Quarterfinals Set in Les Petits As USA Qualifying; Orange Bowl to Host ITF Junior Wheelchair Masters; ITF Introduces Junior Finals Competitors; Sohns and Penickova Advance at W35s; Florida State Seeking Tennis-related PhD Intern

The annual USA Playoffs for the 14U Les Petits As tournament, which is scheduled for the last week of January 2026, is underway this week in Miami, with the quarterfinals now set after today's completion of round robin play. Only one of the boys quarterfinalists is unseeded, Evan Fan, while all eight of the girls seeds advanced to the quarterfinals. 

Quarterfinalists at Les Petits As USA Playoffs:

BOYS:

Rex Kulman[1]
Cavan Donnelly[5]

Pranav Vignesh[2]
Maxwell Smith[6]

David Bender[3]
Nathan Lee[8]

Daniel Gardality[7]
Evan Fan

GIRLS:
Isha Manchala[1]
Lucy Dupere[5]

Anna Kapanadze[2]
Josephine Zhou[8]

Inie Toli[6]
Capri Butera[3]

Tara Guhan[7]
Evija Thoresen[4]

Above are the players who have advanced out of each of the four round robin groups, but the quarterfinal draws have been re-seeded based on the results of the round robin stage, with Kapanadze now at the top of the girls draw, while Kulman retains his top spot in the boys draw. The girls draw is here; the boys draw is here.

Officially, the top three finishers receive direct entry in Les Petits As main draw, but all four have usually been included. If that doesn't happen in 2026, the semifinalists who finish fourth will receive a qualifying wild card.

Last week the ITF announced that its Wheelchair Tennis Junior Masters will move this year to the Orange Bowl from Les Petits As. This means a move from indoor hard courts to green clay, with the tournament scheduled from Thursday December 11 through Sunday December 14. The ITF will also host a development camp the week prior to the Orange Bowl, with wheelchair legend Diede De Groot in attendance to mentor and coach the juniors. See the release for comments from ITF president Dave Haggerty, the USTA's Jo Wallen and De Groot.

The ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals begin next week in China, with three Americans participating in the 8-players draws: Kristina Penickova, Jack Kennedy and Benjamin Willwerth. 

The ITF has provided background on all the juniors participating, with the boys article here, and the girls article here.

Penickova has been playing in Asia for several weeks now in advance of this event, reaching the Osaka J500 semifinals, winning the J200 in Korea and now competing in the W35 in Huzhou China. Using the ITF's junior exempt program for entry, Penickova defeated No. 2 seed Kristina Dmitruk of Belarus, the 2021 US Open girls finalist, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4 in the first round. She will face former Michigan standout Amy Zhu in the second round Thursday.

At the W35 in Quebec City Canada, 15-year-old Maggie Sohns claimed her first main draw win in a Pro Circuit tournament, beating Adriana Reami(NC State) 6-2, 6-4 in the first round today. Sohns, a semifinalist at last week's PanAm ITF J300, won two qualifying matches Sunday and Monday. She defeated fellow 15-year-old Scarlett Fagan 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 in the first round and qualified for the main draw with a 6-4, 1-6, 10-8 win over No. 1 qualifying seed Natsuho Arakawa of Japan. Sohns, an upstate New York native, will face No. 5 seed Jasmijn Gimbrere of the Netherlands in the second round Thursday.

Florida State law professor Ryan Rodenberg is seeking another PhD candidate for a fully-funded intern position with a focus on tennis research and teaching. Here is a brief description of the qualifications, with more details available directly from him.

Florida State University: Tennis-Specific PhD/Doctoral Student Position

Starting Fall 2026, Florida State University will offer a fully-funded PhD/doctoral student position for one individual looking to do tennis-specific research and teaching. The position will have both on-court and off-court elements, including co-authorship publication potential. College and professional tennis players are encouraged to apply. All applicants must provide a current GRE score and have earned a masters degree prior to August 2026. The deadline to apply is February 15, 2026. For further details, please contact Ryan Rodenberg, JD/PhD, Florida State University, rrodenberg@fsu.edu