Zootennis


Schedule a training visit to the prestigious Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, MD by clicking on the banner above

Monday, November 17, 2025

Wallman Claims J100 Title in Mexico, Five Other Americans Capture ITF Junior Circuit Singles Titles; NCAA D-I Singles Play Begins Tuesday; Eubanks Announces Retirement; Butorac Named US Open Tournament Director


While four Americans were winning USTA Pro Circuit Titles last week, six US juniors claimed singles titles on the ITF Junior Circuit, with Brooke Wallman earning her first singles title at the J100 in Zapopan Mexico.

The 17-year-old from New York, seeded fifth, defeated No. 7 seed Jizelle Sibai of Australia 6-2, 6-4, winning all five of her matches in straight sets. Wallman, who has verbally committed to Texas A&M for 2027, rises 30 spots to 200 in the ITF rankings.

She fell just short of the sweep, losing in the doubles final with Abril Cardenas Olivares of Mexico. The No. 2 seeds lost to the unseeded US pair Ava Quincy Brewer and Lucy Oyebog 6-4, 4-6, 10-4.

Gurjot Singh won the boys doubles title, with Carlo Arena Fava of Mexico; the No. 7 seeds defeated No. 4 seeds Amaury Abbas and Andrea Baudel of France 7-6(5), 6-4.

This J100 was a warmup event to the J300 in Zapopan this week, with Wallman among the 18 US girls in the 48-player draw. The Kovackova sisters from the Czech Republic are the top two girls seeds, with Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil and Stefan Haita of Romania the top boys seeds. Ten US boys are in the singles draw.

At the J200 in Cairo Egypt, No. 8 seed Carel Ngounoue reached the singles final, losing to No. 6 seed Mickael Kaouk of France 7-6(3), 6-3. No. 4 seeds Raya Kotseva and Jordyn Hazelitt lost in the girls doubles final to top seeds Alena Kharchenko and Mariia Makarova of Russia 6-1, 6-0.

At the J30 in San Diego, 17-year-old Georg Santalov won his first Junior Circuit title in his second ITF Junior Circuit event, winning eight matches, three in qualifying and five in the main draw, all in straight sets. He defeated unseeded Nicholas Lilov in the final 6-3, 6-3.

Sephi Sheng won the girls singles title, with the unseeded 16-year-old Californian beating No. 2 seed Anya Arora 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in the final. 

Top seeds Andrej Markovic and Sean Peng won the boys doubles title, beating unseeded Adrien Abarca and Darren Wei 6-3, 6-3 in the final. No. 3 seeds Lily Bazemore and Tayler Conway defeated top seeds Daniela Del Mastro and Elena Zhao 7-6(5), 4-6, 10-4 in the girls doubles final.

The ITF Junior Circuit continues in San Diego this week, with a J60. Nicholas Careiro of Brazil and Shaya Jovanovic of the US are the top seeds.

At the J60 in Senegal, 15-year-old Sydney Wright won her second straight singles title after taking the J30 there last week. Wright, seeded sixth, defeated No. 4 seed Carlota Lujan of Spain 6-1, 6-3 in the final. 

Fifteen-year-old Molly Widlansky won her first two titles on the ITF Junior Circuit last week at the J30 in Slovenia. Unseeded, she won the singles title with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over unseeded Tara Vidan of Croatia. Unseeded in doubles as well, Widlansky and partner Capucine Charcosset of France defeated the unseeded team of Renata Janoviakova of the Czech Republic and Anna Kotchetkov of Austria 0-6, 6-3, 10-7 in the final.

Vibha Gogineni also swept the titles at a J30 last week, this one in Guatemala, where the 15-year-old from Ohio won her first singles and second doubles title on the ITF Junior Circuit. The fifth-seeded Gogineni, who lost only nine games in her five victories, defeated top seed and doubles partner Alison Ramirez of Guatemala 6-2, 6-0 in the final.

The top-seeded team in doubles, Gogineni and Ramirez defeated the unseeded team of Camila Morataya of El Salvador and Loretta Serrano Malo of Mexico 5-7, 6-2, 10-3 for the doubles title.

The NCAA Division I Singles Championships begin Tuesday at the USTA National Campus in Lake Nona, with all 64 first round matches, 32 women's and 32 men's.

Streaming coverage will again be available on ESPN Plus, or Select, as it is now known, which costs $12.99 per month and can be purchased month by month. Cracked Racquets will again be onsite to provide commentary. 

The top eight seeds:

WOMEN:
1. Valerie Glozman, Stanford
2. Carmen Herea, Texas
3. Piper Charney, Michigan
4. Savannah Dada-Mascoll, Appalachian State
5. Aysegul Mert, Georgia
6. Anastasiia Grechkina, Pepperdine
7. Teah Chavez, Ohio State
8. Ashton Bowers, Auburn

MEN:
1. Jay Friend, Arizona
2. Duncan Chan, TCU
3. Aidan Kim, Ohio State
4. Matthew Forbes, Michigan State
5. Devin Badenhorst, Baylor
6. Kenta Miyoshi, Illinois
7. Dylan Dietrich, Virginia
8. Ozan Baris, Michigan State

Chris Eubanks, the former Georgia Tech All-American, is retiring, according to his Instagram post today. Already considered one of the best new commentators in tennis, the 29-year-old from Atlanta had his best season in 2023, when he won his only ATP title in Mallorca and reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals. 

I had a chance to catch up with him this past July at the Bloomfield Hills Challenger 100 and as has always been the case in our conversations, from juniors through college and even occasionally in the pros, it was a delight to speak with him about tennis. I hope he pursues his media career full time now, with his perspective always welcome.

This article on the ATP website shares his Instagram post. 

Another former college tennis great shared the spotlight with Eubanks today, Eric Butorac named the new tournament director of the US Open, succeeding the retiring Stacey Allaster. The full USTA release is below:

 

ERIC BUTORAC NAMED US OPEN TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR

 

NEW YORK, November 17, 2025 – The USTA today announced that Eric Butorac, USTA Senior Director, Player Relations and Business Development, and former Top-20 doubles pro and ATP Player Council President, has been named the next Tournament Director of the US Open, beginning in 2026. Butorac succeeds Stacey Allaster, who will continue serving as USTA Chief Executive, Professional Tennis, before transitioning to a strategic advisor role in May of 2026.

 

Butorac joined the USTA in 2016 after a 14-year career on tour and since then has led a comprehensive enhancement of player and tour relations with the USTA and US Open. Known for his strong relationships throughout tennis, Butorac has helped lead the improvement of the player experience at the US Open and has been instrumental in the growth of US Open Fan Week and its signature events. This year, he was the tournament director of the reimagined US Open Mixed Doubles Championship, which elevated the competition to never-before-seen heights with record attendance, viewership and engagement. He also served as Tournament Director of the Cincinnati Open in 2022.

 

"We’re thrilled to welcome Eric as the new Tournament Director of the US Open. He is one of the most respected and trusted figures in tennis, and his impact on the USTA and the US Open has been extraordinary,” said Brian Vahaly, Chairman of the Board, President and Interim Co-CEO, USTA. “Eric has been instrumental in strengthening the US Open experience for both players and fans, and his leadership, insight and passion for the game make him the ideal person to guide the next chapter of the tournament’s success.”

 

Butorac, 44, won 18 ATP doubles titles over a 14-year professional career and reached the doubles final at the 2014 Australian Open. A native of Rochester, Minn., he served eight years on the ATP Player Council and succeeded Roger Federer as its President in 2014.

 

“I am beyond excited and grateful to serve as US Open Tournament Director. This is in many ways a dream come true and the culmination of my life and career in tennis,” Butorac said. “I’m humbled not only by the opportunity but to follow in the footsteps of one of my greatest mentors, Stacey Allaster. I owe a tremendous gratitude to Stacey, from whom I learned more than I ever could have imagined after transitioning from a career playing on tour. Now, I cannot wait to help drive the continued growth and success of the US Open well into the future.”

 

Butorac was a three-time ITA All-American while playing college tennis for Gustavus Adolphus College in Minnesota and won the NCAA Division III singles and doubles titles in 2003. He was inducted into the Gustavus Adolphus Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018 and the ITA Hall of Fame in 2025.

 

“It has been one of the greatest honors of my career to serve as Tournament Director of the US Open — a global stage where champions rise and history is made. It’s also been a privilege to work alongside Eric and witness his remarkable journey from the court as a professional player to a leader in the boardroom," Allaster said. "I’ve seen and felt firsthand his dedication to the sport, his commitment to his own professional growth, and his evolution into a respected industry leader and trusted teammate. Eric brings humility, heart, and a mindset balanced on the needs of our players and fans, and this makes him uniquely qualified to lead the US Open into its next chapter of growth. The US Open Grand Slam Championships are in outstanding hands with Eric as the Tournament Director."

 

0 comments: