Wild Card Lee Adds ITF J300 Title to Last Year's 16s Championship at IMG Academy International; Unseeded Liutova Claims Second ITF J300 Title; Orange Bowl Begins Monday; USA's Master 'U Streak Ends; Urhobo Falls in W35 Daytona Beach Final
©Colette Lewis 2025--
Bradenton FL--
Last year Jordan Lee received one of the inaugural Nick Bollettieri trophies presented the IMG Academy International champions after he claimed the Boys 16s title. A year later, on the same court, Lee earned another Bollettieri statuette by defeating unseeded Dimitar Kisimov of Bulgaria 6-3, 7-6(3), capping off a improbable return from injury with a historic back-to-back performance.
The 15-year-old from Orlando was out for more than eight months with a wrist injury, returning to competition at last month's Junior Davis Cup in Chile, and winning all the matches he played in the USA's title run. Immediately upon returning from Chile, he picked up his first ATP point as a wild card at an M15 in Orlando, before losing in the second round.
This week, Lee faced his first true test, with daily matches that demanded both physical and mental endurance. And although he found himself in a third set in both the quarterfinals and the semifinals, Lee found what he needed to close out his older and more experienced opponents.
Although he had played on the same Stadium Court last year, when the 16s were switched to clay due to hurricane damage to several of the Academy's hard courts, Lee admitted to some jitters in his first ITF J300 final.
"I came out a little nervous," said Lee, who was broken in the opening game. "I think I felt a little more comfortable on this court, especially after last year, but I wasn't really thinking about last year, just more about what I could do this year."
Lee and Kisimov exchanged breaks twice, but at 3-all Lee shook off the nerves, winning 12 of 13 points to take a 5-3 lead. Up 40-0 serving for the set, Lee ended up at deuce, with Kisimov hitting two winners and Lee double faulting, but an ace gave Lee a fourth set point, which he won when Kisimov caught the tape after a long rally.
"When I started getting warm, I loosened up," said Lee said, who is the first boy two win both the 16s and 18s titles in the tournament, formerly known as the Eddie Herr International Championships. "I played very well then throughout the match, it was a great level from both; he played very well as well."
Kisimov, who was also playing in his first ITF J300 final, said he wasn't nervous, but didn't agree with Lee's assessment of his performance.
"It could have been better," said the 17-year-old from Sofia. "I didn't play my best, but he played good. My serve wasn't perfect today, so I couldn't manage to hold my games."
Lee opened the second set with a 2-0 lead, but dropped four straight games, with Kisimov playing well and Lee making several of the unforced errors he had avoided in winning five straight games. But Kisimov wasn't able to hold the 4-2 lead, with too many second serves leading to a love break.
"Not many first serves, not enough speed," said Kisimov, who is coached by Zlatin Mingov at Pro Sport in Sofia. "I returned great, but you have to have a good serve to win a set."
Kisimov took a 5-4 lead, saving a break point with a forehand winner, but after Lee held at love, Kisimov was broken to give Lee a chance to serve for the match. He was unable to take it, going down 0-40, and when his forehand caught the tape at 30-40 he simply shrugged and prepared for the tiebreaker.
"I didn't think too much about it," Lee said. "I knew I had to take it point after point. In the tiebreaker, I knew I had to stay calm, do the best I could after each point and make him work for it."
Lee got some good fortune with a let serve winner to go up 4-2 in the tiebreaker, and then came up with an ace for 5-2. Kisimov came up with a forehand winner to stay within range but a double fault sealed his fate, and he couldn't return Lee's deep first serve on match point.
A small fist pump toward his coach Sylvain Guichard was the extent of Lee's celebration, a reaction that he said comes naturally.
"I don't know, I fell like I'm more of a calm guy, and in the moment I couldn't think of anything," Lee said. "I didn't plan anything, and I didn't want to make it too disrespectful as well."
Guichard wasn't sure what to expect from Lee coming into this week, with so little match play since his return.
"I know Jordan has the level, but in a tournament like this, a lot of things have to go right," said USTA National Coach Guichard, who was the captain of the USA's Junior Davis Cup team in Chile. "He hasn't played that much, but he's in great shape physically; that's all he's done in the nine months he was out, but playing on the court and competing is different. I didn't expect him to be that fresh, to last the entire tournament."
In addition to a second Bollettieri statuette, with this year's version featuring Bollettieri's signature sunglasses, Lee will receive a main draw wild card for the ATP Challenger 100 in Sarasota in the spring of 2026.
Lee and Kisimov's next meeting will be Tuesday, in the first round of the ITF J500 Orange Bowl.
The girls final, played simultaneously with the boys due a threat of rain later in the day, featured two players who had already won titles at the J300 level. Anastasija Cvetkovic of Serbia, the No. 5 seed this week, had claimed the J300 in Santa Croce Italy in May, while unseeded Kristina Liutova broke through at the J300 in College Park in August.
With contrasting paths to the finals--Liutova had not dropped a set, while Cvetkovic came from a set down three times--and no previous meetings, the championship went to the fresher player, with Liutova posting a 6-3, 6-0 victory.
Liutova's only hiccup came when she was serving for the first set at 5-2, with the 15-year-old Washington state resident missing several chances to close out the set with uncharacteristic backhand errors. But rather than indulge in frustration, Liutova focused on the next game, breaking Cvetkovic to take control.
"It's always tough to finish, especially when you think about it," Liutova said. "I just had to stop thinking about finishing faster and just play point by point, one at a time, no rush."
Liutova had been hitting after her matches earlier in the week, but after her 7-5, 7-5 win over No. 4 seed Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi of Argentina on Saturday, she simply rested, while Cvetkovic was still at the IMG Academy, competing in the doubles final.
"Actually my body is a little bit tired," said the 17-year-old Cvetkovic, who played 11 matches in singles and doubles over the seven-day event. "We played early today because of rain, but I don't want to say something, because Kristina's is so good a player, she played so well, I want to congratulate her. It was a good match, not like 6-3, 6-0, but at 3-5, she hit some winners, and I could just say, good job, bravo. In the second set I had a lot of break points, but she played so well in the important moments."
Liutova said she had developed a plan and that helped her "just play my tennis. I let myself play, because I didn't want to get tight and think about finishing the tournament."
Liutova said her title at College Park did provide her with an increased comfort level.
"I think today I was more confident," said Liutova, who is coached by Ilya Osintsev and Tiago Campana at the Gorin Academy in Seattle, but was traveling only with her mother Elena this week. "Yesterday I was tighter, but today I just let myself play. I was planning on just enjoying the competition, enjoy the final, because it's very special."
Until Liutova won her quarterfinal match over No. 8 seed Xinran Sun of China 6-1, 7-6(10), she was facing the prospect of going through qualifying at the Orange Bowl, but refused to let that distract her.
"I was at this tournament, so I didn't think about anything else," Liutova. "I was just focused on winning the match in front of me. I came here excited to be here and I'm very happy with the win."
The girls champion receives a wild card into the qualifying of the WTA 500 in Abu Dhabi in February, but Liutova is unsure of her plans for next year.
Liutova will be tested early in the Orange Bowl, as she has been drawn to face No. 5 seed Annika Penickova. Cvetkovic, the No. 6 seed at the Orange Bowl, will face wild card London Evans, the girls 16s finalist in Bradenton.
The top girls seed in the Orange Bowl is Merida J500 finalist Victoria Barros of Brazil, with Laima Vladson of Uzbekistan the No. 2 seed.
Yannik Alexandrescou of Romania is the top seed in the boys draw, with Jack Kennedy the No. 2 seed.
In the girls 16s, top seed Sofiia Bielinski withdrew and was replaced by a lucky loser. Boys 16s top seed Mason Vaughan won his first round match today over wild card Mark Mrcela 6-1, 4-6, 6-4.
Draws and Monday's order of play can be found at the ustaorangebowl.com website. Live scoring is available via the iOnCourt app.
The dedication of the new Chris Evert Stadium Court at the Jimmy Evert Tennis Center, the new site of the Orange Bowl, will take place tomorrow at 10 a.m. This is from the Orange Bowl release I received today:
WORLD-CLASS TENNIS KICKS OFF IN FORT LAUDERDALE:
ORANGE BOWL OPENS AT NEWLY RENOVATED JIMMY EVERT TENNIS CENTER
Ceremony to Dedicate Chris Evert Stadium Court and Unveil $9.5 Million in Infrastructure
WHAT: The Orange Bowl Committee, City of Fort Lauderdale, and USTA will host a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony for Chris Evert Stadium Court to officially reopen the renovated Jimmy Evert Tennis Center at Holiday Park and kick off the 2025 Orange Bowl International Tennis Championships. The $9.5 million project includes 20 state-of-the-art clay courts, a new 700-seat stadium court named in honor of Chris Evert, and significant infrastructure upgrades, positioning the venue as a world-class home for both community play and elite junior competition.
WHEN: Monday, December 8, 2025
10:00 AM- 11:00 AM ET (remarks and dedication beginning at 10:00 AM.)
WHERE: Jimmy Evert Tennis Center at Holiday Park – Chris Evert Stadium Court
701 NE 12th Ave, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33304
WHO: Planned program participants include:
Chris Evert, Tennis Hall of Famer and Fort Lauderdale native
Henri Crockett, President & Chair, Orange Bowl Committee
Dean Trantalis, Mayor, City of Fort Lauderdale
Tracy Davies, General Manager, USA Tennis (USTA)
Chris Fowler, ESPN broadcaster and event emcee
Additional City of Fort Lauderdale and USTA representatives
I wasn't able to cover the W35 in Daytona Beach this week because I was so busy in Bradenton, but 18-year-old Akasha Urhobo, the No. 5 seed, reached the final, where she lost to top seed Vivian Wolff(Georgia, UCLA) 7-6(6), 6-3 today.
The doubles title was won by Ingrid Neel(Florida) of Estonia and Abigail Rencheli(NC State), who beat Anastasia Goncharova and Madison Tattini 6-3, 6-2 in a final between unseeded teams.
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