and a half years. "He had the ball one meter away from the net. Obviously there was a lot of pressure, the crowd was fired up a bit more and he missed it. The level of relief was insane."

Ivanov had a 3-0, two-break lead in the second set, saw that slip away, but avoided a third set, with a huge forehand winner at 5-all in the tiebreaker giving him the chance for a place in the final. This time, Ivanov made good on his first attempt to close, with  Schoenhaus netting a forehand, his 45th unforced error of the match.

Ivanov is just the second Bulgarian to reach a Wimbledon boys final, with Grigor Dimitrov winning the title in 2008. 

The boys doubles final, which will be played on Court One Saturday, will feature No. 8 seeds Jagger Leach and Great Britain's Oliver Bonding and Roland Garros doubles champions Oskari Paldanius of Finland and Alan Wazny of Poland.

Leach and Bonding defeated the unseeded team of Mees Rottgering and Hidde Schoenmakers of the Netherlands, saving a match point in the deciding tiebreaker in their 4-6, 7-6(6), 11-9 victory. Paldanius and Wazny, the No. 4 seeds, defeated the unseeded team of Amir Omarkhanov of Kazakhstan and Egor Pleshivtsev of Russia 6-4, 4-6, 10-5.

In the U14 tournament, none of the three Americans advanced to the semifinals, with Emery Combs beating Sofia Bielinska of Ukraine, but finishing behind Bielinska in the group calculations.

The U14 semifinals:

Boys:

Rafael Pagonis(GRE) v Nikita Berdin(RUS)

Moritz Freitag(AUT) v Mario Vukovic(FRA)

Girls:

Liv Zingg(GBR) v Sakino Miyazawa(JPN)

Yeri Hong(KOR) v Sofia Bielinska(UKR)

Complete results for the boys are here; girls results are here.

In today's men's semifinals at Wimbledon, two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain defeated Taylor Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(6) and Jannik Sinner of Italy beat Novak Djokovic of Serbia 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 to set up a rematch of last month's Roland Garros men's final.

For more on the Fritz-Alcaraz match, see this article form the Wimbledon website.

Qualifier Karki Gets KitKat Boost to Reach Wimbledon Boys Semifinals; Pohankova Ousts Top Seed Jones, Pareja Beats No. 2 Seed Klugman in Girls Quarterfinals; Verbeek Claims Wimbledon Mixed Title; Anisimova Reaches Women's Final

©Colette Lewis 2025--
Wimbledon--

Of the many amenities available at the All England Lawn Tennis Club that qualifier Ronit Karki has noticed in his first appearance in the Wimbledon Junior Championships, none were as critical a KitKat bar that miraculously appeared in his 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 quarterfinal win Thursday over No. 14 seed Alan Wazny of Poland. 

"In the third set, food was just appearing on my bench," marvelled the 17-year-old from New Jersey, who wasn't surprised that the chocolate had begun melting in the 88 degree heat. "I was just eating all of it because I didn't want to cramp. I had a KitKat, a banana, strawberries and cream, and honestly, after I ate the KitKat and the strawberries and cream, I think I got a little sugar in my body for the fuel for the 15 minutes I needed it."

Karki was in desperate need of a injection of energy after losing four straight games to Wazny after breaking to open the third set. But he got the break back, and serving at 3-4, came up with a forehand winner and an ace to hold from 30-all. 

Down 0-30 serving at 4-all, Wazny hit three consecutive good serves, the last two of them aces, but Karki saved that game point with a forehand volley winner. Wazny then double faulted to give Karki a break point, which he converted when Wazny missed a backhand volley wide.

Karki admitted that the free points he got on serve the in the previous two matches were not there for him today, but he chalked that up as a reversion to the mean.

"Today it was not as clean," said Karki, who has won six matches this tournament to become the first qualifier to reach a junior slam semifinal since Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg of France did it here in 2021. "I didn't expect to be serving as good as the last two days, because that's just not normal for me; it's not how I typically play. I didn't let it get to my head, because in most of my matches I'm winning off ground strokes, not serving through the guy. But I did come up with a few good serves today in some important moments and my second serve was really consistent, so it wasn't that big of a drawback."

Karki will face No. 12 seed Alexander Vasilev of Bulgaria, the runner-up last week at the ITF J300 in Roehampton, who defeated unseeded Thijs Boogaard of the Netherlands 6-4, 5-7, 6-3. Vasilev handed Karki his only defeat to date in junior slams in the second round at Roland Garros this year 1-6, 6-2, 6-4.

The other boys semifinal will also feature a Bulgarian, with No. 6 seed Ivan Ivanov getting another shot at No. 13 seed Max Schoenhaus of Germany, who defeated him in the semifinals of Roland Garros 6-3, 6-4.  Ivanov beat unseeded Ziga Sesko of Slovenia 6-3, 7-6(4), while Schoenhaus repeated his Roland Garros win over No. 7 seed Benjamin Willwerth 7-6(2), 6-3 in the battle between the past two junior slam finalists.

Schoenhaus had needed to save two match points in a third set tiebreaker to beat Willwerth in last month's Roland Garros quarterfinals, which only made the 17-year-old with a one-handed backhand more wary coming into the rematch.

"It's a completely different surface," said Schoenhaus, who is the first German boy since Maximilian Marterer in 2013 to make a Junior Wimbledon semifinal. "He can play a really high level, can hit really really hard shots, which is hard on grass, so I spoke to my team about it and we did some tactical changes and I think it worked out great today."

Schoenhaus had 28 winners and nine aces, and although he showed signs of nerves in his attempt to serve out the first set at 5-4 and then going down 0-40 in serving out the 5-3 game in the second set, Willwerth found it difficult to locate any other chinks in the armor.

"He was playing insane," said the 18-year-old from Florida. "I feel like the match was all up to him, I had very little to, like, do. It was either he would hit a winner or it was out, so it was tough for me; he took all the rhythm away and I couldn't do what I usually do. He was just ripping winners, his serve was staying very low, so I had a tough time returning his serve."

Schoenhaus, who won the doubles title here last year with Alexander Razeghi, made a trip to the banner posted outside Centre Court honoring the previous year's junior champions, but his title defense ended today. Andres Santamarta Roig of Spain and Schoenhaus, the top seeds, lost to No. 8 seeds Oliver Bonding of Great Britain and Jagger Leach 6-3, 2-6, 10-7.

Bonding and Leach will face unseeded Mees Rottgering and Hidde Schoenmakers of the Netherlands, who beat unseeded Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico and Jack Secord 6-2, 7-6(5).

No. 4 seeds Oskari Paldanius of Finland and Alan Wazny of Poland won the battle of the 2025 boys doubles champions, with the Roland Garros winners beating the unseeded Australian Open champions Max Exsted and Czech Jan Kumstat 6-4, 7-6(5). They will play the unseeded team of Amir Omarkhanov of Kazakhstan and Egor Pleshivtsev of Russia, who beat unseeded Connor Doig of South Africa and Kriish Tyagi of India 6-4, 7-6(8).

The girls singles semifinals will feature three unseeded players and No. 6 seed Julieta Pareja of the United States, after the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 seeds all lost today on three different Show Courts.

Mia Pohankova of Slovakia defeated top seed and 2024 Wimbledon girls finalist Emerson Jones 6-2, 6-2 on Show Court 18, using her slice and her anticipation to force Jones into a bevy of unforced errors. 

Pohankova defeated 2024 US Open champion Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain, seeded No. 7, in the first round, but long before that she had demonstrated she could be competitive at the very top of the junior game.

At an ITF women's W75 in her home town of Bratislava last October, Pohankova defeated compatriot Renata Jamrichova, just months removed from her Wimbledon girls title, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2.

"It was in our country, in the finals," said the 16-year-old, who reached the Australian Open girls semifinals this year. "I can beat anyone in juniors; I need to believe in myself. If I just stay focused on the court, I can do it. I believe."

Pohankova will face 2024 semifinalist Vendula Valdmannova of the Czech Republic, who saved a match point in her 6-2, 4-6, 7-5 win over No. 5 seed Teodora Kostovic of Serbia, when Kostovic was serving at 5-4, 40-30 in the third set.

The two girls with the best grass court results of the season will meet in the other semifinal, with Pareja taking on Mimi Xu of Great Britain. Xu defeated Roland Garros champion Lilli Tagger 7-6(4), 6-1 on a match moved to Court 3.

Xu, who has had two Top 100 WTA wins last month early in the grass season, received a main draw wild card into Wimbledon, where she lost to Emma Raducanu 6-3, 6-3. But all the experience she has gained against WTA veterans continues to give her confidence.

"I think it's really relaxed me," said the 17-year-old, who reached the US Open girls semifinals last year. "I lost to Emma but I feel like it was a competitive match so I know I've got that level in me. And it's such great preparation, because all the juniors, except Hannah(Klugman) and Mika(Stojsavljevic), hadn't played on these courts yet, so at the start it was an advantage for me. What better preparation can you get for Junior Wimbledon than playing senior Wimbledon?"

Like Xu, who is playing her fifth Junior Wimbledon, Pareja has excelled on grass, although the last two weeks are the Californian's first exposure to the surface. She now has 18 wins and one loss, the latter in the Roehampton doubles final, after beating No. 2 seed Hannah Klugman of Great Britain 6-4, 6-2 on Show Court 12 and advancing to the doubles semifinals as well.

Pareja and Thea Frodin, the No. 5 seeds, defeated Yihan Qu of China and Kamonwan Yodpetch of Thailand 7-6(7) 6-4 and will play unseeded Julie Pastikova of the Czech Republic and Julia Stusek of Germany. Pastikova and Stusek defeated unseeded Sarah Fajmonova of the Czech Republic and Kali Supova of Slovakia 6-2, 6-3.

No. 8 seeds Kristina Penickova and Valdmannova defeated No. 2 seeds Jones and Jeline Vandromme of Belgium 7-6(7), 6-2 to reach the bottom half semifinal. They will play sisters Alena Kovackova and Jana Kovackova of the Czech Republic, the No. 3 seeds, who beat No. 6 seeds Charo Esquiva Banuls of Spain and Nellie Taraba Wallberg of Sweden 7-5, 6-4.

Round robin play in the 14U tournament began today, with all three Americans picking up victories. Emery Combs beat Australia's Caressa Jackson 6-7(3), 6-3, 10-6 and Carol Shao defeated Flavia Souza of Brazil 6-4, 6-2 in groups C and B respectively. The boys played twice today, with Tristan Ascenzo going 2-0 with a 6-1, 6-4 win over Siyun Kim of Korea and a 6-3, 7-6(8) victory over Ignacio Mejias of Venezuela. 

The girls results are here; the boys results are here.

The first of the Wimbledon doubles championships was decided this evening with Sem Verbeek(Pacific) of the Netherlands and Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic claiming the mixed doubles title with a 7-6(3), 7-6(3) win over Joe Salisbury(Memphis) and Luisa Stefani(Pepperdine) on Centre Court.

It's the 11th career major doubles title for Siniakova, but her first in mixed, although she did win the gold medal with Tomas Machac at last year's Olympic Games in Paris. It's the first major title for Verbeek.

For more on their title, see this article from the Wimbledon website.

Amanda Anisimova have advanced to her first major final, beating WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 today on Centre Court. Anisimova will face 2018 Wimbledon girls champion Iga Swiatek of Poland for the title on Saturday.

The USTA provided this perspective on Anisimova's accomplishment in a brief release today:

 

Amanda Anisimova Reaches Wimbledon Singles Final

 

Fourth Consecutive Grand Slam Women's Singles Final to Feature an American 

 

Twenty-three-year-old American Amanda Anisimova reached the 2025 Wimbledon Ladies' Singles Final by defeating top seed and world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, in today's semifinals. She'll play the winner of Iga Swiatek and Belinda Bencic for the title on Saturday in London. 

 

Anisimova becomes the youngest American women's singles finalist at Wimbledon since Serena Williams in 2004, and continues an incredible run for American women in Grand Slam events.  

 

Four different American women have now reached the singles final of each of the last four Grand Slam events, following Jessica Pegula (2024 US Open, Finalist); Madison Keys (2025 Australian Open, Champion) and Coco Gauff (2025 French Open, Champion).

 

American Taylor Fritz plays Carlos Alcaraz in tomorrow's men's semifinals in a bid to become the first American Wimbledon men's finalist since Andy Roddick in 2009 -- also the last year Wimbledon featured Americans in both the men's and women's singles finals (Serena d. Venus).

Taylor Fritz will play Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the men's semifinals Friday.

Top Five Boys Seeds Gone From Wimbledon Junior Championships with Wazny Ousting No. 2 Seed Vasami; Americans Karki and Willwerth Reach Quarterfinals; Pareja's Grass Streak Continues; 14U Tournament Round Robin Stage Begins Thursday

©Colette Lewis 2025--
Wimbledon--

A warm and sunny day at the All England Lawn Tennis Club proved inhospitable to three more boys seeds in Wednesday's third round of the Wimbledon Junior Championships, with the exit of No. 2 seed Jacopo Vasami of Italy and No. 8 seed Jack Kennedy leaving just two Top 8 seeds in the quarterfinals.

No. 14 seed Alan Wazny of Poland defeated Vasami 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 and didn't look anything like a player who had not won a junior slam match until this week when he took control of the match in second set tiebreaker.

"Tiebreak I played really, really well," said the 18-year-old, who won the Roland Garros doubles title last month with Oskari Paldanius of Finland. "I served almost perfectly, every first serve. And then in the third set, I managed to break him in the first game and third game, and he smashed the racquet totally."

Vasami was spraying balls all over the court in the first three games and although he didn't display any frustration verbally, his Wilson racquet bore the brunt of his anger, as he retreated to the corner of Court 4 and violently smashed it five or six times before heading to the changeover.

Wazny didn't read much into Vasami's outburst, maintaining his concentration as he built a 5-1 lead.

"I didn't focus on that, I just focused on holding my serve," said Wazny, who lost in the first round last week at Roehampton. "I could take a risk on the return, maybe get another break, but if not, it's ok."

Vasami held for 5-2, and serving for the match, Wazny took a 30-0 lead, only to double fault.

"I was a bit nervous, not much, because I was confident with my serve for the whole match, so I felt stable" Wazny said. "But it was just a stupid decision to go too aggressive on second serve, it was not necessary."

After Wazny made an unforced error on his forehand, Vasami may have felt some hope, but Wazny quickly erased any doubt about his ability to close out the biggest win of his junior career, hitting two massive forehand winners to earn the victory.

Wazny will face qualifier Ronit Karki, who defeated No. 8 seed Jack Kennedy 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the only all-USA contest of the third round.

Karki said it wasn't nerves that caused him to drop the opening set, but a failure to take enough risk.

"The mindset I was in was a little too passive," said the 17-year-old from New Jersey, who now trains in Florida. "I didn't want to be the one making errors and that's not the correct way to think. You practice to take control of the point, that's how you're trained to play and I started to play that way in the second and third."

Karki, who gave credit to his serve after his second round win over No. 9 seed Yannick Alexandrescou of Romania, again cited its effectiveness today.

"I also started serving really well in the second and third, I think I had seven aces in this match," Karki said. "I guess for a bigger dude, that's normal, but for me, I don't see that ever."

Karki broke Kennedy at love to take a 4-3 lead in the third set, but lost the first two points on serve in his attempt to consolidate. 

"I was down 0-30, got it to 30-all and hit two aces on the line," Karki said. "That's when I realized I was serving really, really good and I should have confidence in it."

Down 0-30 again serving for the match at 5-4, Karki forced an error with a short forehand angle and earned a match point by forcing two more errors from Kennedy. Karki was able to eliminate any drama, but only just, with Kennedy's forehand out by and inch or so, according to the Electric Line Calling "close call" video that was shown on the Court 7 screen.

"There were a lot of close points in that last game," Karki said. "The last point too, it was barely out."

Karki will prepare for the quarterfinals with his usual meal of pasta in cream sauce, with chicken and mushrooms, while he takes a break from thinking about tennis for a few hours. And he might indulge in his new favorite beverage.

"I like the ginger shot, I've been drinking that," Karki said. "You don't see that at every tournament, that's for sure."

While Karki and Wazny have never played in singles, No. 7 seed Benjamin Willwerth and No. 13 seed Max Schoenhaus of Germany will meet in a second consecutive slam quarterfinal. Willwerth eased past No. 10 seed Oskari Paldanius of Finland 6-1, 6-4, while Schoenhaus eliminated 2024 Wimbledon boys finalist and No. 3 seed Mees Rottgering of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-4. 

In Paris, Schoenhaus defeated Willwerth 6-3, 3-6 7-6(11), saving two match points; Willwerth said after his first round win this week that he's "not a clay player," with grass much more suited to his game.

Ziga Sesko of Slovenia, who beat top seed Andres Santamarta Roig in the second round, continued his run with a 7-6(2), 6-2 win over Nikita Bilozertsev of Ukraine. He'll play the highest remaining boys seed, No. 6 Ivan Ivanov of Bulgaria, who beat Jack Secord 6-3, 6-2.

The final boys quarterfinal match will feature No. 12 seed Alexander Vasilev of Bulgaria and unseeded Thijs Boogaard of the Netherlands. Vasilev defeated unseeded Keaton Hance 7-6(5), 6-4 and Boogaard beat No. 15 seed Timofei Derepasko of Russia 7-6(5), 7-6(5), after Derepasko had served for both sets.

Five of the six girls seeds in the round of 16 advanced to the quarterfinals, none more impressively than No. 6 seed Julieta Pareja, who defeated Elizara Yaneva of Bulgaria 6-2, 6-2. The rematch of last Friday's ITF J300 Roehampton final, which Pareja won 1-6, 6-4, 6-3, was no contest today, with the 16-year-old Californian sustaining her nearly flawless level throughout.

"In the first set (last week) she was super on from the start,"  said Pareja, who had 34 winners and just 20 unforced errors today. "So I knew I had to be super focused from the start here. I was really focused throughout the whole match; I don't think I had ups and downs, I took a lot of time away. I think I played really well, and I'd give myself a pretty good score there."

USTA National Coach Georgi Rumenov, who works with Pareja at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, was impressed by Pareja's execution of the strategy they'd devised.

"She played at a great level," Rumenov said. "She used her game, played really smart. She served really well today, returned well and put a lot of pressure on Yaneva. Excellent match. Today she had a very clear game plan, how to use it, and executed it beautifully."

Pareja will face No. 2 seed Hannah Klugman of Great Britain, who defeated No. 13 seed Charo Esquiva Banuls of Spain 6-4, 6-3. Klugman and Pareja met in the semifinals of the ITF J500 in Milan in May, with Pareja winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Top seed Emerson Jones of Australia, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over qualifier Eugenia Zozaya Menendez of Spain, will face unseeded Mia Pohankova of Slovakia in the quarterfinals. Pohankova defeated Nauhany Leme Da Silva of Brazil 6-3, 5-7, 6-3.

2024 semifinalist Vendula Valdmannova of the Czech Republic will play No. 5 seed Teodora Kostovic of Serbia, with Valdmannova cruising past Laima Vladson of Lithuania 6-0, 6-2 and Kostovic beating qualifier Kanon Sawashiro of Japan 6-3, 6-1. 

The last girls quarterfinal will feature Roland Garros champion and No. 3 seed Lilli Tagger of Austria and Mimi Xu of Great Britain, who have met in two of the last three junior slams. Tagger, who beat wild card Ruby Cooling of Great Britain 6-3, 6-2, defeated Xu 6-3, 6-4 in the third round at the Australian Open this year. Xu, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Tahlia Kokkinis of Australia, defeated Tagger in the first round of the US Open last year en route to the semifinals. 

In the second round of doubles, top girls seeds Klugman and Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain lost to Yihan Qu of China and Kamonwan Yodpetch of Thailand 6-1, 7-5.

The second-seeded boys team of Timofei Derepasko and Jacopo Vasami lost to Egor Pleshivtsev of Russia and Amir Omarkhanov of Kazakhstan 6-3, 6-2.

Wednesday's junior singles results of Americans:

Ivan Ivanov[6](BUL) d. Jack Secord 6-3, 6-2

Alexander Vasilev[12](BUL) d. Keaton Hance 7-6(5), 6-4

Ronit Karki[Q] d. Jack Kennedy[8] 4-6, 6-3, 6-4

Benjamin Willwerth[7] d. Oskari Paldanius[11](FIN) 6-1, 6-4

Julieta Pareja[6] d. Elizara Yaneva(BUL) 6-2, 6-2

Thursday's junior singles matches featuring Americans:

Benjamin Willwerth[7] v Max Schoenhaus[13](GER)

Ronit Karki[Q] v Alan Wazvy[14](POL)

Julieta Pareja[6] v Hannah Klugman[2](GBR)

Thursday's junior doubles quarterfinal matches featuring Americans:

Kristina Penickova and Vendula Valdmannova(CZE) v Emerson Jones[1](AUS) and Jeline Vandromme[2](BEL)

Julieta Pareja and Thea Frodin[5] v Yihan Qu(CHN) and Kamonwan Yodpetch(THA)

Jack Secord and Yannik Alvarez(PUR) v Mees Rottgering(NED) and Hidde Schoenmakers(NED)

Jagger Leach and Oliver Bonding(GBR)[8] v Andres Santamarta Roig and Max Schoenhaus(GER)[1]

Maxwell Exsted and Jam Kumstat(CZE) v Oskari Paldanius(FIN) and Alan Wazny(POL)[4]

The fourth edition of Wimbledon's U14 tournament begins Thursday with round robin play. The boys will play two matches and the girls one match, with that schedule reversed Friday. 

Three Americans are competing Tristan Ascenzo in the boys field of 16 and Emery Combs and Carol Shao in the girls field of 16. The top finishers in each of the four groups will advance to Saturday's semifinals. The event is singles only. 

The girls draw is here; the boys draw is here.

Ben Shelton lost in the quarterfinals today to top seed Jannik Sinner 7-6(2), 6-4, 6-4.

Amanda Anisimova will play top seed Aryana Sabalenka in the Wimbledon women's semifinals Thursday. Taylor Fritz will face two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in the men's semifinals Friday.

Sesko's Tweener Winner Leads to Upset of Boys Top Seed at Wimbledon Junior Championships; Hance Ousts Roland Garros Champion McDonald; Qualifier Karki Advances; Fritz and Anisimova Reach Semifinals

©Colette Lewis 2025--
Wimbledon--

Trailing 2-0 in the third set in his Wimbledon Junior Championships second round match against top seed Andres Santamarta Roig of Spain, Ziga Sesko needed a spark. The 16-year-old from Koper Slovenia found it in the form of a tweener winner to hold for 2-1, and rode the momentum of that improbable shot and the adulation of the Court 4 crowd to a 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 win over the ITF's world junior No. 1.

"I hit an amazing winner, he lobbed me and I hit an unbelievable winner shot," said Sesko, who ripped the tweener passing shot by  Santamarta at the net, then raised his arms in the air in triumph. "The crowd went crazy and that really helped me; I got some momentum, managed to get back the break and finish the match."

With the Centre Court and Court One matches not yet starting, the four junior boys singles courts were packed, and with an upset of that magnitude a possibility, the crowd continued to grow as the third set progressed.

"It was unbelievable atmosphere," said the ITF junior No. 43, who turns 17 later this month. "The spectators love the way I play, it was louder than a usual tournament, and my first slam also, so it was unbelievable."

Sesko, who was at the Piatti Tennis Center in Italy until returning to Slovenis to train with his father Dejan, believes his aggressive game is tailor-made for grass.

"I always say the faster the court is, the more it suits me," Sesko said. "I tried also in the third set to play a bit more slice, get to the net a lot. I think I have a solid volley and I need to use that. And I served really well at the end, so I think all these things combined led me to the win."

Santamarta was one of three Top 5 seeds to fall in the second round, with Roland Garros champion Niels McDonald of Germany, the No. 5 seed, also an upset victim.  

Keaton Hance had lost to McDonald in the second round at Roland Garros last month, so he made several adjustments today which led to his 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-4 victory.

"He beat me pretty bad (6-1, 6-3), so I was definitely coming into this match trying to improve from that," said the 17-year-old from California, who lives and trains at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona. "I got an idea of how he plays at the French so I went into the match with a better mentality and better strategy and that helped me a lot."

Hance didn't get a look at a break point in the first set, but tried not to get discouraged by his lack of opportunities.

"He served really well in the first and I just tried to stay calm," said Hance, who played the first Wimbledon U14 tournament three years ago. "I tried different things to make him think a little more and maybe I'll start to return a little better and I think I definitely did that."

Hance wasn't able to convert his two set points with McDonald serving at 4-5, but he dominated the tiebreaker with McDonald's unforced error count mounting. In the third set, Hance took a 3-1 lead and McDonald looked uncertain about his prospects for coming back.

"I feel like his game style is pretty set, while I think mine, I can change it a little more," Hance said. "I can do a lot of different things, and during the second set he realized I was getting the hang of how he was playing. I started making a lot more balls and he didn't like that. In the third it was like he didn't know what to do a little bit and he started to panic a little. And I also was playing well."

Closing out an upset at a slam is never easy, but Hance came up with two crucial points serving for it at 5-4, 30-30. He hit a good body serve that McDonald couldn't return and made another first serve on match point, with his deep forehand forcing an error from McDonald that secured the win.

"This is pretty much my first time here, I played the 14 Under thing, but this is my first time in the juniors and I just want to experience all of it," Hance said. "I'm glad I'm able to play more matches, and I just want to enjoy being at this awesome place and try to improve as much as I can."

Hance will play No. 12 seed Alexander Vasilev of Bulgaria in the round of 16 Wednesday.

The only qualifier remaining in the boys draw is Ronit Karki, who defeated No. 9 seed Yannick Alexandrescou of Romania 6-3, 6-4. Karki, who was also the first player out of the main draw at Roland Garros, and made it to the second round as a qualifier, had a dramatic 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(10-7) win over Flynn Thomas of Switzerland in the first round, but there was no such suspense today.

"I did feel a lot looser today," said the 17-year-old from Florida. "I was confident going into the 5-4 game and the whole match I was playing pretty well, so I wasn't that nervous."

Karki said the faster surface presents no problem for him, which was evident in his serving, making 75% of his first serves, with three aces and no double faults.

"I was serving well and was able to get a lot of free points on my serve and take control of rallies early," said Karki, who had 23 winners to just 6 for Alexandrescou. "I grew up on indoor hard in New Jersey, so even though I've been in Florida for the last two and a half years, I still think there's an indoor side of me in my blood."

Karki will face No. 8 seed Jack Kennedy in the only all-USA round of 16 match after Kennedy beat 2024 Australian Open finalist Jan Kumstat of the Czech Republic 7-6(4), 7-6(8) in another crowd-pleasing match on Court 4.

The top-seeded American, No. 4 Jagger Leach, fell to Thijs Boogaard of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4. 

Boogaard, the 2022 Les Petis As champion, has been highly regarded for many years, but a back injury and then mononucleosis have been hard to recover from.

"I had an injury in my lower back and was out for a few months, and when I came back we found out I had mono, and I've been struggling with that ever since," said the 17-year-old, who is not playing doubles in order to conserve his energy this week.  "It's getting better, but I'm not fully recovered yet. My body is not able to produce the energy it needs to every day. If I practice too much in a day, I feel it in the days after and am not ready to do it again, sick for a few days. That's really annoying, but at the same time, I'm positive for the future."

Boogaard returned well, although he wasn't entirely satisfied with his performance in that aspect of the game.

"I really felt that Jagger was serving unbelievable," Boogaard said. "He has a great serve and it was tough to return them, even the second serve was massive at times. I tried to do my best on the returns and throughout the match I had some moments when I was returning better and some moments where I was not returning as good, but overall I was happy with my returns."

He was also pleased with his serve, hitting 18 aces to just 4 for Leach, a number he was well aware of when he came to his media conference.

"I think these last few weeks on grass I've been serving quite good, but 18 is not a usual number for me," Boogaard admitted. "But I'm very happy with my serve for the last few weeks."

Boogaard will face No. 15 seed Timofei Derepasko of Russia, who beat qualifier Matisse Farzam 2-6, 7-5, 6-1.

The girls, who had the day off from singles, return to action Wednesday, with all 16 singles matches in boys and girls third round on the schedule, as are all 16 second round doubles matches.

There was one notable result in the first round of girls doubles today, with alternates Dora Miskovic of Croatia and Lea Nilsson of Sweden defeating Roland Garros champions Eva Bennemann and Sonja Zhenikhova of Germany 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 10-6.

Tuesday's junior singles results of Americans:

Nikita Bilozertsev(UKR)  d. Gavin Goode[Q] 6-1, 6-4. 

Jack Secord d. Benjamin Gusic-Wan[WC](GBR) 6-3, 4-6, 64

Mees Rottgering[3](NED) d. Maxwell Exsted 6-2, 6-4

Benjamin Willwerth[7] d. Yannik Alvarez(PUR) 6-4, 6-3

Keaton Hance d. Niels McDonald[5](GER) 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-4

Timofei Derepasko[15](RUS) d. Matisse Farzam[Q] 2-6, 7-5, 6-1 

Thijs Boogaard(NED) d. Jagger Leach[4] 2-6, 6-7(3), 6-4

Jack Kennedy[8] d. Jan Kumstat(CZE) 7-6(4), 7-6(8)

Ronit Karki[Q] d. Yannick Alexandrescou[9](ROU) 6-3, 6-4

Alan Wazny[14](POL) d. Dominick Mosejczuk 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-2 

Jacopo Vasami[2](ITA) d. Noah Johnston 7-6(3), 6-4

Wednesday's junior singles matches featuring Americans:

Jack Secord v Ivan Ivanov[6](BUL)

Keaton Hance v Alexander Vasilev[12](BUL)

Jack Kennedy[8] v Ronit Karki[Q]

Benjamin Willwerth[7] v Oskari Paldanius[11](FIN)

Julieta Pareja[6] v Elizara Yaneva(BUL)

Taylor Fritz and Amanda Anisimova are through to the first Wimbledon semifinals of their careers, with No. 5 seed Fritz beating No. 17 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia 6-3, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4) and Anisimova defeating unseeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia 6-1, 7-6(9).

Ben Shelton will face No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner of Italy in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Vladson Credits Little Brother for Win over No. 4 Seed Penickova; Only Six Girls Seeds Advance to Third Round, with Roland Garros Finalists Tested; Shelton Reaches First Wimbledon Quarterfinal

©Colette Lewis 2025--
Wimbledon--

Down a set to No. 4 seed Kristina Penickova of the United States, Laima Vladson of Lithuania had a secret weapon: her seven-year-old brother David. Like his 17-year-old sister, David was a making his second visit to the All England Lawn Tennis Club, cheering her first career victory on Saturday, then watching as she eliminated this year's Australian Open girls finalist 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 in the second round of the Wimbledon Junior Championships.

"He's my little mascot, so I have to take him everywhere; he's become a lucky charm," said Vladson, ranked 21 in the ITF junior rankings and a recent W15 champion on clay, prior to switching to the brief junior grass season in Roehampton and Wimbledon. 

Frustrated by her level in the first set after losing four straight games and briefly down a break in the second set, Vladson had nothing but confidence when she faced the prospect of winning a tiebreaker to reach a third set.

"This year, in the tiebreaks, I'm doing really well," said Vladson, who speaks colloquial, unaccented English. "That's what I have confidence in. I'm pretty sure it's like 12 tiebreaks to 3 I'm winning, quite a lot. So I was just like, you got this girl, just go for it."

Vladson rode that momentum to a 4-0 lead in the third set, but Penickova fought back, holding for 4-1, then breaking and getting another hold to pull to within a game. But Vladson held at love in the next game, putting the pressure on Penickova to hold, with Vladson eventually converting her fourth match point with a forehand that forced an error.

"I knew she was going to fight back," said Vladson, who trains in Riga Latvia with former ATP Top 250 player Andis Juska."This is the top level that you can get and you have to be ready for everything. Even if you're up 5-0, 40-0 it can go away very quickly unless you lock in."

Vladson noted the similarities between her game and Penickova's.

"We like to hit flat and fast," Vladson said. "I came out there and I was like ok, Laima, you're just playing yourself, basically. But it's all in the mind. I was trying to keep focus and not yell out or anything, just try to stay in the court and in the game."

Up next in Wednesday's third round for Vladson and her mascot is 2024 Wimbledon girls semifinalist Vendula Valdmannova of the Czech Republic, who beat No. 14 seed Luna Cinalli of Argentina 6-3, 6-2.

Roland Garros finalist Hannah Klugman of Great Britain, the No. 2 seed, and Roland Garros champion Lilli Tagger of Austria, the No. 3 seed, were assigned to Show Court 18 for their second round matches today, and both offered some gritty tennis to emerge with victories in front of the appreciative crowds. 

Klugman played first, when the cool and breezy conditions were most challenging, but she recovered from dropping her serve to open the third set against Anastasija Cvetkovic of Serbia to win the final six games in a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory.

In the last match of the day, Tagger could not shake qualifier Lea Nilsson of Sweden, who served for the second set at both 5-4 and 6-5, yet escaped the rare two-hour, two-set grass match 7-6(5), 7-6(4).

"It was a really tough match," said the 17-year-old, one of the rare girls who hits a one-handed backhand. "Especially in the second set, she started to play really well. On the backhand side especially, pushing very hard the ball, so it was tough for me to find a way. It was fast, and in the evening getting faster."

Tagger was disappointed in her returning in the first set, but her serve bailed her out often and a good first at 5-all in the opening set tiebreaker proved crucial, with Nilsson neeting a forehand to end it.

In the second set tiebreaker, a delicate drop shot winner gave Tagger a mini-break, which she protected to build a 6-3 lead. Needing to win both of her serves to stay in the match, Nilsson got a forehand error from Tagger on the first, but Tagger's aggressive return forced an error on the second to seal the victory.

"In the first set I made a lot of mistakes on return, so this was the key in the match, in the end, returning," Tagger said.

Tagger said she doesn't feel much different coming into Wimbledon as the Roland Garros champion, but does detect a change in perspective from her opponents.

"I feel more confident in the matches but myself, I don't feel a lot of difference," Tagger said. "The difference I think is how the other players watch me. Before, maybe they didn't really care about me, who I was, what I was doing. Now they come to watch me, and if I lose, see how I lose."

In the third round, Tagger will face British wild card Ruby Cooling, who beat No. 16 seed Rositsa Dencheva of Bulgaria 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

No. 6 seed Julieta Pareja is now the only American girl remaining after she defeated wild card Flora Johnson of Great Britain 6-2, 6-2. On Tuesday her third round match will be a repeat of the ITF J300 Roehampton final, with Pareja beating Elizara Yaneva of Bulgaria 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 last Friday. Yaneva defeated No. 10 seed Julia Stusek of Germany 5-7, 6-3, 6-2.

Pareja and top seed Emerson Jones of Australia were the only seeds to cruise to the third round, with 2024 Wimbledon girls finalist Jones beating Yoana Konstantinova of Bulgaria 6-2, 6-1.

The boys first round of doubles Monday featured one upset and two retirements. Yannik Alvarez and Jack Secord defeated No. 3 seed Jamie Mackenzie and Niels McDonald of Germany 6-4, 6-3, while the other seven seeded teams advanced.

No. 5 seeds Keaton Hance and Jack Kennedy moved into Wednesday's second round when Luis Miguel of Brazil retired with an injury. He and Ziga Sesko of Slovenia trailed 6-7(5), 3-3 when Miguel, unable to serve with any pace, called for the trainer and eventually retired. Miguel won his first round singles match Saturday, so is scheduled to play his second round Tuesday.

While Miguel's retirement in doubles was voluntary, Alejandro Arcila of Colombia's was not. Arcila had earlier been hit in the head by partner Dominick Mosejczuk's serve, and after they had taken a 6-3 second set from No. 2 seeds and Roehampton champions Timofei Derepasko of Russia and Jacopo Vasami of Italy, called for a trainer.  After an evaluation, Arcila went into concussion protocol, and he was not cleared to resume play for the match tiebreaker, with Derepasko and Vasami advancing 6-3, 3-6, retired.

The girls first round of doubles and the boys second round of singles are on Tuesday's schedule, with no rain in the forecast.

Tuesday's junior singles matches featuring Americans:

Gavin Goode[Q] v Nikita Bilozertsev(UKR)

Jack Secord v Benjamin Gusic-Wan[WC](GBR)

Maxwell Exsted v Mees Rottgering[3](NED)

Benjamin Willwerth[7] v Yannik Alvarez(PUR)

Keaton Hance v Niels McDonald[5](GER)

Matisse Farzam[Q] v Timofei Derepasko[15](RUS)

Jagger Leach[4] v Thijs Boogaard(NED)

Jack Kennedy[8] v Jan Kumstat(CZE)

Ronit Karki[Q] v Yannick Alexandrescou[9](ROU)

Dominick Mosejczuk v Alan Wazny[14](POL)

Noah Johnston v Jacopo Vasami[2](ITA)

In the fourth round today in Wimbledon men and women's singles, No. 10 seed Ben Shelton reached his first Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(1), 7-5 win over Lorenzo Sonego of Italy. Emma Navarro, also a No. 10 seed, lost to No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia 6-2, 6-3.

In Tuesday's quarterfinals, No. 5 seed Taylor Fritz will face No. 17 seed Karen Khachanov of Russia and No. 13 seed Amanda Anisimova wil play unseeded Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia.

Kennedy's Comeback, Karki's Third Set Tiebreaker Victory Highlight Impressive Second Day for US Boys at Wimbledon Junior Championships; Roehampton Champion Pareja Extends Winning Streak; Fritz and Anisimova Advance to Fourth Round

©Colette Lewis 2025--
Wimbledon--

No. 8 seed Jack Kennedy faced an in-form opponent without the benefit of matches at the ITF J300 in Roehampton last week, and the 17-year-old New Yorker looked out of sorts in dropping the first set of his first round Wimbledon Junior Championships match 6-1 to Roehampton champion Oliver Bonding of Great Britain. But Kennedy hung around, won a tense and bird-interrupted second set tiebreaker, and went on to raise his level in the third set to claim a 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 victory.

Although grass courts are rare in the United States, Kennedy and his coach Greg Lumpkin had the opportunity to prepare near his home on Long Island at the Piping Rock Club.

"They have like 14 courts of grass, and we were really fortunate to get on those courts for a little bit," Kennedy said. "The tennis director Greg(Evans) was very welcoming and it was really great preparation leading up to here, Wimbledon, the biggest stage you can play at. A lot of people were asking me, why didn't you play Roehampton? But to be honest, I think it was pretty good, even with everyone here, although they played matches on it."

Kennedy admitted that playing a British player on Show Court 18 was a challenge, especially in the first set.

"It was a little low energy to start the match, some nerves also," Kennedy said. "He had the crowd behind him, giving him that energy, that helped him a lot to start the match. I was getting a feel for everything, his serve--which is really hard to read at first--the crowd, the court, a little bit bigger first round court than you usually play on at a junior tournament."

Kennedy took a toilet break after the 21-minute first set, then changed his strategy for the second set, which featured no breaks of serve, although Kennedy did have his first break point of the match with Bonding serving at 5-6 ad out. Bonding saved it with one of his 13 aces to force the tiebreaker. 

In contrast to the lack of breaks in the second set, seven of the first 10 points in the tiebreaker went to the returner, with Kennedy unable to convert another set point on Bonding's serve at 6-4. But with another opportunity serving at 6-5, Kennedy was preparing to try again, only to have a magpie descend on the court, delaying play for over 40 seconds as it strutted around the court.

"It was on Bonding's side, like in the alley, moving around for like 45 seconds," Kennedy said. "I don't know that it helped, or it let me sit with the nerves a little bit, serving it out. But I just kind of laughed it out and that kind of helped me. It was a funny moment you really don't see that often, although I had it one time with a butterfly at a J200 in Santa Domingo."

Kennedy converted his third set point with a forehand deep in the corner that Bonding was unable to get back in the court.

In the third set, Kennedy earned his only break of the match, clocking a backhand winner with Bonding serving at 2-2, 30-40.

"At that point I was just kind of in flow state," said Kennedy, the 2024 Kalamazoo 18s finalist, who will return to the Nationals in less than a month. "Just reading it, return, got my opportunity. My coaches were just saying stay in it, you're going to get your chances, and we took care of it."

Kennedy consolidated for 4-2 in a two-deuce game, with some confident volleys. In the final game, he hit two forehand winners to give himself two match points, and despite missing the first with a backhand long, Bonding returned the favor, sending a forehand long on the second.

"When I stepped on that court I was in awe," Kennedy said. "But last year I was here, and I kind of knew what to expect. There's no more historic or better place to be at and when you walk on the grounds you just feel history. We're so grateful for all of us to be here and I'm happy to get to stay here a little longer."

While the boys Roehampton champion exited in the opening round, girls champion Julieta Pareja, the No. 6 seed this week, kept her grass court record perfect with a 6-2, 6-3 win over qualifier Maia Burcescu of Romania.

The 16-year-old Californian did not play in these two events last year, but was determined to stay positive when approaching a new surface.

"I think it's really important how your mindset is going into grass," said Pareja, one of only two US girls remaining in singles after the first round. "Going into this week I was practicing a lot on hard court in Spain, and have been super focused. If things are not working on court, I'm not blaming the grass for it, I'm blaming myself. But I know the bounce is much lower and the ball's faster. It's a new challenge, I'm super happy to be here and very excited."

After playing 11 matches, six singles and five doubles, in the six days of Roehampton competition, Pareja is no longer a novice on the surface.

"I think that's really important, having matches, not just practicing," said Pareja, who is planning to plan the USTA National 18s in San Diego next month. "And I played the Giorgio Armani (a junior event in conjunction with the annual pro exhibition there) before Roehampton, played two matches there, which I think was also super important."

Pareja will face British wild card Flora Johnson in the second round Monday, with only girls on the singles schedule.

In addition to Kennedy, seven other US boys advanced to second round action Tuesday, with all three qualifiers collecting their first wins at Wimbledon.

The most dramatic, by far, was Ronit Karki's 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7) win over Flynn Thomas of Switzerland, with both players serving for the match in the third set before it was decided in a 10-point tiebreaker.

Karki served for the match at 5-3 in the third, but Thomas came up big in the next two points to get back on serve. Thomas held and then broke Karki again for a 6-5 lead, but Karki broke at love to force the tiebreaker.

It was 3-3 and 6-6 at the changeovers, but Karki's forehand was the difference maker, pounding three consecutive forehand winners after he had been dropped serve to fall behind 7-6. The 17-year-old Stanford recruit converted his first match point, with Thomas unable to get a second serve return in play.

Another American earning his first Wimbledon win was No. 7 seed and 2025 Australian Open finalist Benjamin Willwerth, who defeated qualifier Gabriele Crivellaro of Italy 6-3, 6-2. 

Willwerth, who recently de-committed from Arizona State, did not play these tournaments last year, but was confident his game would translate to the surface.

"I hit pretty low and flat, so I think that naturally suits me more," said the 18-year-old from Florida. "It doesn't suit me on clay at all, I'm not a clay player, but the ball stays very low here, skids a little, so that helps, and I really like coming to net. So slices, coming in, and serves, these are my types of points."

Willwerth didn't know what to expect from Crivellaro, but knew that if he could get a break, he would put his opponent in a difficult position.

"He was serving really good," Willwerth said.  "In the rallies I was winning more points, so I just tried to neutralize the rally and start from there. When I got the break, I knew this was my time. The points aren't as long here, so it is tougher to get rhythm, but the more I was out there, the better I was feeling, building from the start."

After the match, he was still processing the experience.

"My whole life I've been dreaming to play here, so walking on the court felt surreal, it didn't even feel real," Willwerth said. "But I tried to enjoy it; it was amazing and I love grass, so it was good to get the first match done."

Top seed Andres Santamarta Roig of Spain defeated British wild card Conor Brady 6-2, 6-2, and 2024 boys Wimbledon finalist Mees Rottgering of the Netherlands beat qualifier Haydar Gokpinar of Turkey 6-1, 6-0.

For the second consecutive day, rain twice disrupted the schedule for more an hour or more, this time accompanied by thunder, but all first round matches did finish.

Sunday's first round Wimbledon junior results of Americans:

Mimi Xu(GBR) d. Thea Frodin 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 

Julieta Pareja[6] d. Maia Burcescu[Q] 6-2, 6-2

Nauhany Leme Da Silva(BRA) d. Maya Iyengar 5-7, 7-6(1), 6-0

Yoana Konstantinova(BUL) d. Aspen Schuman 2-6, 7-5, 6-3

Ruby Cooling[WC](GBR) d. Leena Friedman[Q] 6-1, 6-4

Benjamin Willwerth[7] d. Gabriele Crivellaro(ITA) 6-3, 6-2

Jack Kennedy[8] d. Oliver Bonding(GBR) 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4

Matisse Farzam[Q] d. Mark Ceban[WC](GBR) 7-5, 6-2

Ivan Ivanov[6](BUL) d. Jack Satterfield 6-1, 6-2

Dominick Mosejczuk d. William Moxon[WC] 6-2, 6-2

Gavin Goode[Q] d. Ludvig Hede(SWE) 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-1

Noah Johnston d. Zangar Nurlanuly(KAZ) 6-2, 6-4

Jagger Leach[4] d. Linus Lagerbohm([Q]FIN) 6-4, 3-6, 6-3

Ronit Karki[Q] d. Flynn Thomas(SUI) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(10-7)

Monday's second round Wimbledon junior matches featuring Americans:

Juieta Pareja[6] v Flora Johnson[WC](GBR)

Kristina Penickova[4] v Laima Vladson(LTU)

The boys first round of doubles is on the schedule for Monday, which again features a good chance of rain.

The top seeds are Santamarta and defending champion Max Schoenhaus of Germany. Roland Garros champions Oskari Paldanius of Finland and Alan Wazny of Poland are the No. 4 seeds and Australian Open boys champions Maxwell Exsted and Jan Kumstat of the Czech Republic are unseeded.

Kennedy and Keaton Hance are the top American seeds, at No. 5, with Willwerth and Noah Johnston, the Roland Garros finalists, are seeded No. 7, while Jagger Leach and Bonding are the No. 8 seeds.

The top seeds in the girls doubles, which will begin play Tuesday, are Hannah Klugman and Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain. Roland Garros champions Eva Bennemann and Sonja Zhenikhova of Germany are unseeded. Roehampton finalists Thea Frodin and Pareja are the top seeded American team at No. 5.

Taylor Fritz and Amanda Anisimova have advanced to the Wimbledon quarterfinals, with No. 5 seed Fritz getting a retirement from unseeded Jordan Thompson of Australia at 6-1, 3-0. No. 13 seed Anisimova closed out the day's action on No. 1 Court, defeating No. 30 seed Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 5-7, 6-4. 

On Monday, No. 10 seeds Ben Shelton and Emma Navarro will look to join them, with Shelton taking on unseeded Lorenzo Sonego of Italy for the third time at a major this year, and Navarro playing No. 7 seed Mirra Andreeva of Russia.

TCU alum Cam Norrie kept alive hopes for a British singles champion, beating qualifier Nicolas Jarry of Chile 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-7(7), 6-7(5), 6-3.