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Thursday, July 2, 2026

Antonius, Preston and Secord Make J300 Roehampton Finals; 11 US Juniors Reach Final Round of Wimbledon Qualifying; Eight Americans Advance to Wimbledon Third Round; Wimbledon 14U Competitors Revealed

Michael Antonius and Janae Preston, both of whom won multiple J300 titles early this year, are through to another J300 final in Roehampton.

Antonius, the No. 6 seed, picked up a second win over Australian Open boys champion Ziga Sesko of Slovenia, with the 16-year-old from Buffalo New York posting a 6-3, 6-2 decision today in the semifinals. Antonius had beaten Sesko 6-2, 6-1 in the quarterfinals of the Roland Garros Junior Championships last month.

Antonius, who won two J300s in South America in January and February, will play qualifier Svit Suljic of Slovenia, who defeated Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico 7-5, 2-6, 7-5.

No. 15 seed Preston, who won three titles in Central and South America this winter (two hard and one clay) defeated No. 16 seed Welles Newman 6-1, 6-4. The 15-year-old from Henderson Nevada will face unseeded Yu Jun Lin of China, who surprised top seed and Australian Open champion Ksenia Efremova of France 7-6(4), 6-4.

In boys doubles, Jack Secord advanced to the final when he and Damir Zhalgasbay of Kazakhstan, the No. 8 seeds, defeated No. 5 seeds Alvarez and Leonardo Storck Franca of Brazil 6-3, 6-2. They will play No. 4 seeds and Roland Garros champions Jamie Mackenzie and Vincent Reisach of Germany, who beat the unseeded team of Jordan Lee and Great Britain's Rhys Lawlor 6-1, 6-2.

The girls doubles final will also feature the Roland Garros champions: No. 4 seeds Jana Kovackova and Katerina Zajickova of Czechia. They will face the unseeded British wild card team of Daniella Britton and Edie Griffiths.

The Wimbledon Junior Championships qualifying will conclude Friday, with three US boys and eight US girls playing for a spot in the main draw. At least one American is guaranteed to make the main draw, with Emery Combs facing Sarah Ye. 

Yael Saffar will face top seed Ilary Pistola of Italy; Nancy Lee will play No. 2 seed Fleur De Bresser of the Netherlands; Maggie Sohns will play Iva Marinkovic of Sweden; Carrie-Anne Hoo will face Pietra Rivoli of Brazil; Hannah Ayrault faces Riyo Yoshida of Japan and Olivia Traynor plays Iulia Maria Buculei of Romania.

The three US boys competing in the final round are Vihaan Reddy, who will play Takahiro Kawaguchi of Japan; Safir Azam, who faces Kunanan Pantaratorn of Thailand, and Lee, who plays Maxi Carrascosa Diaz of Spain.

Ireland O'Brien, Marcel Latak and Agassi Rusher, who got in to qualifying as an alternate, lost their opening qualifying matches today.

The main draws have been posted, with Xinran Sun of China, who did not play Roehampton, and Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil the No. 1 seeds. I'll have more on the main draw Friday.

The US men and women went 8-4 today in their second round matches, with Ashlyn Krueger posting the most emphatic victory, beating fellow qualifier Mariam Bolkvadze of Georgia 6-1, 6-0 in under an hour. Just four years after falling in the boys final on Court One, qualifier Michael Zheng(Columbia) will play on Centre Court Friday against No. 3 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada. 

Thursday's Wimbledon second round results of Americans:

Jan-Lennard Struff(GER) d. Brandon Nakashima[28] v 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-7(5), 7-6(8), 7-6(7)
Taylor Fritz[6] d. Patrick Kypson 6-2, 6-2, 7-5
Frances Tiafoe[17] d. Jan Choinski(GBR) 4-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2
Marcos Giron d. Quentin Halys(FRA) 7-6(5), 6-3, 6-4
Zachary Svajda d. Kamil Majchrzak(POL) 2-6, 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4, 

Elena Rybakina[2](KAZ) d. Caty McNally 6-1, 6-2
Madison Keys[26] d. Katie Swan[WC](GBR) 6-1, 6-4
Amanda Anisimova[6] d. Sofia Kenin 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(3)
Ashlyn Krueger[Q] d. Mariam Bolkvadze(GEO) 6-1, 6-0
Emma Navarro[23] d. Oksana Selekhmeteva(ESP) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1

Friday's Wimbledon third round matches featuring Americans:

Michael Zheng[Q] v Felix Auger-Aliassime[3](CAN)
Jenson Brooksby v Jannik Sinner[1](ITA)
Tommy Paul[21] v Hubert Hurkacz(POL)

Jessica Pegula[4] v Jessica Bouzas Maneiro(ESP)
Claire Liu[Q] v Coco Gauff[7]
Iva Jovic[16] v Ekaterina Alexandrova[18](RUS)

Wimbledon has released the names of the 16 boys and 16 girls who have been invited to compete in this year's 14-and-under event. The tournament, now in its fifth year, will begin next Thursday with round robin play.

Eva Maria Bulai(ROU) 
Gabriela Carvalho Bettoni(BRA)
Eduarda Gomes (BRA) 
Emilia Henningsen(DEN)
Claire Hirschi(AUS)
Ke-Chieh Hsu(TPE)
Ayaka Iwasa(JPN)
Anna Kapanadze(USA)
Nishta Kesavan(GBR)
Srishti Kiran(IND)
Mariia Kocherzhenko(UKR)
Isha Manchala(USA)
Beata Maresova(CZE)
Lyubov Pronenko
Isabella Rebel(GBR)
Jiayi Wang(CHN) 

Martin Adamca(SVK)
David Bender(USA)
Saidaslam Farkhodov(UZB)
Ethan Jake Frans(INA)
Mathias Gonzalez Osorio(COL)
Caleb Griffith(GBR)
Noah Honesberger(SUI)
Lyoma Hotelier(JPN)
Oskar Laskowski(GBR)
Yanru Li(CHN)
Puneeth Manohar(IND)
Dante Monte(BRA)
Anastasis Mosaikos(CYP)
Novak Palombo(AUS)
Liam Sharkey(GBR)
Jonas Waelti(SUI)

Wednesday, July 1, 2026

June Aces; Antonius Avenges Roland Garros Final Loss to Reach Semis, Preston and Newman Meet for Spot in Final at J300 Roehampton; 13 US Juniors Begin Wimbledon Qualifying Thursday; Seven Americans Advance to Wimbledon Third Round

My monthly column for Tennis Recruiting Network on the top performances by juniors, collegians and former collegians is up today, with 19 players featured, which doesn't begin to cover all the titles claimed in June. Even with the normal exclusion now of 15K titles, there were a half dozen titles at the next level--M25 and W35--that I didn't have room for, and that's not likely to change the rest of this summer, with collegians out competing all over the world.

Three Americans have advanced to the semifinals of the J300 in Roehampton, with 16-year-olds Michael Antonius and Welles Newman and 15-year-old Janae Preston posting wins on the grass today, along with Puerto Rico's Yannik Alvarez.

No. 6 seed Antonius defeated top seed and World Tennis junior No. 1 Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil 6-3, 1-6, 6-2, avenging his 6-3, 6-4 loss in the Roland Garros boys final last month. Antonius will face No. 4 seed Ziga Sesko of Slovenia, whom he beat 6-2, 6-2 in the Roland Garros quarterfinals, but I suspect this one will be closer, as the Australian Open champion prefers faster surfaces. Sesko defeated No. 10 seed Andy Johnson 6-3, 6-3 today.

No. 2 seed Jamie Mackenzie of Germany also lost today, with qualifier Svit Suljic making it two Slovenians in the semifinals with his 6-3, 7-5 win over the incoming TCU freshman. Suljic will face No. 9 seed Alvarez, who got a walkover from No. 3 seed Keaton Hance.

Preston and Newman have guaranteed an American finalist on Friday, as they advanced to face each other Thursday. 

Preston, the No. 15 seed, defeated unseeded Yihan Qu of China 6-2, 4-6, 6-1; No. 16 seed Newman beat No. 5 seed Anastasija Cvetkovic of Serbia 7-6(1), 6-3. Preston and Newman have not played on the World Tennis Junior Circuit.

Top seed Ksenia Efremova advanced to the semifinals with a 6-0, 6-4 win over Mariia Makarova of Russia and will face unseeded 16-year-old Yu Jun Lin of China, who beat Denisa Zoldakova of Czechia 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

Two Americans are through to the semifinals in the boys doubles. Jack Secord and his partner from Kazakhstan, Damir Zhalgasba, seeded No. 8, defeated No. 3 seeds Antonius and Johnson 6-4, 7-6(3). Secord will face his Roland Garros doubles partner Alvarez in the semifinals, with Alvarez and Leonardo Storck Franca of Brazil the No. 5 seeds.

Unseeded Rhys Lawlor of Great Britain and Jordan Lee will play Roland Garros champions Mackenzie and Vincent Reisach, after the fourth-seeded Germans repeated their Roland Garros doubles final victory over No. 7 seeds Mathys Domenc and Daniel Jade of France 6-0, 6-4.

Lee will be playing in the doubles semifinals and the Wimbledon Junior qualifying tomorrow at Roehampton, with his first round qualifying match at 10:30 a.m. and the time for the doubles to be announced. 

Lee is one of four US boys in the qualifying draw, with Vihaan Reddy, who won the J200 last week on clay in Czechia, the No. 1 seed based on that result. Lee is the No. 7 seed, Safir Azam is the No. 5 seed and Marcel Latak is unseeded.

Nine US girls are in the Wimbledon Junior qualifying, with Anita Tu, who was first out at the freeze deadline, moving into the main draw. The American girls are: Yael Saffar, Nancy Lee[9], Emery Combs, Sarah Ye[11], Maggie Sohns[10], Carrie-Anne Hoo[15], Ireland O'Brien, Hannah Ayrault[7] and Olivia Traynor[8]. The top seed in the Wimbledon girls qualifying is Ilary Pistola of Italy.

I don't recall if live scoring is available for the junior qualifying, but the Roehampton J300 live scoring link is here.

Seven Americans have advanced to the third round of Wimbledon, including qualifier Claire Liu, who won the Wimbledon girls title in 2017: https://tenniskalamazoo.blogspot.com/2017/07/liu-defeats-li-to-claim-wimbledon.html

The 26-year-old South Californian defeated Zeynep Sonmez of Turkey 7-5, 6-3 to reach the third round of Wimbledon for the first time. Liu is not the only American qualifier to reach the third round; Michael Zheng(Columbia) defeated Nico Mejia of Colombia 6-7(4), 7-6(8), 6-1, 6-4 to reach the third round of a major for the first time. Liu is not the only former Wimbledon junior champion to qualify and advance to the third round for the first time, with Shintaro Mochizuki of Japan, the 2019 boys champion, beating last week's Mallorca finalist Ethan Quinn(Georgia) 6-2, 7-6(6), 7-5.

Brandon Nakishima's second round match was again suspended due to darkness, as was his first round match, so he will be playing for a fourth consecutive day Thursday.

Wednesday's Wimbledon second round results of Americans:

Aryna Sabalenka[1](BLR) d. McCartney Kessler 6-1, 7-6(9)
Coco Gauff[7] d. Solana Sierra(ARG) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7)
Jessica Pegula[4] d. Sara Sorribes Tormo(ESP) 7-6(6), 6-1
Iva Jovic[16] d. Tatjana Maria(GER) 6-1, 6-2
Mananchaya Sawangkaew[Q](THA) d. Alycia Parks 7-5, 6-0
Claire Liu[Q] d. Zeynep Sonmez(TUR) 7-5, 6-3

Tommy Paul[21] d. Soonwoo Kwon[Q](KOR) 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-2
Marton Fucsovics(HUN) d. Learner Tien[16] 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-3
Brandon Nakashima[28] v Jan-Lennard Struff(GER) 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-7(5), 7-6(8) suspended, darkness
Jenson Brooksby d. Ignacio Buse[31](PER) 6-2, 6-2, 6-3
Shintaro Mochizuki[Q](JPN) d. Ethan Quinn 6-2, 7-6(6), 7-5
Arthur Rinderknech[25](FRA) d. Martin Damm 6-4, 7-6(1), 6-3
Michael Zheng[Q] d. Nicolas Mejia[Q](COL) 6-7(4), 7-6(8), 6-1, 6-4

Thursday's Wimbledon second round matches featuring Americans:

to finish:
Brandon Nakashima[28] v Jan-Lennard Struff(GER) 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-7(5), 7-6(8) 

Taylor Fritz[6] v Patrick Kypson
Frances Tiafoe[17] v Jan Choinski(GBR)
Marcos Giron v Quentin Halys(FRA)
Zachary Svajda v Kamil Majchrzak(POL)

Caty McNally v Elena Rybakina[2](KAZ)
Madison Keys[26] v Katie Swan[WC](GBR)
Amanda Anisimova[6] v Sofia Kenin
Ashlyn Krueger[Q] v Mariam Bolkvadze(GEO)
Emma Navarro[23] v Oksana Selekhmeteva(ESP)

The heat continues to disrupt play in Cary North Carolina; you can find results from the Challenger 75 matches here and the W100 matches here.

The San Diego SoCal Pro Series results can be found here for the men and here for the women.

Tuesday, June 30, 2026

Newman and Preston Beat Top 4 Seeds to Join Three US Boys in J300 Roehampton Quarterfinals; Twenty-three Americans Reach Wimbledon Second Round; Five Americans Qualify for Cary NC W100; SoCal Pro Series Moves to San Diego This Week

The boys quarterfinals at the J300 in Roehampton will feature a rematch of last month's Roland Garros final, with Michael Antonius hoping to avenge that loss on clay to Brazil's Luis Guto Miguel in Paris with a win on the grass courts of London. Antonius, the No. 6 seed, defeated wild card Vincent Fletcher of Great Britain 6-4, 6-0 to advance, while the top-seeded Miguel beat unseeded Jordan Lee 6-4, 6-4.

Also in the top half of the boys draw is No. 10 seed Andy Johnson, who is competing on grass for the first time in his career. He defeated Mark Ceban, the British 18s National Champion, 6-3, 6-4 and will face No. 4 seed and Australian Open champion Ziga Sesko of Slovenia in the quarterfinals. Sesko beat Ryan Cozad 7-6(2), 6-3 in the third round.

No. 3 seed Keaton Hance will take on No. 9 seed Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico, with Hance defeating Tito Chavez of Spain 6-3, 7-6(6) and Alvarez taking out No. 8 seed Dimitar Kisimov of Bulgaria 7-5, 7-6(4). The only unseeded player remaining in the boys draw is qualifier Svit Suljic of Slovenia, who beat British wild card Rhys Lawlor 3-6, 6-4, 6-4. Suljic will face No. 2 seed Jamie Mackenzie of Germany, who beat Rihards Neimanis of Lativa 6-4, 6-4.

Antonius and Johnson are through to the doubles quarterfinals as the No. 3 seeds and will face Jack Secord and Kazakhstan's Damir Zhalgasbay, the No. 8 seeds, next.

Lee, who is playing with Lawlor, defeated No. 2 seeds Yannick Alexandrescou of France and Thilo Behrmann of Austria 2-6, 6-4, 11-9 in today's second round.

Two US girls advanced to the quarterfinals, both in the bottom half, with No. 16 seed Welles Newman beating No. 2 seed Jana Kovackova of Czechia 4-6, 6-0, 6-0. Newman had lost to Kovackova in the final of the ITF World Junior Tennis 14-and-under team event in 2024, the year after she had lost to the Czech in the final of the Junior Orange Bowl 14s, when both were 13 years old. Newman's opponent in the quarterfinals is No. 5 seed Anastasija Cvetkovic of Serbia, who beat No. 9 seed Charo Esquiva Banuls of Spain 6-2, 6-4.

Janae Preston, the No. 15 seed, defeated No. 4 seed Nana Leme Da Silva 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, repeating her win over the Brazilian in the first round of last year's US Open Junior Championships. Preston will face unseeded Yihan Qu of China, a 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3 winner today over Melije Clarke, with Preston also having a win over Qu last year at the J300 in College Park Maryland. 

In the top half of the draw, No. 1 seed Ksenia Efremova of France rebounded to beat British 16s and 18s champion Daniella Britton 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 and will face No. 6 seed Mariia Makarova of Russia in the quarterfinals. Two unseeded players will face off in the other quarterfinal, with Denisa Zoldakova of Czechia play Yu Jun Lin of China. 

No US girls advanced to the doubles quarterfinals.

Live scoring for the tournament can be found here.

Although two of the biggest stories at Wimbledon today were losses by Americans, with No. 4 seed Ben Shelton falling to qualifier Otto Virtanen of Finland 6-4, 3-6, 6-7(8), 6-2, 7-6(9) and wild card Serena Williams losing to Maya Joint of Australia 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3, the overall results from the US cohort were positive, with 11 wins and 7 losses today. Pending Frances Tiafoe's result, in which he led two sets to one over Terence Atmane of France when play was suspended for darkness, the US will be either 23-13 or 24-12 in the first round of singles at Wimbledon.

Qualifier Ashlyn Krueger defeated No. 31 seed and WTA 500 Queens champion Donna Vekic of Croatia 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4, and No. 23 seed Emma Navarro(Virginia) came from 5-2 down in the third set to beat Paula Badosa of Spain 4-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Tuesday's Wimbledon first round results of Americans:
Iga Swiatek[3](POL) d. Taylor Townsend 6-1, 2-6, 6-3
Maya Joint(AUS) d. Serena Williams[WC] 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3
Amanda Anisimova[6] d. Lina Gjorcheska[Q](MKD) 6-3, 6-2
Jasmine Paolini[13](ITA) d. Robin Montgomery[Q] 0-6, 6-4, 7-5
Madison Keys[26] d. Kayla Day[Q] 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3
Caty McNally d. Elena-Gabriela Ruse(ROU) 7-5, 6-3
Sofia Kenin d. Petra Marcinko(CRO) 7-6(4), 6-4
Ashlyn Krueger[Q] d. Donna Vekic[31](CRO) 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4
Emma Navarro[23] d. Paul Badosa(ESP) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5

Taylor Fritz[6] d. Dusan Lajovic[LL](SRB) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
Otto Virtanen[Q](FIN) d. Ben Shelton[4] 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(8), 6-2, 7-6(9) 
Frances Tiafoe[17] leads Terence Atmane(FRA) 7-6(6), 6-1, 4-6, suspended darkness
Brandon Nakashima[28] d. Jack Pinnington Jones[WC] 6-3, 7-6(5), 7-5
Marcos Giron d. Corentin Moutet(FRA) 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-4
Zachary Svajda d. Pablo Llamas Ruiz[LL](ESP) 6-1, 6-2, 6-4
Patrick Kypson d. Mackenzie McDonald[Q] 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4
Jacob Fearnley[WC](GBR) d. Alex Michelsen 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2

Wednesday's Wimbledon first round matches featuring Americans:
Frances Tiafoe[17] leads Terence Atmane(FRA) 7-6(6), 6-1, 4-6, suspended darkness

Wednesday's Wimbledon second round matches featuring Americans:

McCartney Kessler v Aryna Sabalenka[1](BLR)
Coco Gauff[7] v Solana Sierra(ARG)
Jessica Pegula[4] v Sara Sorribes Tormo(ESP)
Iva Jovic[16] v Tatjana Maria(GER)
Alycia Parks v Mananchaya Sawangkaew[Q](THA)
Claire Liu[Q] v Zeynep Sonmez(TUR)

Tommy Paul[21] v Soonwoo Kwon[Q](KOR)
Learner Tien[16] v Marton Fucsovics(HUN)
Brandon Nakashima[28] v Jan-Lennard Struff(GER)
Jenson Brooksby v Ignacio Buse[31](PER)
Ethan Quinn v Shintaro Mochizuki[Q](JPN)
Martin Damm v Arthur Rinderknech[25](FRA)
Michael Zheng[Q] v Nicolas Mejia[Q](COL)

In addition to the ATP Challenger 75 in Cary North Carolina, three other USTA Pro Circuit events are on the calendar, with qualifying completed today at the W100 in Cary and the SoCal Pro Series M15 and W15 in San Diego.

Five American women qualified in Cary: Maya Iyengar, Tatum Evans(UNC), Malaika Rapolu(Texas), Savannah Broadus(Pepperdine) and Kylie Collins(Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State). 

All three wild cards were in first round action today, with Mia Slama(NC State) defeating Ana Sofia Sanchez of Mexico 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, but Slama's teammate Victoria Osuigwe lost to Momoko Kobori of Japan 7-6(4), 6-0, and NCAA singles champion Reese Brantmeier(UNC) was beaten by No. 4 seed YeXin Ma of China 6-2, 6-4.

Probably due to the heat, which has disrupted play at both the Challenger and the W100, eight women's first round matches were on the schedule today and several are still in progress. Elvina Kalieva and Italy's Lucrezia Stefanini are the top two seeds.

In San Diego, play did not begin until 3 p.m. Eastern time, so many of the first round main draw matches on the schedule aren't complete, but the qualifying has concluded.

At the M15, four Americans qualified for the main draw: Nav Dayal(UCLA), Hugo Hashimoto(Columbia), Bryce Nakashima(Ohio State) and Alex Petrov(Illinois).

Wild cards were given to Rudy Quan(UCLA), William Kleege(San Diego State) and Benjamin Berger, a rising freshman at Cal. Junior reserved spots went to Noah Johnston(Georgia) and Vanderbilt rising freshman Roshan Santhosh.

The top two seeds are Aidan Kim(Ohio State) and Marko Miladinovic(Baylor) of Serbia.

At the W15, Alina Shcherbinina(Baylor, Oklahoma) of Russia was forced to qualify this week, even after she won back-to-back titles on the SoCal Pro Series earlier this month. She did get through to the main draw, as did Americans Olivia Center(UCLA), Jessica Bernales(Michigan, UCLA), Simone Kay(USC), Kelly Keller(Arkansas), Kayla Chung(UCLA) and Angelo Ho(Cal State-Northridge). Shcherbinina will play Chung in the first round.

Wild cards were given to 14-year-old Tanvi Pandey, 16-year-old Yilin Chen, Elena Goodman(CSUN) and Alyssa Ahn(Stanford).

Pandey plays top seed Alexandra Vagramov(UCLA) of Canada in the opening round. Recent UCLA graduate Anne Christine Lutkemeyer is the No. 2 seed.

Monday, June 29, 2026

Zheng's Upset Among the Dozen American Wins on Opening Day at Wimbledon; Eight Americans Reach J300 Roehampton Round of 16; Qualifying Complete, Kennedy Opens with Win at ATP Challenger 75 in Cary NC


Michael Zheng, who reached the Wimbledon boys final in 2022, had a triumphant return to the All England Lawn Tennis Club today, with the two-time NCAA singles champion outlasting the British No. 1 Cameron Norrie 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(4) in a four-hour battle on Court No. 2. 

Zheng, a recent Columbia graduate, who won three qualifying matches last week, had 74 winners, including 21 aces, to beat the former TCU All-American, who was seeded No. 26. Zheng, who beat Sebastian Korda in the first round of the Australian Open in January but retired with an injury in the second round, will face fellow qualifier Nicolas Mejia of Colombia in the second round Wednesday.

The other American to beat a seed today was also a former NCAA champion: University of Georgia's Ethan Quinn, who beat No. 14 Luciano Darderi of Italy 7-6(7), 7-5, 6-2. With Darderi being more comfortable on clay, and Quinn in form after making first ATP final last week in Mallorca, the result wasn't really an upset.

Two men's first round matches did not finish due to darkness, with Brandon Nakashima(Virginia) leading wild card Jack Pinnington Jones(TCU) of Great Britain 6-3, 7-6(5), 4-3 when play was suspended. 

The lack of wins for British players Monday--they went 0-10--certainly didn't help the mood in England, which was still coming to terms with the late withdrawals of Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper. Eight more, plus Pinnington Jones, are in action Tuesday, so better results on Day Two are likely.

Monday's Wimbledon first round results of Americans: 

Jessica Pegula[4] d. Dasha Vidmanova(CZE) 7-5, 6-3
Coco Gauff[7] d.  Tamara Korpatsch(GER) 6-2, 6-1
Alycia Parks d. Alicia Dudeney[WC](GBR) 6-3, 6-3
McCartney Kessler d. Oleksandra Oliynykova(UKR) 6-0, 6-0
Nikola Bartunkova(CZE) d. Peyton Stearns 6-4, 3-6, 7-5
Claire Liu[Q] d. Hanne Vandewinkel(BEL) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Iva Jovic[16] d. Jaqueline Cristian(ROU) 7-6(1), 6-0
Zeynep Sonmez(TUR) d. Ann Li[28] 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 


Michael Zheng[Q] d. Cam Norrie[26](GBR) 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-3, 7-6(4)
Brandon Nakashima[28] leads Jack Pinnington Jones[WC] 6-3, 7-6(5), 4-3, postponed darkness
Tommy Paul[21] d. Alexandre Muller(FRA) 6-1, 6-2, 6-1
Ignacio Buse[31](PER) d. Emilio Nava 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-5, 6-0
Martin Damm d. Marco Trungelliti(ARG) 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 7-6(2), 7-6(5)
Botic van De Zandschulp(NED) d. Aleks Kovacevic 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-0
Nuno Borges(POR) d. Tristan Boyer[Q] 6-3, 7-5, 7-5
Jenson Brooksby d. Aleks Vukic(AUS) 7-6(7), 6-1, 6-1
Ethan Quinn d. Luciano Darderi[14](ITA) 7-6(7), 7-5, 6-2
Learner Tien[16] d. Dalibor Svrcina(CZE) 6-1, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3

Tuesday's Wimbledon first round matches featuring Americans:

Taylor Townsend v Iga Swiatek[3](POL)
Serena Williams[WC] v Maya Joint(AUS)
Amanda Anisimova[6] v Lina Gjorcheska[Q](MKD)
Robin Montgomery[Q] v Jasmine Paolini[13](ITA)
Kayla Day[Q] v Madison Keys[26]
Caty McNally v Elena-Gabriela Ruse(ROU)
Sofia Kenin v Petra Marcinko(CRO)
Ashlyn Krueger[Q] v Donna Vekic[31](CRO)
Emma Navarro[23] v Paul Badosa(ESP)

Taylor Fritz[6] v Dusan Lajovic[LL](SRB)
Ben Shelton[4] v Otto Virtanen[Q](FIN)
Frances Tiafoe[17] v Terence Atmane(FRA)
Marcos Giron v Corentin Moutet(FRA)
Zachary Svajda v Pablo Llamas Ruiz[LL](ESP)
Patrick Kypson v Mackenzie McDonald[Q]
Alex Michelsen v Jacob Fearnley[WC](GBR)

At the J300 in Roehampton, five boys and three girls from the United States are through to the round of 16.

No. 15 seed Janae Preston beat Fleur De Bresser of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-2; No. 16 seed Welles Newman defeated  Sofiia Bielinska of Ukraine 6-4, 1-6, 6-2 and Melije Clarke defeated qualifier Michelle Khomich of Germany 7-6(2), 6-4.

Clarke faces unseeded Yihan Qu of China, with Preston playing No. 4 seed Nana Leme Da Silva of Brazil, and Newman taking on No. 2 Jana Kovackova of Czechia in a rematch of the 2023 Junior Orange Bowl girls 14s fina, which Kovacova won 6-3, 7-6(5).

Jordan Lee, who was the last direct acceptance, beat No. 15 seed Arnav Paparkar of India 6-3, 6-1 and will play top seed and Roland Garros champion Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil Tuesday. 

Ryan Cozad defeated No. 13 seed Kuan-Shou Chen of Taiwan 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 and will play the reigning Australian Open boys champion Ziga Sesko of Slovenia, the No. 4 seed. 

No. 6 seed Michael Antonius faces wild card Vincent Fletcher of Great Britain after Antonius beat Dan Brand of Israel 6-4, 4-6, 6-3; Andy Johnson, the No. 10 seed beat Connor Doig of South Africa 6-3, 6-4 and will face Mark Ceban of Great Britain, the British National 18s champion. Ceban defeated No. 5 seed Yannick Alexandrescou of France 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in today's second round. No. 3 seed Keaton Hance, who beat Daniel Jade of France 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, will play Spain's unseeded Tito Chavez next.

Live scoring is available here.

The ATP Challenger Circuit has returned to the United States after a three-week absence with a 75-level tournament in Cary North Carolina.

Qualifying was completed today, with Andrew Fenty(Michigan) and Ozan Baris(Michigan State) the two Americans advancing to the main draw, along with recent college stars DK Suresh(Wake Forest) of India, Jay Friend(Arizona) of Japan and Edward Winter(Pepperdine) of Australia. 

Rei Sakamoto of Japan is the top seed and is defending his title, with Liam Draxl(Kentucky) of Canada, his opponent in last year's final, the No. 2 seed. 

Wild cards were given to NC State's Will Manning and Jules Leroux of France and JJ Wolf(Ohio State).

Timo Legout(Texas) of France is using a college Accelerator Program entry, and Jack Kennedy received a Next Gen Accelerator Program entry.

Kennedy, who is skipping the Wimbledon Junior Championships, defeated Kaichi Uchida of Japan in a first round match tonight 6-4, 6-4.

Sunday, June 28, 2026

Johnson, Nguyen and Akli Claim USTA Pro Circuit Titles; US Boys Shine, Girls Falter at J300 Roehampton; Reddy Wins J200 in Czechia, World Tennis Junior Circuit Update; Eighteen Americans Begin Play Monday at Wimbledon

The SoCal Pro Series continues to provide opportunities for milestones in the budding careers of Californians, with Alexis Nguyen winning her first Pro Circuit title today in Claremont and UCLA rising senior Spencer Johnson adding another singles title to his sweep last week in Irvine.


The fifth-seeded Nguyen, an 18-year-old from Northern California who will join the Tar Heels of North Carolina this fall, defeated 2025 San Diego 18s champion Alyssa Ahn, the No. 7 seed, 6-2, 6-3 in today's final at the W15 in Claremont.  Ahn, a rising sophomore at Stanford, had beaten Nguyen in the San Diego semifinals last August, but Nguyen is now 3-0 against Ahn in the SoCal Pro Series.

Johnson, who won his first two Pro Circuit titles last week added a third today, with the unseeded 23-year-old defeating unseeded Sasha Rozin, a rising senior at Arizona, 6-4, 6-3 in the final of the M15 in Claremont.

At the W35 in Rome Georgia, No. 2 seed Ayana Akli(Maryland, South Carolina)won her second USTA Pro Circuit title and the first this year, beating No. 6 seed Amelia Honer(UC-Santa Barbara) 7-6(3), 6-4 in the battle of former collegiate All-Americans. Honer had won back-to-back W35s this spring on the USTA Pro Circuit, while Akli has struggled this year, mostly at events above the W35 level, going 5-11 prior to doubling her win total this week.

The first round of the J300 in Roehampton today was great for the US boys and a disappointment for the US girls. Nine of the ten American boys in the draw advanced to the second round, while only four of the 11 American girls in action picked up wins. No. 14 seed Jordyn Hazelitt, who lost to Katerina Zajickova of Czechia 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(4), was the only seeded American to lose. Melije Clarke defeated No. 11 seed Anna Pushkareva of Russia 7-6(3), 2-6, 7-6(1).

In addition to Hazelitt and Pushkareva, four other girls seeds lost: No. 7 seed Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi of Argentina fell to British wild card Sophie Bekker 6-3, 6-3. No. 3 seed Victoria Barros of Brazil was beaten by qualifier Marija Lauva of Latvia 6-4, 5-7, 6-4; No. 10 seed Paola Pinera Celorio of Spain lost to British wild card Tegan Bush 6-2, 6-3 and No. 13 seed Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi of India lost to Antonia Sushkova of Ukraine 6-2, 7-5.

No. 7 seed Thilo Behrmann of Austria was the only Top 8 seed in the boys draw to lose, falling to qualifier Svit Suljic of Slovenia 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-4; Jack Secord defeated No. 14 seed Dante Pagani of Argentina 6-2, 6-4, British wild card Rhys Lawler defeated No. 12 seed Mathys Domenc of France 7-6(3), 6-1, British wild card Vincent Fletcher beat No. 11 seed Nicolas Baena of Peru 6-2, 6-3 and Tito Chavez of Spain defeated Roland Garros finalist Leonardo Storck Franca of Brazil, the No. 16 seed, 6-3, 6-2.

Top seeds Ksenia Efremova of France and Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil won their first round matches in straight sets.

Live scoring is available here.


Vihaan Reddy won the J200 title in Pilsen Czechia today, with the top seed defeating No. 7 seed Thomas Gunzinger of Switzerland 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 in the final on clay. Reddy, who is in qualifying for the Wimbledon Juniors, should move into the Top 40 of the World Tennis junior rankings for the first time tomorrow.

I already covered the sweep of the titles by Brooke Wallman at the J200 in Mexico Friday, and with Wimbledon starting tomorrow, I'm going to update the American results on the World Tennis Junior Circuit a day early.

In addition to the two J200 titles, there were five titles at J30s, with 13-year-old Skylar Mandell winning her first two titles at the J30 in Mexico, and 15-year-old Isabella Gonzalez Alvarez winning her second straight J30 in Honduras.

Mandell, who received entry based on her World Tennis Number, defeated No. 3 seed Laurence Demers of Canada 6-4, 6-0 for the singles title. Mandell and Renata Pacheco Lopez of Mexico, who were unseeded, beat No. 2 seeds Marissa Rios of Mexico and Demers 6-4, 6-4 in the final. 

In Honduras, the second-seeded Gonzalez Alvarez defeated No. 5 seed Isabella Giraldo of Colombia 6-1, 6-1 to extend her winning streak in Honduras to eight matches.

Top seeds Sofia Mills and Mexico's Maria Jose Gil Castillo won the girls doubles, defeating No. 2 seeds Luciana Mejia Arce and Sofia Tejada of Guatemala 7-6(6), 6-1 in the final.

At the J30 in Belgium, 15-year-old Nicole Alexandrovich and 16-year-old Malaika Chinyerere won their first World Tennis junior titles, with the unseeded pair defeating top seeds Noor Ceulemans and Ella Van Gestel of Belgium 6-1, 6-3 in the final.

Raya Kotseva and Ana Avramovic won the girls doubles title at the J100 in Germany, with the No. 4 seed defeating No. 6 seeds Camilla Olga Castracani and Viola Severi of Itlay 6-3, 7-6(6) in the final.

The first round of singles at Wimbledon is cut exactly in half for the 36 Americans, with 18 on Monday's schedule and 18 on Tuesday's schedule.

Monday's Wimbledon first round matches featuring Americans:

Jessica Pegula[4] v Dasha Vidmanova(CZE)
Coco Gauff[7] v Tamara Korpatsch(GER)
Alycia Parks v Alicia Dudeney(GBR)
McCartney Kessler v Oleksandra Oliynykova(UKR)
Peyton Stearns v Nikola Bartunkova(CZE)
Claire Liu[Q] v Hanne Vandewindel(BEL)
Iva Jovic[16] v Jaqueline Cristian(ROU)
Ann Li[28] v Zeynep Sonmez(TUR)

Michael Zheng[Q] v Cam Norrie[26](GBR)
Brandon Nakashima[28] v Jack Pinnington Jones[WC]
Tommy Paul[21] v Alexandre Muller(FRA)
Emilio Nava v Ignacio Buse[31](PER)
Martin Damm v Marco Trungelliti(ARG)
Aleks Kovacevic v Botic van De Zandschulp(NED)
Tristan Boyer[Q] v Nuno Borges(POR)
Jenson Brooksby v Aleks Vukic(AUS)
Ethan Quinn v Luciano Darderi[14](ITA)
Learner Tien[16] v Dalibor Svrcina(CZE)

Tuesday's Wimbledon first round matches featuring Americans:

Taylor Townsend v Iga Swiatek[3](POL)
Serena Williams[WC] v Maya Joint(AUS)
Amanda Anisimova[6] v Lina Gjorcheska[Q](MKD)
Robin Montgomery[Q] v Jasmine Paolini[13](ITA)
Kayla Day[Q] v Madison Keys[26]
Caty McNally v Elena-Gabriela Ruse(ROU)
Sofia Kenin v Petra Marcinko(CRO)
Ashlyn Krueger[Q] v Donna Vekic[31](CRO)
Emma Navarro[23] v Paul Badosa(ESP)

Taylor Fritz[6] v Jack Draper(GBR)
Ben Shelton[4] v Otto Virtanen[Q](FIN)
Frances Tiafoe[17] v Terence Atmane(FRA)
Marcos Giron v Corentin Moutet(FRA)
Zachary Svajda v Pablo Llamas Ruiz[LL](ESP)
Patrick Kypson v Mackenzie McDonald[Q]
Alex Michelsen v Jacob Fearnley[WC](GBR)

Saturday, June 27, 2026

Twenty-one Americans Begin Play Sunday at Roehampton J300; All-Teen Final at Claremont W15; Johnson Plays for Another SoCal Pro Series Title at M15 Claremont; All-USA Final at Rome W35; Keys Wins Third Eastbourne Title; BBC Looks at Tennis Parenting

The World Tennis J300 Wimbledon warmup tournament begins Sunday in Roehampton, with ten US boys and 11 US girls in the main draw. Marcel Latak and Sarah Ye qualified for the main draw with wins today.

World Tennis junior No. 1 Xinran Sun of China withdrew several weeks ago, although the Roland Garros finalist is still entered at Wimbledon. Roland Garros girls champion Alisa Oktibreva, who did not enter Roehampton, withdrew from Wimbledon Juniors at the deadline Tuesday. The top girls seed at Roehampton is Ksenia Efremova of France, who won the Giorgi Armani Invitational yesterday at the Hurlingham Club in London. 

Roland Garros boys champion Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil is the top seed in Roehampton, with Jamie Mackenzie of Germany the No. 2 seed. 

Vihaan Reddy, who is through to Sunday's final at the J200 in Czechia, obviously can't play in the first round of Roehampton tomorrow, but he is still entered in Wimbledon qualifying, which begins next Thursday. Lani Chang withdrew from Roehampton, but is still entered at Wimbledon.

Americans competing in Roehampton Monday:
Jordan Lee
Michael Antonius[6]
Ryan Cozad
Andy Johnson[10]
Gavin Goode
Safir Azam
Keaton Hance[3]
Marcel Latak[Q]
Jack Secord
Tanishk Konduri

Jordyn Hazelitt[14]
Sarah Ye[Q]
Thea Frodin
Maggie Sohns[A]
Hannah Ayrault
Nancy Lee
Melije Clarke
Janae Preston[15]
Olivia Traynor
Welles Newman[16]
Anita Tu

Live scoring is available here


The SoCal Pro Series in Claremont California this week, will have three new finalists and a player going for his second straight title Sunday.

The women's W15 final will feature rising North Carolina freshman Alexis Nguyen , the No. 5 seed and rising Stanford sophomore and No. 7 seed Alyssa Ahn, the 2025 USTA Nationals 18s champion. The 19-year-old Ahn defeated unseeded Midori Castillo Meza of Mexico 6-2, 6-4 in today's semifinal, while the 18-year-old Nguyen beat top seed Alexandra Vagramov of Canada 6-4, 6-2. 

Ahn defeated Nguyen 6-1, 6-7(1), 7-5 in the semifinals in San Diego last year, but Nguyen has won both of their previous meetings during the SoCal Pro Series, in 2023 and 2025, in straight sets. It will be a first Pro Circuit title for Sunday's champion.

Spencer Johnson, the UCLA rising senior who swept the titles in Irvine last week, defeated top seed Aidan Kim of Ohio State in Friday's Claremont M15 quarterfinal 6-4, 3-6, 7-5. Today he took out wild card Jagger Leach, the rising Stanford sophomore, 7-6(4), 6-4, setting up a final against unseeded Sasha Rozin(Arizona) of Canada. Rozin defeated 2025 Kalamazoo 18s finalist Jack Satterfield(Vanderbilt) 6-1, 6-1 in today's bottom half semifinal. 

In the all-USA women's doubles final today in Claremont, unseeded UCLA teammates Kayla Chung and Ahmani Guichard won their first Pro Circuit title, defeating top seeds Paola Lopez and Amy Zhu(Michigan) 6-3, 6-2.

In the men's doubles final, unseeded Matt Kuhar(Bryant) and Henry Lieberman(Charlotte, UNC) beat (correction) Michael Blando(UC Riverside, Utah) and Hugo Hashimoto(Columbia) 7-5, 6-1. 

At the W35 in Rome Georgia, No. 6 seed Amelia Honer and No. 2 seed Ayana Akli will play for the first time on the Pro Circuit with the title on the line. Honer, the former UC-Santa Barbara All-American, who defeated No. 4 seed Sahaja Yamalapalli(Sam Houston) of India 6-3, 6-4 today, had beaten top seed Madison Brengle 6-5, retired in Friday's quarterfinals. Akli defeated qualifier Jo-Yee Chan(Oregon, San Diego State) 7-6(3), 6-1.

In the doubles final today, unseeded Jaeda Daniel(Auburn, NC State) and Lily Fairclough(USC) defeated No. 2 seeds Savannah Broadus(Pepperdine) and Kylie Collins(Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State) 7-5, 6-4.

Madison Keys won the WTA 250 in Eastbourne for the third time today, with the No. 2 seed defeating Tatjana Maria of Germany 7-5, 6-4 in the final. For more on Keys' eleventh WTA title, see this article from the BBC.

Ethan Quinn(Georgia) lost in the final of the ATP 250 in Mallorca, with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain winning his first ATP title in his sixth appearance in a final. Davidovich Fokina's serve was the difference in his 7-6(4), 6-3 win, making 70 percent of his first serves to Quinn's 51 percent, and coming up with huge first serves in his last two service games to take a Quinn comeback out of the equation. For more on this final, and Davidovich Fokina's struggles in earlier championship matches, see this article from the ATP website.

The BBC published a lengthy feature yesterday titled How To Be A Good Tennis Parent. It contains valuable information for those new to that role, and for those who might need a reminder of the best practices for encouraging and nuturing a child's love of the sport.

Friday, June 26, 2026

My Coverage of USTA Midwest Closed; Roehampton J300 Qualifying Underway; Wallman Sweeps Titles at J200 in Mexico; Thirty-Six Americans in Men's and Women's Singles at Wimbledon; Quinn Reaches First ATP Final

With school out and  the Level I tournaments coming up soon, the USTA junior circuit is in full swing now, and I took the opportunity to cover the Boys 18s and 16s Midwest Closed Tuesday in Byron Center, less than an hour from my Kalamazoo home.

It was the first time I've been to a USTA tournament below a Level 2 in several years, but I enjoyed getting to watch several of the top players in the section compete in the semifinals and finals in ideal weather conditions for tennis. I was also struck by the camaraderie and the sportsmanship, which I assume is partly due to the familiarity with each other after years of competing in the same sectional events.

My Tennis Recruiting Network article on the sweeps by Nihal Narisetty and Joseph Garrean can be found here.

The World Tennis junior grass season has officially begun with the start today of the qualifying at the World Tennis J300 in Roehampton. The top three seeds in the boys qualifying draw have already lost; Marcel Latak[12] and Agassi Rusher are the only two US boys in qualifying, with Latak winning and Rusher falling to No. 7 seed Ntungamili Raguin of Botswana 3-6, 6-1, 10-8.  Jordan Lee was one out of the main draw and he is not in qualifying, so I presume he moved into the main draw.  Vihaan Reddy was listed in qualifying, but he is in the semifinals of a J200, on clay, in Czechia this week, so I don't know if he got a special exempt, or is not planning to play Roehampton.

Seven US girls were in qualifying as of the freeze date, but Nancy Lee and Maggie Sohns are not in the draw, so they likely moved into the main draw.

Sarah Ye, the No. 2 seed, advanced to the final round of qualifying, as did No. 7 seed Carrie-Anne Hoo and No. 12 seed Emery Combs. No. 8 seed Yael Saffar and No. 9 seed Ireland O'Brien lost their first round qualifying matches today.

At today's finals of the Giorgi Armani Junior Invitational at the Hurlingham Club in London, Michael Antonius lost to Cruz Hewitt of Australia 2-6, 6-2, 10-7, while Ksenia Efremova of France beat Nana Leme Da Silva of Brazil 6-3, 6-4.

Eighteen-year-old Brooke Wallman swept the titles today at the World Tennis J200 in Puerto Escondido Mexico. The unseeded Texas A&M recruit defeated No. 8 seed Scarlett Fagan, 15, 6-1, 6-4 in the singles final for her second, and biggest, World Tennis junior title. She then partnered with future teammate Kori Montoya for the doubles title, with the No. 4 seeds defeating No. 2 seeds Olivia De Los Reyes and Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann 6-3, 7-5. It's the seventh World Tennis doubles title for Wallman, with all three this year at the J200 level, while Montoya now has five WT junior doubles titles.

Mason Vaughan won the boys doubles title today, with Samim Filiz of Turkey. The No. 4 seeds defeated top seeds Junseo Jang of Korea and Koki Nara of Japan 6-2, 6-2 in the final. No. 2 seed Nara won the boys singles title, beating No. 5 seed Eito Komada 6-2, 6-3 in the all-Japan final.

The men's and women's singles draws were released today at Wimbledon, with 18 Americans in each draw. That's the most in 30 years; 37 made the Wimbledon main draw in 1996. The list is below; I'll post the matchups Sunday.

Men:
Tristan Boyer[Q]
Jenson Brooksby
Emilio Nava
Ethan Quinn
Tommy Paul[21]
Brandon Nakashima[28]
Zachary Svajda
Ben Shelton[4]
Michael Zheng[Q]
Learner Tien[16]
Aleks Kovacevic
Martin Damm
Taylor Fritz[6]
Patrick Kypson
Mackenzie McDonald[Q]
Frances Tiafoe[17]
Alex Michelsen
Marcos Giron

Women:
McCartney Kessler
Alycia Parks
Peyton Stearns
Ashlyn Krueger[Q]
Emma Navarro[23]
Robin Montgomery[Q]
Serena Williams[WC]
Taylor Townsend
Jessica Pegula[4]
Iva Jovic[16]
Ann Li[28]
Claire Liu[Q]
Coco Gauff[7]
Amanda Anisimova[6]
Sofia Kenin
Kayla Day[Q]
Madison Keys[26]
Caty McNally

The doubles draws were also released today, with the men's draw here and the women's draw here.

Ethan Quinn, the 2023 NCAA singles champion while at Georgia, is through to his first ATP final at the 250 in Mallorca Spain. The 22-year-old from California, who is unseeded this week, defeated Nuno Borges(Mississippi State) 6-1, 6-2 in today's semifinals. He will face No. 2 seed Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain Saturday's final. 

Thursday, June 25, 2026

Seven Americans Qualify for Wimbledon; Dudeney Prepares for Wimbledon Debut; Antonius Reaches Armani Invitational Final; Leach, Gowda Advance to M15 Claremont Quarterfinals; ITF Rebrands to World Tennis


Americans had their most successful Wimbledon final round of qualifying this century today at Roehampton, with four women and three men advancing to the main draw with victories today.

In 2021 six Americans reached the main draw via qualifying, but seven is the most since eight qualified in 1993, and it is the most at any major since eight qualified at the US Open in 2017.

Two-time NCAA champion Michael Zheng, a recent Columbia graduate, is now 9-0 this year in slam qualifying, with the 2022 boys finalist returning to the All-England Club for the first time since then with his three-set win over Colton Smith(Arizona)

Tristan Boyer(Stanford), who beat No. 7 seed Pablo Llamas Ruiz of Spain 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 6-3, and Kayla Day, a 6-2, 7-5 winner over No. 14 seed Katarzyna Kawa of Poland, will also be making their main draw debuts at Wimbledon.

Mackenzie McDonald, Ashlyn Krueger, Robin Montgomery and Claire Liu, all of whom have played the main draw at one point in the past three years, booked their returns with victories today.

Other notable qualifiers are wild cards Max Basing(Stanford) and, for the second year in a row, Oliver Tarvet(San Diego). Basing, who received a last-minute wild card into qualifying despite failing to advance to the final of the LTA's playoff, defeated Remy Bertola of Switzerland 2-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 6-2. Tarvet, who returned to San Diego for his senior year despite winning a round in the main draw last year, didn't drop a set in his three victories this week, beating Stefanos Sakellaridis of Greece 6-4, 6-2, 7-5 in today's final round of qualifying. For more on their successful qualifying runs, see this article from wimbledon.com.

Eighteen-year-old Tyra Grant, who played for the United States until a year ago, when she switched her representation to her mother's country of Italy, will make her women's Wimbledon debut after qualifying; she won the Wimbledon girls doubles title with Iva Jovic in 2024.

Thursday's final round Wimbledon qualifying matches featuring Americans:

Ashlyn Krueger[2] d. Polina Iatcenko(RUS) 7-6(8), 6-1
Alina Korneeva[3](RUS) d. Fiona Crawley 6-2, 6-0 
Leolia Jeanjean[23](FRA) d, Katie Volynets[5] 6-3, 6-4
Kayla Day[32] d. Katarzyna Kawa[14](POL) 6-2, 7-5
Claire Liu d. Elena Pridankina(RUS) 6-2, 4-6, 6-1
Robin Montgomery d. Marina Bassols Ribera(ESP) 3-6, 6-1, 6-1

Tristan Boyer d. Pablo Llamas Ruiz[7](ESP) 7-5, 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 6-3
Mackenzie McDonald[13] d. Christopher O'Connell[32](AUS) 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
Michael Zheng[26] d. Colton Smith 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3

The draw is scheduled to be announced at 10 a.m. local time Friday in London, which is 5 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time. 

While collegians Tarvet and Basing were grinding through qualifying, Alice Dudeney was spared that ordeal, with the two-time doubles All-American at Florida receiving a main draw wild card. Dudeney was outside the WTA Top 1000 when she graduated from Florida last May, but in the past year has improved her ranking to a career-high of 246. In this article from the Independent, Dudeney explains why she chose the American college pathway, still not as prevalent for British girls as it has become for British boys, and how it prepared her for her steep climb in the past 12 months.

Michael Antonius is through to the final of the Giorgio Armani Junior Invitation at Hurlingham in London after defeating Yannick Alexandrescou of France today 7-6, 6-7(8), 10-5. Antonius will play Australian Cruz Hewitt, son of Lleyton Hewitt, who beat Kai Thompson of Hong Kong 6-3, 6-1.  The girls final will feature Ksenia Efremova of France and Nana Leme Da Silva of Brazil. Live streaming is available on YouTube.

Jagger Leach, who just completed his freshman year at Stanford, is playing his first non-collegiate event this week at the SoCal Pro Series M15 in Claremont California. The 19-year-old, who was out with an elbow injury for the second half of 2025, is through to the quarterfinals after defeating No. 6 seed Luca Pow(Wake Forest) of Great Britain 7-5, 6-3. Leach will face qualifier Oliver Ojakaar(Texas) of Estonia Friday.  Last week's Irvine M15 winner Spencer Johnson(UCLA), repeated his win over Bryce Nakashima(Ohio State) in that final today, by a 6-4, 6-3 score. Johnson will face another Buckeye in the quarterfinals in top seed Aidan Kim.

Recent Yale graduate Vignesh Gogineni is through to the quarterfinals after taking out No. 2 seed Kenta Miyoshi(Illinois) of Japan 6-2, 6-4.

In the SoCal Pro Series W15 in Claremont, 17-year-old lucky loser Thara Gowda has advanced to the quarterfinals, after beating No. 6 seed Anita Sahdiieva(Baylor, LSU) of Ukraine 6-3, 7-5 in the first round yesterday, Gowda defeated Caroline Driscoll(Denver, Stanford) 6-3, 7-6(3) today.

For more on Wednesday's first round action in Claremont, featuring comments from Leach, his mother Lindsay Davenport, 16-year-old qualifier Brooke Kwon and former Arizona standout Midori Castillo Meza, see this article from the USTA SoCal website.

The International Tennis Federation has changed its name, and will now be known as World Tennis. It will certainly take me some time to get used to this, as I've been using ITF to designate the organization for more than twenty years, but I'm going to try to use World Tennis in its place. If you see WT in a Zootennis headline, know that it refers to what was formerly known as the International Tennis Federation.

Wednesday, June 24, 2026

Ten Americans Advance to Thursday's Final Round of Wimbledon Qualifying; Two US Boys Compete at Armani Junior Invitational; USTA Announces Dates for Annual US Open Wild Card Challenge

Keeping up with all the Americans in the final round of Wimbledon qualifying won't be easy, with six women and four men playing for main draw spots Thursday at Roehampton.

Last year only three Americans reached the final round of qualifying, all women, with Iva Jovic and Taylor Townsend reaching the main draw. The third, Robin Montgomery, is back at that stage again this year, after making it through qualifying in 2024.

One US man is guaranteed to make the main draw when Colton Smith(Arizona) meets Michael Zheng(Columbia). The two played twice in 2024, with Zheng winning both matches; the second was a 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory in the semifinals of the NCAA singles tournament.

2017 Wimbledon girls champion Claire Liu is one step away from her first main draw at Wimbledon since 2023, and fellow 26-year-old Kayla Day will make her main draw debut if she wins tomorrow. Day has never made the final round of qualifying in her four previous appearances.

Twenty-four-year-old Fiona Crawley, playing Wimbledon qualifying for the first time, posted a second consecutive victory in a third-set tiebreaker. The former North Carolina All-American needed two-hours and 45-minutes to get past Julia Riera of Argentina, but unlike the finish with Himeno Sakatsume of Japan, a 10-8 tiebreaker, Crawley dominated the final game 10-1 against Riera.

Tristan Boyer(Stanford) has lost only eight games in his two victories, and they are first two wins in Wimbledon qualifying for the 25-year-old Southern Californian, who plays on clay much more often than most of his American peers.

Wednesday's second round Wimbledon qualifying results of Americans:

Ashlyn Krueger[2] d. Mai Hontama(JPN) 6-3, 5-7, 6-3
Fiona Crawley d. Julia Riera(ARG) 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(1)
Robin Montgomery d. Elvina Kalieva[31] 6-2, 6-2
Katie Volynets[5] d. Elizara Yaneva(BUL) 6-1, 6-4
Claire Liu d. Kaitlin Quevdo[7](ESP) 6-4, 6-4
Mananchaya Sawangkaew(THA) d. Mary Stoiana[25] 2-6, 6-4, 7-5
Polina Kudermetova[11](UZB) d. Clervie Ngounoue 6-1, 6-2
Kayla Day[32] d. Erika Andreeva(RUS) 6-2, 6-2

Colton Smith d. Borna Gojo(CRO) 6-4, 6-4
Michael Zheng[26] d. Laslo Djere(SRB) 7-5, 6-3
Moez Echargui[29](TUN) d. Keegan Smith 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(6) 
Tristan Boyer d. Andrea Pellegrino[17](ITA) 6-2, 6-1
Dane Sweeny[11](AUS) d. Darwin Blanch 2-6, 7-6(7), 4-0, ret.
Mackenzie McDonald[13] d. Roberto Carballes Baena(ESP) 6-4, 

Thursday's final round Wimbledon qualifying matches featuring Americans:

Ashlyn Krueger[2] v. Polina Iatcenko(RUS)
Fiona Crawley v Alina Korneeva[3](RUS)
Katie Volynets[5] v Leolia Jeanjean[23](FRA)
Kayla Day[32] v Katarzyna Kawa[14](POL)
Claire Liu v Elena Pridankina(RUS)
Robin Montgomery v Marina Bassols Ribera(ESP)

Tristan Boyer v Pablo Llamas Ruiz[7](ESP)
Mackenzie McDonald[13] v Christopher O'Connell[32](AUS)
Colton Smith v Michael Zheng[26]

The Giorgi Armani Tennis Classic is an ATP exhibition the week before Wimbledon at the exclusive Hurlingham Club in London, with players competing this week including ATP No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Americans Ben Shelton, Tommy Paul, Learner Tien and Martin Damm.

The week also includes a Junior Invitational, for both boys and girls, and top American juniors have played it over the years to get some extra reps on the surface before the ITF J300 in Roehampton. This year Michael Antonius and Gabriel Jessup are the Americans in the field, although Jessup's inclusion is a surprise as his career-high ITF junior ranking is 427 and he has no ATP ranking.

Results aren't posted regularly anywhere, but there is a Facebook page that is updated with occasional results.

The USTA announced the dates for its annual US Open Wild Card Challenge, which begins July 13th for both men and women. Today's release:

US Open Wild Card Challenge Returns to Award an American Man and Woman a Singles Main Draw Wild Card Into the 2026 US Open

 

Challenge to Begin the Week of July 13 for Men and Women

 

Orlando, Fla., June 24, 2026 – The US Open Wild Card Challenge, which utilizes hard-court pro tournaments to award an American man and woman a singles main draw wild card into the US Open, will kick off the week of July 13 for both the men and the women. The women’s Challenge will end on August 9, while the men’s Challenge will end on August 16.

 

The men's wild card will go to the American with the highest cumulative total of ATP singles ranking points earned from their best four results over five weeks. The Men's Challenge counts outdoor and indoor hard-court events at the M25-level and above around the world.

 

The women's wild card will go to the American with the highest cumulative total of WTA singles ranking points earned from their best three results over four weeks. The Women's Challenge counts outdoor and indoor hard-court events at the W35-level and above around the world.

 

Both main draw and qualifying points earned from eligible tournaments count toward each player’s Challenge total. Results from the Cincinnati Open will not count for either the men or the women.

 

Americans who otherwise earn direct entry into the US Open are not eligible, including those who can enter with a protected ranking. Should the player with the highest number of Challenge points earn direct entry into the US Open, the wild card will go to the next eligible American in the Challenge points standings. In the event of a tie, the player with the best ATP or best WTA singles ranking on the Monday following the end of the Challenge will earn the wild card.

 

The USTA utilizes this Challenge format to award singles main draw wild cards into the US Open, French Open and Australian Open. Wild cards earned from the Challenges have been a springboard for many Americans over the years. Iva Jovic won the Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge in 2025 while ranked No. 120 and a year later is the youngest player ranked in the WTA Top 20, at No. 17. Tommy Paul won two Challenges between 2017-19 en route to eventually reaching the Top 10.

 

Previous US Open Wild Card Challenge winners (and how they did at that year’s US Open) are below:

 

2025: Emilio Nava (1R); Caty McNally (2R)
2024: Learner Tien (1R); Amanda Anisimova (1R)
2023: Steve Johnson (1R); Kayla Day (1R)
2022: JJ Wolf (3R), Elizabeth Mandlik (2R)
2019: Ernesto Escobedo (1R), Kristie Ahn (4R)
2018: Bradley Klahn (1R), Asia Muhammad (1R)
2017: Tommy Paul (1R), Sofia Kenin (3R)
2016: Ernesto Escobedo (2R), Sofia Kenin (1R)
2015: Bjorn Fratangelo (1R), Samantha Crawford (1R)
2014: Wayne Odesnik (1R), Nicole Gibbs (3R)
2013: Bradley Klahn (2R), Shelby Rogers (1R)
2012: Steve Johnson (3R), Mallory Burdette (3R)

 

Tuesday, June 23, 2026

Second Round of Wimbledon Qualifying Wednesday Features Fifteen Americans; Qualifying Complete at USTA Pro Circuit Rome W35 and Claremont $15Ks; NCAA's Five-Year, Age-Based Eligibility Rule Approved

The first round of Wimbledon women's qualifying concluded this evening in London with nine of the 15 Americans in action advancing to Wednesday's second round. 

Fiona Crawley, 2024 NCAAs

All five of the seeded Americans won, and former North Carolina All-American Fiona Crawley defeated a seed, beating No. 19 Himeno Sakatsume of Japan 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(8). Crawley was down 5-1 in the third set, and saved two match points serving at 2-5, but came all the way back, winning the 10-point tiebreaker to advance.

Both the 2025 Wimbledon junior champions, who receive qualifying wild cards, lost in the first round with Mia Pohankova of Slovakia losing today to Harmony Tan of France 7-6(3), 2-6, 6-1 and Ivan Ivanov of Bulgaria falling to Zsombor Piros of Hungary 6-2, 6-2 yesterday.

Overall the US competitors went 15-8 in the first round of qualifying.

Tuesday's first round Wimbledon qualifying results of Americans:
Maria Timofeeva[1](UZB) d. Whitney Osuigwe 6-1, 6-4
Ashlyn Krueger[2] d. Gabriela Knutson(CZE) 7-5, 7-5
Mai Hontama(JPN) d. Akasha Urhobo 7-6(6), 6-3
Fiona Crawley d. Himeno Sakatsume[19](JPN) 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(8)
Robin Montgomery d. Caroline Dolehide 6-4, 7-6(1)
Elvina Kalieva[31] d. Ella McDonald[WC](GBR) 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4
Katie Volynets[5] d. Laura Samson(CZE) 7-6(5), 6-1
Anastasia Gasanova(RUS) d. Varvara Lepchenko 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(10)
Claire Liu d. Despina Papamichail(GRE) 6-2, 6-1
Mary Stoiana[25] d. Kayla Cross(CAN) 6-3, 6-4
Clervie Ngounoue d. Anna-Lena Friedsam(GER) 6-3, 7-5
Alina Charaeva[22](RUS) d. Elli Mandlik 6-2, 6-4
Kayla Day[32] d. Cadence Brace(CAN) 6-4, 6-3
Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah(FRA) d. Carol Lee 6-4, 4-6, 6-3

Wednesday's second round Wimbledon qualifying matches featuring Americans:

Ashlyn Krueger[2] v Mai Hontama(JPN)
Fiona Crawley v Julia Riera(ARG)
Robin Montgomery v Elvina Kalieva[31]
Katie Volynets[5] v Elizara Yaneva(BUL)
Claire Liu v Kaitlin Quevdo[7](ESP)
Mary Stoiana[25] v Mananchaya Sawangkaew(THA)
Clervie Ngounoue v Polina Kudermetova[11](UZB)
Kayla Day[32] v Erika Andreeva(RUS)

Colton Smith v Borna Gojo(CRO)
Michael Zheng[26] v Laslo Djere(SRB)
Keegan Smith v Moez Echargui[29](TUN)
Tristan Boyer v Andrea Pellegrino[17](ITA)
Darwin Blanch v Dane Sweeny[11](AUS)
Mackenzie McDonald[13] v Roberto Carballes Baena(ESP)

As was the case last week, three USTA Pro Circuit tournament are on the calendar, but instead of an M25, there is a W35 and then the joint SoCal Pro Series M15 and W15 in Claremont California.

At W35 in Rome Georgia, seven of the eight qualifiers are Americans: Violeta Martinez(Illinois, Texas A&M), Capucine Jauffret, Sara Shumate, Misa Malkin(South Carolina), Jo-Yee Chan(Oregon, San Diego State), Nadia Valdez and Ava Catanzarite(UCLA, Oklahoma).

Main draw wild cards were awarded to Elizabeth Ionescu(Texas) and Tatum Evans(North Carolina). The top two seeds are Madison Brengle and Ayana Akli(Maryland, South Carolina).

Four main draw matches were played today, with Savannah Broadus(Pepperdine) and Bella Payne the two Americans advancing to the second round.

At the W15 in Claremont, the US qualifiers are 15-year-old Madeline Cleary, 16-year-old Brooke Kwon, 18-year-old Avery Nguyen, Brandelyn Fulgenzi(Arizona), Kelly Keller(Arkansas), Caroline Driscoll(Stanford) and Olivia Allegre(UC-San Diego). Seventeen-year-old Thara Gowda received entry as a lucky loser. 

Alexandra Vagramov(UCLA) of Canada is the top seed, with Amy Zhu(Michigan) the No. 2 seed. Alina Shcherbinina(Baylor, Oklahoma), who has won the last two W15s in the SoCal Pro Series, is not in the draw this week.

Wild cards were given to Kayla Chung(UCLA), who lost to No. 5 seed Alexis Nguyen 6-1, 6-1 in the first round today; Armira Kockinis, who lost to Vagramov 6-3, 7-6(9); Nicole Weng, who lost to No. 3 seed Anne Christine Lutkemeyer(UCLA); and Sophie Suh, who beat Paulina Montiel of Mexico 6-1, 6-1 today.

Five American men qualified for the M15 in Claremont: Liam Krall(SMU), Nico Godsick(Stanford), Alexander Petrov(Illinois), Nav Dayal and Gus Grumet.

Aidan Kim, the Ohio State rising senior, is the top seed and is making his SoCal Pro Series debut; Kenta Miyoshi(Illinois) of Japan is the No. 2 seed.

Wild cards were given to Brayden Tallakson, Henry Wilson(CMS), Jagger Leach(Stanford) and Easter Bowl 18s champion Rishvanth Krishna.

ITF Junior reserved entries are Roshan Santhosh and Jack Satterfield(Vanderbilt).

Last week's Irvine M15 finalist Bryce Nakashima(Ohio State) and champion Spencer Johnson(UCLA) are in the draw will meet in the second round if they win their matches Wednesday.

The NCAA announced today that the proposed aged-based Five in Five eligibility proposal been approved by the D-I Cabinet, with finalization set for tomorrow, when the NCAA meeting concludes. Student-athletes will receive five years of eligibility to be completed within five years of high school graduation or the student-athlete's 19th birthday, whichever comes first.

This has implications for all Division I college sports, not just those generating revenue, and tennis will feel the impact. This article from CBS Sports focuses on football and basketball, but the explanation of how the change will be felt in each student-athlete's situation is applicable for all sports.

There will still be exceptions granted, for maternity, religious missions and military duty, but redshirts are now a thing of the past: an injury that keeps a player out for a year will not extend that five-year window, which is strictly age-based.

With no restrictions on prize money earned prior to enrollment now, this five-in-five rule will do nothing to halt the current trend of signing older, mostly international tennis players, after years of competing on the Pro Circuit. It will limit a 23-year-old newcomer to a year of eligibility however, as long as they do not qualify for one of the exceptions.

Monday, June 22, 2026

My Recap of the Collegiate US Open Wild Card Playoff; Six US Men Advance, 15 US Women Begin Play Tuesday at Wimbledon Qualifying; Qalbani and Kotseva Claim J100 Titles on ITF Junior Circuit

My coverage of the USTA's American Collegiate Player Wildcard Playoff last week at the National Campus in Lake Nona Florida is up today at the Tennis Recruiting Network. Although we were both undoubtedly up way past our bedtime when Reese Brantmeier spoke to me over the phone at 12:30 a.m. Friday, I appreciated her insight on her singles victory and how she's eager for her seventh appearance at the US Open, as women's main draw singles will be new for her.  While Brantmeier expressed no preference for her opponent in New York, men's wild card winner Sebastian Gornzy is hoping for the biggest stage against a top player.

The weather was beautiful today in London for the first round of the men's Wimbledon qualifying, with six of the eight Americans in action advancing to the second round.

Two-time NCAA singles champion Michael Zheng(Columbia) started the day off with a win, his seventh consecutive qualifying victory at a major this year, and 2016 NCAA champion Mackenzie McDonald(UCLA) ended the evening at Roehampton with  6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3 win over Felipe Meligeni Alves of Brazil. Reigning Kalamazoo 18s champion Darwin Blanch, who made the semifinals of the Junior Championships in 2023, earned his first win in men's competition, beating alternate Filip Cristian Jianu of Romania 7-6(1), 6-4. Jianu received his place in the draw when Ugo Blanchet of France withdrew this morning. Men's top qualifying seed Francisco Comesana of Argentina is out, losing to Alejandro Moro Canas of Spain 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4.

Monday's Wimbledon first qualifying results of Americans:
Vilius Gaubas[14](LTU) d. Michael Mmoh 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
Mackenzie McDonald[13] d. Felipe Meligeni Alves(BRA) 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3
Darwin Blanch d. Filip Cristian Jianu(ROU) 7-6(1), 6-4
Tristan Boyer d. Genaro Alberto Olivieri(ARG) 6-1, 6-4
Keegan Smith v Juan Pablo Ficovich(ARG) 6-1, 7-6(4)
Michael Zheng[26] d. Henri Squire(GER) 6-2, 7-6(3)
Colton Smith d. Andy Andrade(ECU) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Harold Mayot(FRA) d. Nicolas Moreno de Alboran 6-2, 6-2

The first round of women's qualifying is Tuesday, with 15 American women in action. With that many US competitors, the odds increased that two would draw each other, with Caroline Dolehide and Robin Montgomery set to meet. Dolehide has not played since the beginning of April, while Montgomery won her first WTA title two weeks ago on grass in the Netherlands.

Tuesday's first round women's Wimbledon qualifying matches featuring Americans:

Whitney Osuigwe v Maria Timofeeva[1](UZB)
Ashlyn Krueger[2] v Gabriela Knutson(CZE)
Akasha Urhobo v Mai Hontama(JPN)
Fiona Crawley v Himeno Sakatsume[19](JPN)
Caroline Dolehide v Robin Montgomery 
Elvina Kalieva[31] v Ella McDonald[WC](GBR)
Katie Volynets[5] v Laura Samson(CZE)
Varvara Lepchenko v Anastasia Gasanova(RUS)
Claire Liu v Despina Papamichail(GRE)
Mary Stoiana[25] v Kayla Cross(CAN)
Clervie Ngounoue v Anna-Lena Friedsam(GER)
Elli Mandlik v Alina Charaeva[22](RUS)
Kayla Day[32] v Cadence Brace(CAN)
Carol Lee v Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah(FRA)


In addition to the three titles Americans won at the J200 in Mason Ohio, five other Americans claimed ITF Junior Circuit titles outside the United States.

At the J100 in Ecuador, 16-year-old New Yorker Rowan Qalbani earned the biggest of his three titles, with the No. 3 seed defeating top seed Diego Ignacio Gomez Pajares of Peru 6-3, 6-2 in the final.

Fifteen-year-old Raya Kotseva of Las Vegas, who has been training and playing in Europe for the past year, won the J100 in the Netherlands as the No. 8 seed. She defeated No. 3 seed Vega Aguilar Ferrandez of Spain 6-3, 6-2 in the final to move her ITF ranking up to 314, but she was as high as 113 last April after reaching the final of the ITF J300 in San Diego. Kotseva also advanced to the doubles final with Ana Avramovic.

At the J200 in Germany, 17-year-old Anita Tu, who has also been training in Europe, reached the final, with the No. 2 seed falling to No. 3 seed Ilary Pistola of Italy 6-4, 7-5 in the championship match.

Fifteen-year-old Isabella Gonzalez Alvarez of Florida swept the titles at the J30 in Honduras, with the No. 2 seed earning her second ITF Junior Circuit singles title with a 7-6(3), 7-5 win over No. 4 seed Maria Jose Gil Castillo of Mexico. Gonzalez Alvarez partnered with Sofia Ines Alvarez Monterroso of Guatemala for the doubles title, with the No. 2 seeds defeating top seeds Gil Castillo and Sofia Mills 2-6, 6-4, 11-9 in the final.

Thirteen-year-old Capri Butera of Pennsylvania won her first two ITF Junior Circuit titles at the J30 in Canada, with the singles championship coming in unusual fashion. Butera, the No. 1 seed, did not have to play the championship match, with Canada's Sophia Kosenko Melnyk defaulted. Butera and 15-year-old Sophia Nguyen-Huynh, unseeded in doubles, defeated No. 3 seeds Anvika Saraswathi and Leah Schwarz of Canada 6-1, 6-3 in the final. 

Sixteen-year-old Marko Mikic of Texas claimed his first ITF Junior Circuit title in doubles at the J30 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Mikic and partner Alexander Minori Stula of Japan, who were unseeded, received a walkover in the final from top seeds Caga Cetin of Turkey and Aljaz Stor of Slovenia.

Sunday, June 21, 2026

Eight American Men Begin Wimbledon Qualifying Monday; Wolf, Johnson and Shcherbinina Earn USTA Pro Circuit Titles; Tiafoe Defeats Fritz, Wins Biggest ATP Title in Halle; Vidmanova Claims ATP 125 Title in Portugal

Wimbledon qualifying begins Monday at Roehampton, with eight American men in action. Just two are seeded--No. 13 Mackenzie McDonald(UCLA) and No. 26 Michael Zheng(Columbia)--but only one of the six others plays a seed in the first round. Below are the matchups for the Americans; the women's qualifying draw has yet to be released, with only men playing Monday.

Wimbledon first qualifying matches featuring Americans:

Michael Mmoh v Vilius Gaubas[14](LTU)
Mackenzie McDonald[13] v Felipe Meligeni Alves(BRA)
Darwin Blanch v Ugo Blanchet(FRA)
Tristan Boyer v Genaro Alberto Olivieri(ARG)
Keegan Smith v Juan Pablo Ficovich(ARG)
Michael Zheng[26] v Henri Squire(GER)
Colton Smith v Andy Andrade(ECU)
Nicolas Moreno de Alboran v Harold Mayot(FRA)

Former UCLA All-American Keegan Smith, who won a Challenger 50 last month in India after playing most of the spring in Asia, will be making his slam debut. Smith, who turns 28 Tuesday, is at his career-high of 244 in the ATP rankings.

In other Wimbledon news today, the final women's main draw wild card was awarded to Serena Williams, who was previously granted a doubles wild card with her sister Venus.

JJ Wolf won his second USTA Pro Circuit title of the year today at the M25 in Tulsa Oklahoma, and the former Ohio State All-American certainly earned it. The unseeded wild card, a former ATP Top 40 player, won his last three matches in a third set, coming from a set down in both the quarterfinals and today's final against unseeded Gavin Young(Michigan). 

Wolf, who was out most of 2025 due to injury, defeated Young 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(5), saving a match point when serving at 4-5 in the third set. Wolf won his first title this year, an M15 in Naples, in his return to the Pro Circuit, yet winning this three-hour and five-minute battle might be more impressive given that he retired in his last tournament in early May.

UCLA rising senior Spencer Johnson won his first USTA Pro Circuit title yesterday, winning the doubles championship at the M15 in Irvine California with teammate Emon van Loben Sels. It took him less than 24 hours to earn his second title, with the unseeded 22-year-old from Utah beating wild card Bryce Nakashima(Ohio State) 6-3, 7-6(1) in today's singles final. 

Alina Shcherbinina(Baylor, Oklahoma) of Russia ran her SoCal Pro Series winning streak to 11 with a title at the W15 in Irvine. Shcherbinina, who won last week's W15 in Los Angeles as a qualifier, received a special exempt entry into this week's tournament, and completed another impressive run witha 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 2 seed and Stanford rising sophomore Monika Ekstrand. Shcherbinina did not drop a set in her five victories, and has lost only one set in the past two weeks.

The SoCal Pro Series moves to Claremont for week five, with San Diego and Rancho Santa Fe closing out the seven-week schedule. As is the case for all these tournaments, the men and the women compete in 15Ks at the same site.

Five Americans were in ATP and WTA grass court finals today, but only one emerged with a title: Frances Tiafoe. Tiafoe, who hadn't beaten Taylor Fritz since Indian Wells in 2016, losing seven straight times, ended that futility with a 6-4, 6-4 victory at the ATP 500 in Halle Germany. Tiafoe, the first American to claim the Halle title, now has four ATP titles, with this the first above the 250 level. He is now back into the ATP Top 20.

At the ATP 500 in London, Tommy Paul lost to Francisco Cerundolo(South Carolina) of Argentina 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3. It was the second straight match in which the 27-year-old had trailed by a set and a break to an American; he beat Brandon Nakashima in the semifinals yesterday 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-4.

Both Emma Navarro(Virginia) and Jessica Pegula lost in three sets in their finals today. No. 4 seed Marie Bouzkova of Czechia beat No. 3 seed Navarro 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-2 to win the title at the WTA 250 in Nottingham England.

Pegula, the No. 3 seed, lost to No. 8 seed Linda Noskova of Czechia 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 in the final of the WTA 500 in Berlin.

2024 fall NCAA singles champion Dasha Vidmanova made it three titles for Czechs Sunday, with the 23-year-old University of Georgia superstar winning her biggest title at the WTA 125 in Portugal with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Ayla Aksu of Turkey. Vidmanova, who won the NCAA doubles title in the spring of 2024 and the NCAA team title in 2025, will now head to London, where she'll make her Wimbledon debut in qualifying this coming week. She has reached the WTA Top 100 for the first time with this hard court title, now at 90 in the live rankings.