July Aces; Ngounoue and Iyengar Reach ITF J300 Quarterfinals in South Africa; Cracked Racquets Providing San Diego Coverage; USTA's US Open Wild Card Challenge Update; Qualifying Fields Released for US Open

My monthly Aces column for the Tennis Recruiting Network was published today, with 19 players featured in July (one of the Aces is a doubly successful doubles team). Former collegians now win so many $15,000 tournaments in any given month, that there's almost never room for them, and even $25,000 tournament winners who have been out of school and on the tour for a few years may not get a mention given the space limitations. But as much work as it is to track results, find photos and add a description, I learn so much in the process that I know it improves my tournament coverage. Please check it out; I'm confident you'll learn something you didn't know.

A couple of Americans who opted for the ITF Junior Circuit South African swing over the USTA National Championshis have advanced to the quarterfinals this week at the J300 in Durban. Unseeded 14-year-old Carel Ngounoue, Malkia(Kansas) and Clervie's brother, is through to his first J300 quarterfinal after defeating No. 3 seed Timofei Derepasko of Russia 6-4, 6-2. He will play No. 5 seed Donghyun Hwang of Korea Thursday. Ngounoue hasn't played in the United States since making the semifinals of the 16s Winter Nationals back in December 2022/January 2023.

No. 7 seed Maya Iyengar advanced with a 6-4, 7-6(5) win over Ustiniya Lekomtseva of Russia and will play No. 4 seed Gaeul Jang of Korea in the quarterfinals. In an extremely rare occurrence in junior tennis, the top eight girls seeds have all reached the quarterfinals. Iyengar and partner Gloriana Nahum of Benin, seeded No. 2, have advanced to the doubles semifinals.

Cracked Racquets has announced that they will be providing  YouTube CrossCourt coverage of the Billie Jean King USTA Girls 18s and 16s National Championships from San Diego beginning Sunday August 6 and extended throughout the tournament. Alex Gruskin will be onsite at the Barnes Tennis Center to call all the action.

The USTA has provided its weekly update to the US Open Wild Card Challenge, which will end on August 13th. Not much has changed, with Kayla Day leading the women's race and Steve Johnson and Alex Michelsen tied for the lead in the men's race. The opportunities for others to catch them are there however, especially with the Washington 500s this week and the Canadian Masters 1000s next week. There is also an ATP 250 this week with several Americans in the main draw who could use the wild card.

This week's race leaderboard, with the player's current ranking in parentheses. 

WOMEN:

1. Kayla Day (97) - 140

T2. Ashlyn Krueger (124) - 50

T2. Asia Muhammad (265) - 50

4. McCartney Kessler (411) - 47

5. Madison Brengle (106) - 44

 

MEN:

T1. Alex Michelsen (134) -- 75

T1. Steve Johnson (193) -- 75

3. Tennys Sandgren (218) -- 30

T4. Mitchell Krueger (271) -- 25

T4. Denis Kudla (163) -- 25

The qualifying entries for the US Open were posted today, two weeks after the main draw acceptance list was released. The men's list is here; the women's list is here. Diana Shnaider(NC State), Kayla Day, Caroline Dolehide, Madison Brengle and Taylor Townsend are all in the top 10.

John Isner(Georgia), now out of the ATP Top 100, isn't on the qualifying list, so I assume he will receive a wild card. 2017 finalist Kevin Anderson(Illinois), who retired briefly last May, is back on tour and is on the qualifying list with a protected ranking.