Czech Teams Win ITF 14U World Junior Tennis Titles; Last Week's USTA Pro Circuit Update; Stanford, Cincinnati Take Center Stage This Week in US

The ITF World Junior Tennis 14-and-under team championships concluded Saturday in Prostejov Czech Republic, with the home teams unexpectedly claiming both titles.

The unseeded girls team of Sara Oliveriusova, Lucie Slamenikova and Jana Kovackova defeated unseeded Germany 2-1 in the final, with Oliveriusova taking No. 1 singles and Oliveriusova and Slamenikova taking the deciding doubles match. It's the seventh title for the Czech girls, tying the United States for second place, behind Russia, which has eight, but has not been allowed to compete since the invasion of Ukraine. It is the first time the same country has won both boys and girls titles in the same year since the United States did it in 2008.

The boys team of Tomas Krejci, Jakub Kusy and Filip Ladman, who were seeded No. 7, defeated No. 8 seeds Canada 2-0, with Krejci winning at No. 1 and Kusy at No. 2 singles in straight sets. It's the first World Junior Tennis title for the Czech boys.

The United States boys, seeded No. 2, lost to Canada in the quarterfinals, dropping the deciding doubles point. The team of Marcel Latak, Izyan Ahmad and Michael Antonius finished sixth, losing the fifth place match to Turkey 2-1. Antonius, the 2022 Eddie Herr 12s champion, was a last minute replacement for an injured Jordan Lee, but ended up playing No. 1 singles, going 5-0 at that spot. Antonius defeated reigning Les Petits As and Wimbledon 14U champion Mark Ceban of Great Britain 7-6(5), 6-3 in a 2-1 win over the No. 5 seeds in group play.

The United States girls, seeded No. 4, finished in that position, losing to Germany 2-0 in the semifinals and to No. 2 seed Serbia 2-0 in the bronze medal match. The girls team consisted of Annika and Kristina Penickova and Nancy Lee.

Individual results from all players can be found at the ITF tournament website.

In last week's USTA Pro Circuit events, University of Virginia senior Chris Rodesch, the Most Outstanding Player of the 2023 NCAA team championship, won the $25,000 tournament in Southaven Mississippi. Rodesch, the No. 6 seed, defeated No. 2 seed Martin Damm 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-3. Patrik Trhac(Idaho State/Utah) and Ryan Seggerman(Princeton/UNC) won their third USTA Pro Circuit title of the summer, with the No. 4 seeds beating No. 3 seeds and Tennessee Volunteers Shunsuke Mitsui of Japan and Patrick Harper of Australia 6-4, 6-3 in the final.

At the ATP Challenger 75 in Cary North Carolina, another Tennessee Volunteer, Adam Walton of Australia, earned his first Challenger title, beating No. 4 seed Nicholas Moreno De Alboran 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in the final. The unseeded 24-year-old is now up to a new career-high of 206 in the ATP rankings, just 14 months removed from the NCAA singles semifinals.  Patrick Kypson(Texas A&M) reached the semifinals in Cary, losing to Moreno De Alboran 6-7(10), 6-3, 6-1. 

Top seeds Evan King(Michigan) and Reese Stalder won the doubles title, beating the unseeded team of Walton and Latvia's Mikelis Libietis(Tennessee) 6-3, 7-6(4) in the final.

The women's event last week was a $100,000 tournament in Landisville Pennsylvania, with top seed Xinyu Wang of China defeating No. 4 seed Madison Brengle 6-2, 6-4 in the final. Wild card Makenna Jones(UNC) made the semifinals, with Texas A&M junior Mary Stoiana, also a wild card, reaching the quarterfinals.

The unseeded team of Sophie Chang and Ukraine's Yuliia Starodubtseva(Old Dominion) won the doubles title, defeating No. 4 seeds Mai Hontama of Japan and Olivia Gadecki of Australia via a walkover.

There are no USTA Pro Circuit events in the United States this week, but there is a new joint event at Stanford, with the women's a WTA 125 designation and the men's an ATP Challenger 125.

The only two Americans still alive in the women's draw are Robin Montgomery, who won her first round match, and Kayla Day, who plays tonight against Stanford's 2015 NCAA finalist Carol Zhao of Canada. Stanford's Angelica Blake received a wild card, and battled with WTA No. 80 and No. 2 seed Kamilla Rakhimova of Russia before falling 7-5, 2-6, 6-1.

The men's tournament has plenty of Americans, including two-time Kalamazoo 18s champion Zachary Svajda, who received entry as an alternate and 18-year-old Alex Michelsen, who won his first round match last night. Svajda will face Adam Walton, who received a special exemption into the main draw.

Congratulations to Jessica Pegula, who won the WTA Masters 1000 in Montreal yesterday, defeating Liudmila Samsonova of Russia 6-1, 6-0 in the final. 

The main draw of the Western and Southern Open Masters 1000 is already underway in Cincinnati. There have been frequent rain delays the first three days, but Ben Shelton and Frances Tiafoe have managed to post first round victories in the men's draw.  Sloane Stephens and wild card Venus Williams have advanced to the second round with victories today in the women's draw.