Ten Americans Through to Second Round at Orlando Challenger; Tennis For America 2021 Applications Open; New USTA Board Announced; ITA Fall Circuit Week Nine Winners
The first round of singles has concluded at the ATP Challenger 80 in Orlando, with ten Americans picking up victories on Monday or Tuesday. Cary champion Denis Kudla[2] will face wild card Patrick Kypson(Texas A&M) in second round action Wednesday, with 2019 Kalamazoo 18s champion Zachary Svajda, a qualifier, taking on No. 6 seed Dmitry Popko of Kazakhstan and Christopher Eubanks(Georgia Tech) playing Hiroki Moriya of Japan, also on Wednesday.
The six other Americans will play their singles matches on Thursday. Brandon Nakashima(Virginia) will face top seed Thiago Montiero of Brazil; No. 8 seed Mackenzie McDonald(UCLA) plays Elias Ymer of Sweden; Bjorn Fratangelo and Mitchell Krueger will play each other. Fratangelo took out No. 3 seed Daniel Elahi Galan of Colombia 6-3, 6-3 today. In another all-US battle Thursday, qualifier Alexander Ritschard(Virginia) faces lucky loser Nick Chappell(TCU). Chappell defeated No. 7 seed Ramkumar Ramanathan of India 6-3, 6-4 today.
Back in April, I wrote an article about the ITA's new Tennis For America initiative, a VISTA service program that provides paid internships for graduating college tennis players as they work to connect tennis to communities across the country. Due to the pandemic, adjustments had to be made, but by all accounts it has been a success, and applications are now open for those interested in joining the program next year. Plans are to expand to eight sites around the country, with the second year to begin this summer and run for 12 months. For more on the program, and a link to the application, see this article from the ITA.
The USTA has a new president and chairman of the board, with Michael McNulty assuming the top spot for 2021-22. Current president Patrick Galbraith, on completion of his two-year term at the end of the year, will continue on the board as immediate past president. For the biography of McNulty, as well as the other board members, including the three Elite Athletes, see this article from the Tennis Industry Magazine.
Week Nine of the ITA Tour Fall Circuit by UTR is complete, with 12 sites holding competitions across the country. For more on the week's results, see this article from the ITA. Next week is the last week of the Fall Circuit, with a three-week Winter Circuit coming for December. ITA Fall Circuit Week Nine Winners:Greensboro: Men, Olle Wallin; Women, Sieun Lee
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