Les Petits As US Playoffs Underway in Florida; Wright Wins Second Straight World Tennis J100; Twenty-Eight Players Earn Division I NCAA Singles Entry in Regional Play

The annual Les Petits As United States Playoffs are underway this week at the RPS Academies in Port St. Lucie Florida, with main draw entries into the prestigious 2027 14-and-under tournament in Tarbes France on the line.

The boys competing in the USA playoffs, with seeds in brackets. Two players from each group will advance to the quarterfinals.

Group A

Evan Fan[1]

Rishab Sakijumar[8]

Keanu Agbulos

David Benedict

Group B

Novak Masteller[2]

Dmitriy Flyam[6]

Miguel Valencia

Alexander McDaniel

Group C

William McGugin[3]

John Pollack[5]

Thomas Gamble

Ethan Kim

Group D

Pranav Madamanchi[7]

James Borchard[4]

Yfan Nie

Aleksander Denisov

The girls competing in the USA playoffs:

Group A

Lucy Dupere[1]

Annie Tan[7]

Elodie Agnamba

Maya Laddin

Group B

Violetta Li[2]

Chloe Anthony[5]

Noa Boar

Annabelle Huang

Group C

Emma Li[3]

Lailah Cowgill[8]

Anna Victoria Sandru

Lola Looney

Group D

Inie Toli[4]

Skylar Mandell[6]

Yao Lerong

Vihana Thasen

The tournament rules state that the top three finishers receive main draw spots, with fourth place receiving a wild card into qualifying, but in practice, the four semifinalists from the USA Playoffs have almost always gotten into the main draw. The dates for the 2027 edition of the tournament in France are January 21-31.

Results from today's round robin matches haven't been posted yet, but the link to that page is here.

Last week was a slow one on the World Tennis Junior Circuit, at least for Americans, with just one singles title, which was Sydney Wright's second straight J100 championship in Accra Ghana.

The third-seeded 16-year-old from Maryland defeated No. 4 seed Kuzivaishe Chapepa of Zimbabwe 6-2, 6-0 in the final for her eighth straight win in Accra, and she is now up to 220 in the WT junior rankings.

Wright and her Nigerian partner Success Ojunjobi, seeded No. 2, won the doubles title with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over top seeds Alisha Ndukwu of Poland and Milana Kolesova of Russia.

There were four more doubles titles for Americans:

Sophia Budacsek reached the girls singles final and claimed the doubles title at the J100 in Mexico with Azul Lopez Vazquez R; Sofia Kedrin and partner Payton Dith of Canada won the title at the J60 in the Dominican Republic; fifteen-year-old Abner Pulin Yu won the J60 in Morocco with Zayd Ahfer of Morocco; and the all-US team of Autumn Xu and Enya Hamilton, seeded No. 1, took the title at the J30 in Canada, beating No. 2 seeds Mila Ajdukovic of Canada and Gwyneth Britton.

I was going to wait until Tuesday to post the first batch of the ITA regionals singles semifinals and doubles finals results, but there are only a three still yet to be determined Tuesday, from the women's regionals in New England and Ohio Valley, so I'll post what I have tonight and just add those to this page tomorrow. 

The remaining 11 regionals will be played in the coming days, with play in the women's Mountain region beginning tomorrow.

Chris Halioris has been hard at work on a new page for his collegetennisranks.com website that posts all NCAA qualifiers and he'll soon have all the sectional priorities available there as well.

Men's Regionals:

(Qualifiers in bold)

ATLANTIC:

Andres Santamarta[1](Virginia) d. Stiles Brockett[5](Virginia) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1

Luca Preda[3](Virginia) d. Jangjun Kim[2](Virginia) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1

Doubles final:

Jangjun Kim and Andres Santamarta[1](Virginia) d. Blake Hilsen and Eyal Shumilov[2](Virginia Tech)

CAROLINA:

Charlie Robertson[9](South Carolina) d. Chris Xu(North Carolina) 6-3, 6-4

Bruno Kuzuhara[8](Clemson) d. Ian Mayew[9](North Carolina) 6-1, 6-3

Doubles final:

Marko Mesarovic and Henrik Bladelius[4](Clemson) d. Cody Benton and Toby Kodat[8](NC State) 6-3, 6-3

CENTRAL:

Johan Rodriguez[1](Oklahoma) d. Tito Chavez[8](Oklahoma) 6-0, 6-4

Luciano Ambrogi[2](Oklahoma) d. Asahi Harazaki[4](Oklahoma) 6-4, 6-4

Doubles final:

Connor Smillie and Brendan Boland[4](Arkansas) d. Tito Chavez and Alejandro Melero[7](Oklahoma)

MOUNTAIN:

Dylan Davies(Denver) d. Sep De Visser(Idaho State) 7-6(4), 6-3

Xavier Calvelo[4](Utah State) d. Matthew Upton(Montana) 6-3, 7-5

Doubles final:

Marko Maksimovic and Kemal Karakas[1](UNLV) d. Matthew Upton and Duncan McCall 7-6(4), 6-3

NEW ENGLAND:

Rodrigo Fernandes[1](Cornell) d. Eric Verdes[9](Cornell) 6-2, 6-7(2), 7-5

Rohan Murali[2](Harvard) d. Cezar Papoe[4](Cornell) 6-1, 6-2

Doubles final: 

Rushil Khosia and Rethin Senthil Kumar[2](Cornell) d. Rohan Murali and Kolos Kincses[3](Harvard) 6-3, 6-4

OHIO VALLEY:

Nour Fathalla[5](Purdue) d. Lorenzo Balducci(Purdue) 6-1, 6-3

Kyle McNally[9](Dayton) d. Aryan Saleh(Middle Tenn St) 6-2, 6-4

Doubles final:

Hamza El Amine and Lucas Bazin[13](Louisville) d. Sturle Skigelstrand and Mikkel Zinder(Dayton) 7-5, 7-5

SOUTHERN:

Igor Kudriashov[5](Ole Miss) d. Vlado Jankanj[7](Ole Miss) 7-6(5), 6-4

Niccola Baroni[2](Ole Miss) d. Manel Lazaro[8](Auburn) 4-6, 6-3, 6-0

Doubles final:

Igor Kudriashov and Kai Milburn(Ole Miss) d. Aleksander Blus and Theo Hegarty(Alabama) 6-3, 7-6(4)

TEXAS:

Tomasz Berkieta[9](Texas) d. Niksa Arsic(Texas Tech) 6-2, 6-4 

Ilia Snitari[9](Texas A&M) d. Erik Schiessl[9](Baylor) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5)

Doubles final:

Albert Pedrico and Cooper Woestendick[1](TCU) d. Connor Van Schalkwyk and Erik Schiessl[2](Baylor) 6-1, 6-3

Women's Regionals

(Qualifiers in bold)

MIDWEST:

Piper Charney[1](Michigan) d. Ariel Madatali(Illinois) 6-1, 6-0

Ekaterina Ivanova[2](Wisconsin) d. Olivia Traynor[6](Michigan) 6-3, 6-3

Third place: 

Olivia Traynor[6](Michigan) d. Ariel Madatali(Illinois) 6-2, 6-3

(Ivanova had already qualified for NCAAs by reaching ITA All-American quarterfinals)

Doubles final:

Piper Charney and Reese Miller[1](Michigan) d. Audrey Spencer and Anna Bennett[9](Ohio State) 6-3, 6-1 

NEW ENGLAND:

Lauren Kettlewell[9](Boston U) d. Kavya Karra[9](Harvard) 7-6(5), 7-5

Stephanie Yakoff[2](Harvard) d. Monika Wojcik(Syracuse) 6-0, 6-1

Doubles final(Tuesday): 

Stephanie Yakoff and Kavya Karra[1](Harvard) v Peyton Capuano and Michela Moore[2](Dartmouth)

NORTHWEST:

Anna-Marie Weissheim[6](Washington) d. Sofia Daryaie(Saint Mary's) 6-3, 6-2

Alyssa Ahn[2](Stanford) d. Jermine Sherif[9](Washington) 6-2, 6-2

Doubles final:

Nela Jandova and Marina Markina[6](Washington) d. Priya Nelson and Stella Remander[9](Saint Mary's) 4-6, 6-3, 10-8

OHIO VALLEY:

(semifinals Tuesday)

Mariia Dolzhenko(Lipscomb) v Julia Zhu[3](Kentucky) 

Asuncion Jadue(Kentucky) v Donna Le Roux[9](Kentucky)

Doubles final(Tuesday):

Valeria Ray and Sophia Webster[1](Vanderbilt) v Sarah Mildren and Alyson Shannon[2](Tennessee)

SOUTHEAST:

Bella Payne[9](Georgia) d. Malwina Rowinska(Florida Atlantic) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 

Emma Dong[6](Georgia) d. Patricija Paukstyte[9](Georgia) 6-2, 6-3

Doubles final:

Emma Dong and Ranah Stoiber[4](Georgia) d. Jantje Tilbuerger and Marta Makarova(UCF) 7-5, 6-0

SOUTHERN:

Ashton Bowers[1](Auburn) d. Addison Lanton[3](LSU) 7-5, 6-4

Alice Battesti(Ole Miss) d. Tegan Bush[9](LSU) 6-2, 3-6, 6-1

Doubles final:

Gianna Oboniye and Athina Pitta[2](Mississippi St) d. Andrea Nova and Alice Soulie[4](Ole Miss) 7-5, 7-5

TEXAS:

Divna Ratkovic[3](Rice) d. Alian Zack[5](Baylor) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3

Sofiia Mykhailets[6](TCU) d. Kori Montoya(Texas A&M) 6-3, 6-2

Doubles final:

Sofiia Mykhailets and Cristina Ramos Sierra[9](TCU) d. Na Dong and Ligaya Murray[9](Baylor) 6-4, 6-3

Division I Regional Semifinals Missing Host of Top Players; Sharma Goes Back-to-Back with Title at W50 in South Carolina; Qualifier Kamper Wins W35 in Las Vegas

We're deep into the first wave of ITA Division I regionals, which serve as a qualifier for the NCAAs next month in Athens. Eight of the 13 men's regionals are winding down, with the remaining five coming up this weekend, while seven of the women's 13 regionals will finish in the next two days, with the remaining six starting later in the week.

Most of the regionals have determined their singles semifinalists, with two of the men's regionals now complete, with NCAA qualifiers decided. (Chris Halioris of collegetennisranks.com is updating the men's qualifiers here and the women's qualifiers here, and is also including in those documents the sectional tournament priority for players who don't qualify at regionals and will need to get into the sectionals for a final shot at the NCAAs). 

The focus will be on the qualifiers of course, but quite a few top players are already will be looking to the sectional tournaments November 5-8 to qualify.

From the women's regionals, some notable names failing to reach the semifinals are Monika Ektstrand of Stanford, No. 1 seed in the Northwest; Jana Hossam and Valery Gynina of Florida, the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the Southeast; Rinon Okuwaki of Tennessee, the No. 2 seed in the Ohio Valley; and Ava Esposito of Auburn, the No. 2 seed in the Southern. In Texas, top seed Sophie Llewllyn of SMU lost in the quarterfinals, and No. 2 seed Zuzanna Kubacha of Baylor withdrew with an injury in the quarterfinals. New England's top seed, Gian Octa of Boston College, who transfered from Missouri, lost in the first round.

From the men's regionals: the Carolina top seed Romain Gales of Clemson and No. 2 seed Paul Barbier Gazeu of South Carolina both lost in the first round.  In the Texas region, top seed Devin Badenhorst of Baylor lost in the second round and No. 2 seed Amirkhamza Nasridinov of Texas A&M lost in the quarterfinals. In the Ohio Valley, top seed Eli Stephenson of Kentucky lost in the quarterfinals, with No. 2 seed Orel Kimhi of Tennessee out in the second round. At Southern, top seed Vit Kalina of Alabama fell in the second round; at Mountain, the top two seeds, Marko Maksimovic of UNLV and Filip Soderqvist of Boise State, lost in the quarterfinals.

Two of the men's regionals had semifinalists who were all from the same school: Virginia and Oklahoma. 

I'll post all results from this first set of regionals, including doubles finals, when all 15 are complete. The finals are not played, with winners of semifinals qualifying for NCAAs in singles; only the doubles winners earn NCAA berths.

Men's Regionals:

ATLANTIC:

Andres Santamarta Roig[1](Virginia) v Stiles Brockett[5](Virginia)

Luca Preda[3](Virginia) v Jangjun Kim[2](Virginia)

CAROLINA:

Charlie Robertson[9](South Carolina) v Chris Xu(North Carolina)

Bruno Kuzuhara[8](Clemson) v Ian Mayew[9](North Carolina)

CENTRAL:

NCAA qualifiers:

Johan Rodriguez[1](Oklahoma)

Luciano Ambrogi[2](Oklahoma)

MOUNTAIN:

NCAA qualifiers:

Dylan Davies(Denver)

Xavier Calvelo[4](Utah State)

NEW ENGLAND:

Rodrigo Fernandes[1](Cornell) v Eric Verdes[9](Cornell)

Cezar Papoe[4](Cornell) v Rohan Murali[2](Harvard)

OHIO VALLEY:

Nour Fathalla[5](Purdue) v Lorenzo Balducci(Purdue)

Aryan Saleh(Middle Tenn St) v Kyle McNally[9](Dayton)

SOUTHERN:

Igor Kudriashov[5](Ole Miss) v Vlado Jankanj[7](Ole Miss)

Manel Lazaro[8](Auburn) v Niccola Baroni[2](Ole Miss)

TEXAS:

Niksa Arsic(Texas Tech) v Tomasz Berkieta[9](Texas)

Ilia Snitari[9](Texas A&M) v Erik Schiessl[9](Baylor)

Women's Regionals:

MIDWEST:

Piper Charney[1](Michigan) v Ariel Madatali(Illinois)

Olivia Traynor[6](Michigan) v Ekaterina Ivanova[2](Wisconsin)

NEW ENGLAND:

Lauren Kettlewell[9](Boston U) v Kavya Karra[9](Harvard)

Monika Wojcik(Syracuse) v Stephanie Yakoff[2](Harvard)

NORTHWEST:

Sofia Daryaie(Saint Mary's) v Anna-Marie Weissheim[6](Washington)

Jermine Sherif[9](Washington) v Alyssa Ahn[2](Stanford)

OHIO VALLEY:

(quarterfinals Monday)

Valeria Ray[1](Vanderbilt) v Mariia Dolzhenko(Lipscomb)

Julia Zhu[3](Kentucky) v Deborah Dominguez Collado(Lipscomb)

Lisa Kamigata(Tennessee) v Asuncion Jadue(Kentucky)

Sophia Webster[5](Vanderbilt) v Donna Le Roux[9](Kentucky)

SOUTHEAST:

Malwina Rowinska(Florida Atlantic) v Bella Payne[9](Georgia)

Emma Dong[6](Georgia) v Patricija Paukstyte[9](Georgia)

SOUTHERN:

Ashton Bowers[1](Auburn) v Addison Lanton[3](LSU)

Tegan Bush[9](LSU) v Alice Battesti(Ole Miss)

TEXAS:

Alian Zack[5](Baylor) v Divna Ratkovic[3](Rice)

Kori Montoya(Texas A&M) v Sofiia Mykhailets[6](TCU)

With preseason No. 1s Dylan Dietrich of Virginia and Lucciana Perez of Texas A&M not playing their regionals, it's unlikely we'll see them at the NCAAs, which is no surprise for Perez, who didn't play the fall last year. But I had expected to see Dietrich, if only because he has a chance to win all three NCAA titles in his career, having won the NCAA doubles title last fall and the NCAA team title this spring.

Another top player who may be taking the fall off is Emma Kamper, the senior at Auburn who transferred from Utah at the end of last season. The 22-year-old from Denmark won her first women's World Tennis pro singles title today at the W35 in Las Vegas. Kamper, who won seven matches, including two in qualifying, defeated No. 2 seed Francesca Pace of Italy 7-5, 6-2.

Astra Sharma won her 12th match in 12 days today in Lexington South Carolina, with the 31-year-old from Australia claiming the USTA Pro Circuit W50 a week after she had captured the W15 in Nashville. The former Vanderbilt All-American defeated wild card Kaitlyn Carnicella, a senior at South Carolina, 6-2, 6-1 in just over an hour. I was surprised to see the match time for today's final 12:30 p.m., because Carnicella played until nearly 10 p.m. in her match-point saving win over No. 7 seed Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands. In any case, Sharma proved her stamina in that 12-day stretch, and although she still has a long climb ahead to return to the WTA top 100, she has shown that level these past two weeks.

Penickova Falls in Semifinals of W35 Las Vegas; Sharma and Carnicella Reach Final of W50 in South Carolina; UTR Pro Tennis Tour Update

Seventeen-year-old Annika Penickova came up just short today in her attempt to reach her third W35 final in the past three months, with the unseeded left-hander falling to No. 2 seed Francesca Pace of Italy 6-7(2), 6-4, 7-5 in Las Vegas. 

Pace will face Auburn senior Emma Kamper of Denmark, who has already won six matches after coming through qualifying. The 22-year-old Kamper, who spend her first three years of collegiate eligibility at Utah, defeated Oklahoma sophomore Edda Mamedova of Russia 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-3 to reach her first final on the women's World Tennis Tour.

Pace already has secured the doubles title, with partner and compatriot Diletta Cerubini. The unseeded pair defeated unseeded Abigail Rencheli(NC State) and Maria Sholokhova(Wisconsin) of Russia 7-6(5), 7-5 in the final. 

At the W50 in Lexington South Carolina, the semifinals were played tonight, indoors, due to rain.  

Qualifier Astra Sharma will play for the 12th straight day Sunday after beating top seed Madison Brengle 6-3, 6-2. Sharma, the former Vanderbilt All-American who reached 84 in the ATP rankings in 2022, won the M15 in Vanderbilt last Sunday, then had to play a first round qualifying match Monday in South Carolina. 

Sharma will face wild card Kaitlyn Carnicella, a senior at South Carolina, who saved a match point in her 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 win over No. 7 seed Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands. Rus served for the match at 5-4, 40-30, but Carnicella won the next three games to reach her first USTA Pro Circuit final above the W15 level.

t's been almost two months since I've updated the UTR Pro Tennis Tour results from the United States, and you will notice plenty of current collegians in among the winners and finalists during this stretch. Many take advantage of the events held on their campuses in the fall, and the prize money they earn at these events ($2200-$3600 depending on draw size) can offset the expenses they may have incurred playing pro events over the summer. 

MEN:

August 17 East Lansing MI

Colson Wells d. Max Sheldon 3-6, 6-2, 6-4

August 17 Nashville TN

Matthias Uwe Kask d. Elijah Poritzky 6-4, 6-1

August 24 Clemson SC

Henrik Bladelius d. Joaquin Benoit 6-2, 6-2

August 24 Boise ID

Filip Soderqvist d. Arsene Pougault 6-1, 2-6, 6-3

August 24 Newport Beach CA

Constantinos Djakouris d. Charlie Underwood 6-1, 6-3

August 31 Miami FL

Alex Bernard d. Jakub Kroslak 6-2, 6-4

August 31 Waco TX

Erik Schiessl d. Louis Bowden 6-7(7), 6-4, 7-5

September 7 Knoxville TN

Jose Garcia d. Pepijn Bastiaansen 6-3, 6-4

September 7 Tallahassee FL

Youcef Rihane d. Azariah Rusher 6-2, 6-3

September 7 Newport Beach CA

Rishvanth Krishna d. Cesar Cruz 6-0, 6-3

September 14 Chicago IL*

Douglas Yaffa d. Oliver Okonkwo 6-3, 7-5

September 14 Newport Beach CA

Constantinos Djakouris d. Pavel Bushuev 6-2, 6-2

September 21 College Station TX

Tomas Pinho d. Arin Pallegar 6-3, 7-6(8)

September 21 Norfolk VA(+H)

Christopher Thies d. Jean Olivier De Sardan 6-4, 6-3

September 28 Lincoln NE*

Aniss Rafiq d. Henry Lamchinniah 6-2, 6-4

September 28 Ithaca NY

Eric Verdes d. Rodrigo Fernandes 6-4, 6-4

September 28 Newport Beach CA

Constantinos Djakouris d. Gianluca Brunkow w/o

*$12.5K prize money, $20K for all others

WOMEN:

August 17 East Lansing MI

Nao Nishino d. Mayu Crossley 7-6(0), 3-6, 6-2

August 24 Clemson SC

Emma Ghirardato d. Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev 6-4, 6-3

August 24 Boise ID

Alina Shcherbinina d. Lexie Weir 6-4, 6-1

August 24 Newport Beach CA

Kailey Evans d. Veronkia Miroshnichehnko 4-6, 6-4, 6-0

August 31 Miami FL 

Mayu Crossley d. Raquel Gonzalez Vilar 6-2, 6-0

August 31 Waco TX

Marta Makarova d. Zuzanna Kubacha 6-3, 6-3

September 7 Knoxville TN

Luciana Perry d. Carlota Moreno 6-4, 6-3

September 7 Tallahassee FL

Mary Boyce Deatherage d. Amina Salibayeva 6-4, 5-7, 6-2

September 7 Newport Beach CA

Kate Fakih d. Veronkia Miroshnichehnko 6-4, 1-6, 7-5

September 14 Chicago IL*

Mariana Manyoma d. Autumn Rabjohns 7-6(5), 7-5

September 14 Newport Beach CA

Katja Wiersholm d. Kailey Evans 6-2, 6-4

September 21 College Station TX

Emily Welker d. Eva Maria Ionescu 6-1, 6-1

September 28 Lincoln NE*

Katie Spencer d. Emma Rizzetto 6-4, 4-6, 7-5

September 28 Ithaca NY

Michelle Ryndin d. Sage Loudon 6-3, 6-2

September 28 Newport Beach CA

Shakhnoza Khatamova d. Adriana Reami 7-5, 6-4

*$12.5K prize money, $20K for all others

The results from June and July can be found here.

World Tennis J300 Pan American Recap, Videos; Penickova Beats Preston to Advance to W35 Las Vegas Semifinals; Rain Sends W50 Lexington Semifinals Indoors

My recap of last week's World Tennis J300 Pan American Regional Championships is up today at the Tennis Recruiting Network. If you weren't able to follow my onsite coverage every day, you will have missed out on some details, but the TRN article provides an condensed overview of the singles titles for Armira Kockinis and Teodor Davidov and the doubles titles form Emery Combs and Olivia De Los Reyes and Tanishk Konduri and Andy Johnson.

The videos of the finals are up on the Tenniskalamazoo YouTube channel; because there is no way to film from behind and above at the site, there are separate videos for each of the four singles finalists.

Konduri's video is here and Combs' video is here. 

A Tennis Recruiting Network photo gallery from the tournament is in the works.

At the USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Las Vegas, Annika Penickova avenged her quarterfinal loss to Janae Preston at the USTA Nationals 18s in San Diego in August. The 17-year-old left-hander defeated Preston, who had come through qualifying 6-4, 6-4, to advance to Saturday's semifinals.

She will play No. 2 seed Francesca Pace of Italy, who beat No. 6 seed Mell Reasco(Georgia) of Ecuador 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-2 in a three-hour and 20-minute marathon. Penickova reached back-to-back W35 finals this summer, winning the first, so this is familiar territory for her.

The semifinal in the top half will feature two current collegians, with Oklahoma sophomore Edda Mamedova of Russia taking on Auburn senior Emma Kamper of Denmark. Mamedova defeated qualifier Francesca Mattioli(Tennessee) of Argentina 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-3 and Kamper, a qualifier, defeated No. 7 seed Diletta Cherubini of Italy 6-2, 6-4.

Heavy rain is expected Saturday for the singles semifinals of the W50 in Lexington South Carolina, so the doubles semifinals and finals were played today, and the decision has already been made to move indoors for the singles semifinals Saturday evening.

University of South Carolina senior Kaitlyn Carnicella is through to her first USTA Pro Circuit semifinal above the W15 level, defeating ITA preseason No. 1 Lucciana Perez, a senior at Texas A&M, 6-3, 3-0 retired. Carnicella will face 35-year-old Arantxa Rus of the Netherlands, who advanced when No. 3 seed Whitney Osuigwe retired trailing 3-0 in the first set.

At 21, wild card Carnicella is the youngest of the semifinalists; the top half semifinal will feature 36-year-old Madison Brengle and 31-year-old Astra Sharma(Vanderbilt) of Australia.

Brengle defeated No. 8 seed Lea Ma(Georgia) 7-6(3), 6-2, while Sharma, who won the W15 last week in Nashville, defeated fellow qualifier Bella Bergqvist Larsson of Sweden, a junior at South Carolina, 7-6(5), 6-4.  Sharma will be playing an eleventh straight day in tomorrow's semifinal, as she had no day off between the Nashville final Sunday and Monday's qualifying in Lexington.

No. 2 seed Diae El Jardi(Rice) of Morocco and Sahaja Yamalapalli(Sam Houston) of India won the doubles title, beating top seeds Valeriya Strakhova of Ukraine and Dalayna Hewitt 2-6, 7-5, 12-10 in the final.

Preston and Penickova to Meet in Las Vegas W35 Quarterfinals; ITA Division I Regionals Underway; Zenniz Electronic Line Calling Gets Rave Review; USTA Feature on Carpico and Filin; Note on Daily Emails

Janae Preston has been a main character here on Zootennis throughout most of 2026 due to her junior results, and she has continued to earn recognition this fall with her results on the USTA Pro Circuit. After reaching the final of the W50 in Berkeley last month as a qualifier, the 16-year-old from Henderson Nevada is through to the quarterfinals this week at W35 in Las Vegas, again after coming through qualifying.

Preston, who reached the Wimbledon Junior semifinals and the quarterfinals at the US Open Juniors last month, defeated No. 3 seed Hanna Chang 6-3, 6-2 in the second round today. Her opponent in Friday's quarterfinal will be 17-year-old Annika Penickova, who defeated Victoria Rodriguez of Mexico 6-2, 6-2. Penickova and Preston have not met in WT juniors, but Preston won their quarterfinal match in the USTA National 18s in San Diego this year 3-6, 6-1, 6-2. Penickova defeated Preston in last fall in the semifinals of a W15 in Hilton Head 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

They are the only two Americans remaining the draw in Las Vegas, with 17-year-old wild card Thea Frodin losing to No. 7 seed Diletta Cherubini of Italy 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(6). Kristinia Penickova lost to former Georgia All-American Mell Reasco of Ecuador, the No. 6 seed, 7-5, 6-0 today. UCLA junior Kate Fakih, a wild card, lost to No. 2 seed Francesca Pace of Italy 7-6(6), 6-3 and qualifier Lexington Reed, the Texas A&M junior, lost to Edda Mamedova(Oklahoma) of Russia 6-4, 6-4. Reed had beaten top seed Katrina Scott(Tennessee) 7-6(1), 3-1, ret. in the first round.

There are four Americans in the quarterfinals of the Lexington South Carolina's W50, with wild card Kaitlyn Carnicella, a senior at South Carolina, one of them. Carnicella, who beat No. 5 seed Kajsa Rinaldo Persson of Sweden 6-1, 6-3, will play ITA preseason No. 1 Lucciana Perez, a senior at Texas A&M in the quarterfinals. Perez beat No. 2 seed Maria Carle(Georgia) of Argentina 6-2, 0-6, 6-3 in the second round today. The other Americans are top seed Madison Brengle, who plays No. 8 seed Lea Ma(Georgia), and No. 3 seed Whitney Osuigwe. 

Twenty-six more men and women will qualify for next month's NCAA individual championships during the next two weeks, with the Division I regionals now underway. The winners and finalists of each of the 13 regionals will earn a place in the 64-player draws in Athens, joining the 10 players who have already qualified on the basis of their results at last month's ITA All-American Championships. 

The eight men's Regionals this weekend are Atlantic(Virginia Tech), Carolina(South Carolina), Central(Nebraska), Mountain(BYU), New England(Harvard), Ohio Valley(Farm & Forge Club), Southern(Auburn) and Texas(TCU).

There are seven women's Regionals this weekend: Midwest(Illinois), New England(Yale), Northwest(Stanford), Ohio Valley(Cincinnati and Miami OH), Southeast(Miami), Southern(LSU) and Texas(Baylor).

See the ITA Division I Regional Tournament page for links to the draws.

Tennis Recruiting Network published an article yesterday on the Zenniz Electronic Line Calling system that Tom Walker has introduced at the Grand Rapids Racquet Club, and he couldn't be happier with it. I am not familiar with that system, as I've only seen the Play/Replay system at collegiate events, but having competition in that space can only help in accelerating adoption.

The USTA's Inside American Tennis newsletter today featured  the ITA All-American and Columbus Challenger doubles champions Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin of Ohio State, with questions ranging from what makes them a good team to which celebrity they would like as a doubles partner.

A NOTE FOR EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:

You may have noticed that emails have not been duplicated or not at their usual time this week. There have been changes at the email marketing service I use, and I am attempting to figure out options to cut the costs of continuing with them. In the next few days, I will be sending out an email to all subscribers asking for their preference in the frequency of the Zootennis emails, which now go out daily. Please take the survey that is included in that email so I will have a better idea of how to move forward with scheduling.

Hance, Lee and Preston Set to Play in World Tennis Junior Finals in China This Month; Tennis Europe 14s and 16s Masters Fields Announced; Registration Deadline Next Week for IMG Academy International Event

The annual World Tennis Tour Junior Finals are set to begin in two weeks in Chengdu China, and unlike the WTA and ATP Finals, where all who qualify are certain to play, there is always some doubt regarding which juniors will make the long trip, even when their qualification has been determined. The points awarded are the same as junior slams, with 1000 points to the winner, and there is prize money in the form of travel grants, but that is often not enough to compensate for the disruption to fall training blocks or pro tournaments on juniors' schedules.

With the WT's announcement of the field today, we now know that two girls and four (and a half) boys have opted out. WT No. 1 junior and Roland Garros champion Guto Miguel of Brazil is not playing, nor is No. 4 Michael Antonius, No. 8 Marcel Latak and No. 9 Duke freshman Yannick Alexandrescou of France. (These are the rankings at the conclusion of the US Open Juniors, not current rankings). No. 13 Andy Johnson was offered the alternate spot, but he declined.

The girls from the Top 10 who are missing the event are the Brazilian duo of No. 4 Victoria Barros and No. 7 Nana Leme Da Silva.

Keaton Hance and Jordan Lee, Orlando April 2026

The boys field (Sept. 14 ranking in brackets):

• Jamie Mackenzie[2], Germany
• Thilo Behrmann[3], Austria
• Keaton Hance[5], USA
• Jordan Lee[6], USA
• Ziga Sesko[7], Slovenia
• Dimitar Kisimov[10], Bulgaria
• Vincent Reisach[11], Germany
• Yannik Alvarez[12], Puerto Rico

No, 14 Matias Domenc of France is the boys alternate. There is no Chinese boy in the Top 75, so there is no representation for the home country, even as an alternate, in the boys field.

The girls field (Sept. 14 ranking in brackets):

• Xinran Sun[1], China
• Anna Pushkareva[2], Russia
• Jana Kovackova[3], Czechia
• Ksenia Efremova[5], France
• Janae Preston[6], USA
• Mariia Makarova[8], Russia
• Anastasija Cvetkovic[9], Serbia
• Polina Skliar[10], Ukraine

Because she is in the Top 75, Ruien Zhang of China, No. 43, will serve as the girls alternate. There are three other Chinese girls ranked above Zhang--Yushan Shao Yu Jun Lin and Yihan Qu--so they must have declined the alternate position.

With her decision to play in China, Preston may have opted out of the Junior Billie Jean King Cup because it starts in Egypt barely a week after the Junior Finals conclude. Skliar and Kovackova are scheduled to play both events.

The format is two groups of four, competing in round robin play, with the top two finishers in each group advancing to the semifinals.

Sun is obviously the favorite going into the event, particularly given her third round appearance at the WTA 1000 in Beijing. Steve Tignor wrote about Sun's first big result in a WTA tournament for his new Substack newsletter.

While the Junior Finals are taking place in China, Tennis Europe will be holding its annual Masters Tournament for the 14s and 16s age divisions in Monte Carlo. The fields are the same, with eight boys and eight girls competing in each division, but the format is completed in four days, with no semifinals; the two groups' top finishers meet in the final. 

The full list of competitors can be found in this announcement of the fields from Tennis Europe.

For a recap of the European 16s Championships, which concluded on September 26th, see this Tennis Europe article.

The IMG Academy International Tennis Championships are less than two months away, with qualifying beginning on Tuesday November 24th. The deadline for entry for the 12s, 14s and 16s divisions is next Tuesday, October 13th. The entry deadline for the J300 in Bradenton the week of November 30th is November 10th.

See the tournament website for the requirements for entry and the event's key dates.

Teens Abound in USTA Pro Circuit W35 Las Vegas and W50 Lexington SC; Full ELC Ready for Rollout in Division I Tennis? Former Collegians Win Both ATP 500 Doubles Titles in Asia

It's a relatively quiet week on the USTA Pro Circuit, with no men's tournaments at all and two women's events: the W35 in Las Vegas and the W50 in Lexington South Carolina.

Qualifying has concluded at both events, with two Americans advancing to the main draw, top qualifying seed Janae Preston, who beat No. 10 seed Jenna DeFalco 6-3, 6-1 and Texas A&M junior Lexington Reed, the No. 13 seed in qualifying. Reed, defeated No. 8 seed Amelie Van Impe of Belgium, a sophomore at SMU who just qualified for the NCAA championships by reaching the quarterfinals at the ITA All-American Championships last month. Reed will play top seed Katrina Scott(Tennessee) in the first round.

The other qualifiers are Maryland junior Emma Ghirardato of Italy, Pepperdine junior Duru Soke of Turkey, who beat Wimbledon girls champion Anna Pushkareva of Russia 6-3, 6-1 today, Yekaterina Dmitrichenko(Texas Tech) of Kazakhstan, Auburn senior Emma Kamper of Denmark, Francesca Mattioli of Argentina, a junior at Tennessee, and Maria Sholokhova(Wisconsin) of Russia.

I'm surprised that Janae Preston didn't receive a wild card into the main draw, as she is a resident of nearby Henderson and reached the final of W50 two weeks ago in Berkeley California as a qualifier. 

Fellow 16-year-old Henderson resident Jordyn Hazelitt did receive a wild card, but lost to 17-year-old Annika Penickova 6-0, 6-2 in one of six first round matches played today. Penickova's twin sister Kristina also advanced to the second round today, beating Alina Shcherbinina(Baylor, Oklahoma) of Russia 6-3, 7-6(4).

Others receiving wild cards are San Diego USTA 18s champion Thea Frodin, 17-year-old Natalie Kha, a USC recruit, and UCLA junior Kate Fakih. 

In Lexington, Mia Slama, a junior at NC State, and Alexis Nguyen, a freshman at North Carolina and McKeena Schaefbauer( South Carolina, Illinios) were the four Americans to qualify, with No. 7 seed Slama defeating Mississippi recruit Jensen Diianni 6-0, 6-3, Schaefbauer defeating Isabella Morton of Canada 6-4, 6-2, Nguyen defeating Auburn sophomore Eva Maria Ionescu of Romania 6-3, 6-1 and South Carolina sophomore Jane Dunyon defeating Francoise Abanda of Canada 3-6, 7-5, 6-2.

Schaefbauer will play top seed and Berkeley W50 champion Madison Brengle, who reached the final of the W100 in Templeton last week.

Astra Sharma(Vanderbilt) of Australia won the W15 in Nashville on Sunday and on Monday was in Lexington for her qualifying match. Despite that quick turn around, she did advance to the main draw, beating Lavinia Tanasie(NC State) of Romania 6-1, 6-1 in the first round and Misa Malkin(South Carolina) 6-3, 6-0 today.

The winner of that match will face one of two 19-year-old Duke teammates: wild card Aspen Schuman, a sophomore, and freshman Mimi Xu of Great Britain, the finalist at last month's ITA All-American Championships.

In addition to Schuman, wild card entrants are Melije Clarke, the recent US Open girls semifinalist and South Carolina senior Kaitlyn Carnicella.

Daniel Susann of the Division I Tennis website has news on the Electronic Line Calling trial that was conducted last month at the men's ITA All-American Championships in Tulsa Oklahoma. After two years of using the PlayReplay system at the men's and women's National Indoor Championships and at this year's NCAAs in Athens (and elsewhere) as a way to challenge an opponent's call, the move to automated line calling of every ball appears to be on its way. 

Susann gets quotes from Tulsa's men's head coach Vince Westbrook and Anthony Montero, the ITA's director of officiating about the pilot. One of the big sticking points I heard two years ago was calibrating the audio so not to disrupt nearby courts, which can be very close together at collegiate facilities, but apparently that has been resolved. From the article, it appears that the cost is now the major impediment for full adoption; it would be a shame if that can't be overcome.

While it has always been difficult for me to follow the ATP and WTA Asian swing, with the time zone issue and the odd schedules, I did see that three former collegians, including two past NCAA doubles champions, won ATP 500 doubles titles in Tokyo Japan and Beijing China.

In Tokyo, Texas A&M's 2011 NCAA doubles champion Austin Krajicek won the title with partner Nikola Mektic of Croatia. The No. 4 seeds defeated No. 2 seeds Theo Arribage and Albano Olivetti of France 7-6(5), 5-7, 10-6 to win their second title of the year and their first since taking the Delray Beach 250 title in February.

Great Britain's Lloyd Glasspool, who won the NCAA doubles title in 2015 at Texas, partnered with compatriot Julian Cash, who competed at Mississippi State and Oklahoma State, to take the title in Beijing. The No. 2 seeds defeated Sander Arends and David Pel of the Netherlands 6-3, 3-6, 10-6 to win their third title of the year, with their first two also at the 500 level in Barcelona and Washington DC. 

Both teams are still in the running for the ATP Finals in Turin Italy in November. Read more about these titles in this article from the ATP website.

Late last month in Asia, JJ Tracy(Ohio State) won an ATP 250 title with partner Francisco Cabal of Portugal as did Jan Zielinski(Georgia) of Poland and Luke Johnson(Clemson) of Great Britain. See this ATP article for details on those titles.

Teams Announced for Next Month's Junior Davis Cup and Junior Billie Jean King Cup, Hazelitt and Davidov Lead US Teams; Wright Wins J100 Title in Ghana

World Tennis announced the player nominations for the Junior Davis Cup and Junior Billie Jean King Cups late last week, with the 16-and-under international team competition scheduled to take place in Egypt November 2nd through November 8th. 

The United States is the two-time defending champion in both events; the USA's Junior Billie Jean King Cup team has won the championship the past four years. 

This year's girls team will be led by Jordyn Hazelitt, who swept both titles at the J500 in Osaka last month, results that boosted her junior ranking to a career-high of 11.

She will be joined by Welles Newman, who should be ready after being out with an injury since the Nationals in San Diego. Newman is currently No. 32 in the WT junior rankings. The third member of the team is Hannah Ayrault, who is No. 68 in the junior rankings.  Janae Preston, No. 5 in the junior rankings and No. 589 in the WTA rankings, declined her invitation.

Dave Secker, the women's associate head coach at North Carolina State for the past nine years, accepted a position this summer as a USTA women's national coach, and will be the captain of the girls team.

Both WT junior No. 5 Michael Antonius and No. 6 Jordan Lee, who were on the championship team last year, along with Andy Johnson, a year older, will not be competing again this year, although they are still eligible with 2010 birth years. Pan American J300 champion Teodor Davidov will lead the team this year; his ranking is now up to 73 after his title run last week. Izyan Ahmad, ranked 124, and Tomas Laukys, 231, round out the boys team, which will again be captained by USTA national coach Sylvain Guichard.

The list of players and captains nominated to represent all 16 Billie Jean King Cup teams is here; the Junior Davis Cup team nominations are here.

It was a quiet week for Americans on the World Tennis Junior Circuit, after most were in Houston for the J300 Pan American Closed and all four titles were won by US juniors.

The only other singles titles for an American came at the J100 in Ghana, with 16-year-old Sydney Wright of Maryland winning the biggest of her five WT junior singles titles. Wright, the No. 3 seed, defeated top seed Alisha Ndukwu of Poland 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4) in a match that lasted more than three hours.

David Beckles, who had won two J60s in Ghana last month, saw his winning streak end at 15 when the No. 4 seed lost to No. 6 seed Om Verman of India in the final 6-3, 6-3. 

No. 2 seed Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann reached the final of the J200 in Chile, where she lost to No. 3 seed Camila Rodero of Chile 6-4, 0-6, 6-2. Hannah Ayrault was the top seed; she lost to Rodero 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinals. 

Two 14-year-olds who are just beginning to play WT junior events won the doubles title at the J30 in the Dominican Republic. Unseeded Nathan Lee and Wyatt Markham defeated top seeds Joao Pedro Nardi of Italy and Brody Lee Stafford of Ireland 6-2, 3-6, 10-7 in the final for their first WT junior titles.

Fifteen-year-old Angelique Llano and 16-year-old Amanda Rodriguez won the girls doubles title, with the unseeded pair winning their first WT junior titles with a 4-6, 6-4, 10-2 victory in the final over unseeded Diana Brustur of Canada and Gabriella Moracci.

US Open Junior Photo Gallery; Current Collegians Win All Three Men's Singles Titles in This Week's US Pro Tournaments; Filin and Carpico Extend Winning Streak with First Challenger Title; Maria Defeats Brengle in Templeton W100 Final

As promised, the US Open Junior Championships gallery is up today at Tennis Recruiting Network, featuring all of the American juniors who competed in singles and the majority of those who played in the doubles portion of the tournament. 

With most of my attention focused on the WT J300 in Houston, I wasn't able to follow the five professional events in the US as closely as I would have liked, now is a great day to review them all, with the singles champions crowned.

The biggest men's event was the ATP Challenger 75 in Columbus Ohio, with unseeded Dylan Dietrich, a senior at the University of Virginia, winning his first Challenger title today. The 22-year-old from Switzerland beat top seed and Tiburon Challenger 125 champion Darwin Blanch 6-3, 6-3 in the quarterfinals, one of his four victories over seeds this week. Dietrich, who is the preseason No. 1 in the ITA rankings, reached the semifinals of the San Diego Challenger 75 last week.

In today's final, Dietrich defeated No. 7 seed Abdullah Shelbayh(Florida) of Jordan 6-3, 6-2, completing his week of competition without dropping a set. He is now up to 264 in the ATP live rankings.

Ohio State players have traditionally done well in this event, and this year is no exception, with Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin claiming the doubles title. After their run to the third round of the US Open last month, the pair didn't need a wild card into the draw, freeing up the two wild cards for two other Ohio State teams, with Matt Forbes and Denis Petak winning their first round match, while Preston Stearns and Alex Okonkwo won two matches before losing to Carpico and Filin 7-6(9), 6-3 in the semifinals. 

In Saturday's final, Carpico, a senior, and Filin, a junior, defeated top seeds Daniel Milavsky(Harvard) and Braden Shick(NC State) 7-6(3), 2-6, 10-4, and the 2025 NCAA doubles finalists are now inside the ATP's Top 250 in doubles. With their ITA All-American title last Sunday, they now have a nine-match winning streak, although their first round match this week in Columbus was a walkover.

Dominick Mosejczuk, a sophomore at Wake Forest, won his first pro title today at the M15 in Fayetteville Arkansas. The 19-year-old from New York, who reached the semifinals of the ITA All-American Championships as a qualifier, continued his breakout fall with a 6-3, 6-3 win over top seed Theo Papamalamis of France, a junior at Texas A&M, in the final. 

The doubles title in Fayetteville went to the unseeded pair of JC Roddick(UCF, Texas A&M) and Togan Tokac(Florida, Texas A&M), who defeated current Arizona teammates and No. 4 seeds Alejandro Arcila of Colombia and Sasha Rozin 7-5, 6-4 in the final.

At the M15 in Ann Arbor Michigan, redshirt sophomore Max Dahlin claimed his first pro singles title on his home courts. The 20-year-old from Sweden, who didn't drop a set all week, ended the nine-match winning streak of TCU sophomore Oliver Bonding of Great Britain with a 6-4, 6-4 victory today. Bonding had won last week's M15 in South Carolina. Dahlin is No. 4 in the ITA preseason rankings.

Recent college graduates Max Shelton(Michigan State) and Bjorn Swenson(Michigan) won the doubles title, with the unseeded pair defeating top seeds Jeffrey Fradkin(UCLA) and Matt Kuhar(Bryant) 4-6, 6-1, 10-5 in the final.

There was also a women's tournament at the 15 level, a new event in Nashville, where former Vanderbilt All-American Astra Sharma of Australia won the title.

The 31-year-old Sharma, who was in the WTA Top 100 as recently as 2022, just returned to competition in August after being out for a full year, with her ranking now outside the Top 1000. Today she defeated No. 3 seed Rose Marie Nijkamp of the Netherlands, who is a junior at Texas, 6-3, 6-1 in the final.

Current Vanderbilt teammates Erin Pearce of Great Britain and Mia Yamakita took the doubles title, beating Auburn teammates Emma Kamper of Denmark and Isabella Krueger of South Africa, 1-6, 6-2, 10-8 in the final. 

At the W100 in Templeton California, the veterans prevailed over the young players in last night's semifinals, with top seed Tatjana Maria of Germany getting a walkover from qualifier Ella McDonald of Great Britain, a junior at LSU. No. 8 seed Madison Brengle put an end to the run of  17-year-old former World Tennis junior No. 1 Julieta Pareja in the semifinals 6-1, 7-6(1). Maria defeated Brengle today 6-3, 6-4 in the final. 

No. 3 seeds Savannah Broadus(Pepperdine) and Allura Zamarripa(Texas) won the doubles title, defeating Whitney Osuigwe and Akasha Urhobo 7-5, 6-2 in the final. Broadus(146) and Zamarripa(104) are at new career highs in the WTA rankings with this title. 

For more on the Templeton singles final, see this article from Steve Pratt.

Davidov Earns Boys World Tennis J300 Pan American Closed Title, Kockinis Claims Girls Singles Championship

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Spring Texas--

After a week of heat and humidity, the finals of the World Tennis Pan American Closed Saturday morning were the last step for a first J300 title for all four finalists, but that achievement took a back seat to survival, according to both winners and losers.

No. 5 seed Armira Kockinis's goal against No. 4 seed Emery Combs was to avoid a repeat of her quarterfinal 6-4 6-3 loss to Combs at the J300 in Tucson last March, and with a 6-2, 6-3 victory today, proved that she had learned from that loss.

"I think in Tucson, I missed way more, wasn't as consistent," said the 16-year-old from La Habra Heights California. "This time I went in knowing how she was going to play, kind of crafty, and I tried to just make a lot of balls."

Combs agreed that Kockinis, who calls her game style "slap and pray," showed much more control than she had in Tucson.

"She has done a much better job of being more consistent and being a little more solid, and I definitely had more trouble with that," said the 15-year-old from Conway South Carolina, who won the doubles title Friday night and is known for her skill at the net. "When she's hitting the ball so hard and making it in, it makes it difficult to counterpunch or neutralize."

Kockinis served well throughout the match, which was a key reason she could keep the aggressive Combs from finding any rhythm.

"I played pretty steady and was serving really, really well, said Kockinis, who lost serve just twice in the match. "I went into the match knowing she has a good serve and she likes to come in off of it, so I thought if I could hold my serve, then maybe I could get a couple games."

It was Combs who struggled with that shot, with a twinge in her arm and overall fatigue playing a role in her managing just three service holds.

"I've had some problems with my arm this week, maybe a little tennis elbow, and I didn't want it to get any worse," said Combs, who took a medical time out at the 2-1 changeover in the second set. "I think we were both tired, you could see that at the beginning of the match, but she ended up handling it better. My first service games were pretty good, but then I started feeling it in my legs and shoulders."

Kockinis was up 6-2, 4-1 in the second set, matching the scenario of her semifinal match with Ellery Mendell, who took the second set before Kockinis finally closed out the match 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4, and Kockinis hadn't forgotten.

"I was thinking about that as soon as I went up 4-1," Kockinis said. "And it was 4-3 again, but luckily at 5-3 this time, I got it."

 

Combs credited Kockinis for her performance, but was not happy with her own. 

"I was just having some trouble today, making a lot of unforced errors, I was just tired."

Kockinis is hoping this title sets her up for playing the junior slams next year.

"This means a lot," Kockinis said of adding a J300 title to the two J100s and one J200 she has won in 2026. "By next year this should put me around 40, so that's great going into slams, so hopefully I can keep it rolling."

Both finalists are planning to rest in the next couple of weeks, with Combs planning to compete in the two W15s in South Carolina in late October and early November and Kockinis looking to play the J500 in Mexico as well as the Bradenton J300 and Orange Bowl to close out the year.

While the girls were playing their final on Court 11, No. 10 seed Teodor Davidov was facing No. 2 seed Tanishk Konduri on Court 1, where Davidov had outlasted top seed Andy Johnson in a four-hour and 15-minute semifinal.

Davidov was a point away from playing a fifth consecutive three-setter, but he came up big late in the second set to score another upset, beating Konduri 6-4, 7-6(4).

Davidov had to save two break points serving for the first set at 5-4 15-40, but won the next four points to secure the set.

The second set was close throughout, with Konduri getting increasingly frustrated with the chair umpire's calls and having trouble getting anything past Davidov, who continued to keep the ball deep with his right-handed and left-handed forehands.

Konduri finally had his opportunity with Davidov serving at 5-6, 15-40, but Davidov hit a good first serve to save the first set point. On the second, Konduri was in control of the point, pinning Davidov into the corner, but Davidov came up with a perfectly dipped pass as Konduri approached the net.

"I couldn't really think much," said the 16-year-old from Bradenton Florida. "I'm so depleted, I couldn't really think about anything. I didn't even really care to be honest, I was so tired. (On that second match point) I don't even really know what happened, but I'm glad I got it through."

At deuce, a right-handed forehand forced an error from Konduri and another good first serve sent the set to a tiebreaker. By that stage of the match, nearly two hours in, both boys were suffering from mental and physical fatigue, so the tiebreaker produced mostly second serves and unforced errors.

Serving at 3-4, Konduri didn't make either first serve and lost both points, one on a passing shot winner and the next on a netted forehand. Davidov then hit a big forehand on the sideline closest to the chair umpire, and when he made the palm down good sign, Konduri vigorously disputed that call, which stood, giving Davidov two championship points. He only needed one, with Konduri's backhand going long to give Davidov his first J300 title.

Konduri said he sensed both he and Davidov were nervous at the start of the final.

"I was a little tight because I don't know how much I had in me, physically," said the 17-year-old from Cupertino California. "I played a pretty trash first set, but he did a good job of staying solid in the important moments. I had chances, but he didn't give them to me, I didn't get anything for free."

Like Davidov, Konduri was unable to think clearly in the second set. 

"Honestly, I was completely out of it, I didn't care at all about what was happening," Konduri said. "I got a little frustrated that I didn't get the set at 6-5, and I was like, I'm out of here. But he played very well."

Davidov, who could be seen shaking out his legs late in the second set, was still feeling the aftereffect of his marathon semifinal against Johnson less than 24 hours before.

"Yesterday I was cramping so much, my whole leg," said Davidov. "And today it felt like it was about to cramp, I was getting really scared. At one point I couldn't really serve, because it was starting to feel like it was cramping, but overall, I was serving really well today."

Konduri said his own serve wasn't bad, but he was unable to come up with big serves when he needed them, which was not a problem for Davidov. 

"He was on and off serving to be honest," Davidov said. "He was also getting distracted with the ref and other small things. I saw that and just used it."

Davidov will return to Bradenton, where he trains with his father Kalin at the Inspiration Tennis Academy, with a USTA Pro Circuit event in either Austin or Lexington next on his schedule, before the Bradenton J300 and Orange Bowl at the end of the year.

Konduri is taking some time off, as he attempts to heal a nagging foot injury, but is expecting to play the Las Vegas M25 at the end of the month.

"Physically, I'm pretty exhausted and I'm pretty behind on school as well," said Konduri, who has verbally committed to Stanford for next fall. "I just need to reset a bit and come back."

Konduri is also expecting to compete at the last two World Tennis junior events in Florida in December.

September Aces; Davidov Upsets Top Seed Johnson in Four-Hour Epic to Reach Boys Pan Am Closed J300 Final; Combs and Kockinis Meet for Girls Title; Konduri and Johnson, Combs and De Los Reyes Claim Doubles Titles; Pareja Makes Templeton W100 Semis

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Spring Texas--

Before I get to the details on a long and dramatic Friday at the World Tennis J300 Pan American Closed, here's the link to my monthly column for Tennis Recruiting Network on September's notable achievements of junior, college and former college players, from the US Open to the World Tennis Junior Circuit events in Texas.

Heavy rains overnight caused a slight delay in the start of the Pan Am singles semifinals, but few would have guessed that when the match between top seed Andy Johnson and No. 10 seed Teodor Davidov began at 10:22 a.m., the winner had yet to be decided four hours later.

Davidov held off a furious comeback by Johnson, survived several falls, cramping, and a heat index of 102 degrees to earn an improbable but well deserved 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(5) victory.

Johnson served for the match at 6-5 in the second set, after breaking Davidov at 5-all 30-40 in a spectacular rally that brought appreciative applause from the small crowd watching from the Giamalava Racquet Center's veranda. That boost of momentum didn't last however, as Davidov broke Johnson at love to force the tiebreaker.

"I started hitting the ball a little more, being a little more confident, in terms of having nothing to lose," said the 16-year-old from Bradenton Florida, who hits only forehands, switching hands when required, and serves both right-handed and left-handed. "I just kept fighting."

Two-and-a-half hours into the match, Davidov was able to pick up his energy in the tiebreaker, with Johnson looking weary and unable to hold any of his four serves. Davidov took a 6-2 lead, and after two winners from Johnson made it 6-4, Johnson double faulted to send the players off court for the 10 minutes mandated by the heat rule.

Davidov was more familiar with that scenario than Johnson, with all four of his matches this steamy week going to three sets, and he returned, his momentum still intact, to take a 5-1 lead in the third set.

With Johnson serving at 1-5, 30-40, Davidov had his first match point, but Johnson saved it with a good first serve and held. Davidov's errors, few in the first seven games, began to pile up, and he won only two points in his next two service games, with Johnson pulling even, then taking a 6-5 lead after saving a break point. 

Davidov did display a few signs of frustration at that point, and darker thoughts began creeping in during the next game.

"At 5-6, I was getting really emotional, like I'd already lost," said Davidov, who managed to hide that negativity well. "I had that eternal battle, but I just said to myself, 'it's ok, your level's there, so just keeping fighting and if you lose, it was a good match, and if you win, great.'"

Davidov recognized that the five-game skid was not simply because his own level dropped.

"He started hitting the ball way more, he started being super aggressive," said Davidov, who requested that his post-match interview be conducted while he was riding the stationary bike in the club gym. "It caught me by surprise a little bit, and I started getting a little shaky with my shots--I almost thought I was pushing at one point, scrapping, running side to side, and that's the exact opposite of my style and mindset."

Davidov finally stopped his five-game skid winning a deuce game to force another tiebreaker, and by this time he'd already taken two falls that left him sprawling on the court.

"I don't think I've ever fallen that many times in a match," Davidov said. "I didn't know what was going on. I fell pretty bad today, I thought I might have done something to my leg, but I was good."

Both players were going to their towels after every point, leaning on the fence, hands on knees, as the final tiebreaker approached.

As in the second set tiebreaker, Davidov got off to a good start, hitting forehand winners both left-handed and right-handed to take a 5-1 lead at the change of ends. Davidov lost the next three points however, then got a reprieve when Johnson made an unforced error on the forehand side to give Davidov two more match points, more than an hour after Johnson saved the first. Johnson bought himself another chance with a forehand volley winner, but Davidov got a first serve in at 40-30 and Johnson sent a forehand long to end it.

Davidov will face No. 2 seed Tanishk Konduri in the first J300 final for both players, after Konduri defeated No. 4 seed Joshua Adamson of Canada 7-6(4) 6-1, more than two hours before his opponent had been decided.

Konduri, who has yet to drop a set in the tournament, said his serve finally began to click in the second set.

"My first three games I think I made only one first serve," said the 17-year-old from Northern California. "And the guy was actually returning super well. As a lefty, he was just ripping middle, and I thought he was playing very well. But I found my rhythm a little bit, figured out what he likes and what he doesn't like and I started making him play at my tempo."

Konduri did not know who he was going to play in the final, but he expressed no preference.

"I'm not sure who's going to win this match, they're both incredible competitors, great players," said Konduri, who has never played Davidov. "But to me, I don't really care. Especially this week, this tournament, if I'm doing things that I do well, playing my game, I'm not really going to have much trouble. The trouble is going to come when I'm not sticking to my game, being mentally unsolid. It's in my control tomorrow, I feel."

The girls final will also feature two J300 finals debutants, with No. 4 seed Emery Combs defeating 2025 finalist and No. 2 seed Carrie-Anne Hoo 6-1, 5-7, 6-3 and No. 5 seed Armira Kockinis getting past No. 11 seed Ellery Mendell 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-4.

Combs started out on top of her game, holding at 15 in all four of her service games, while Hoo was still trying to find her range. In the second set, Hoo began to find her rhythm, while Combs had more trouble holding and was broken for the first time in the  match in the sixth game. Hoo served for the set at 5-3, but Combs got the break and held, giving herself a chance to get through in straight sets. But Hoo held and broke to force a third set, triggering the 10-minute break due to the heat and humidity that have been smothering the event all week.

Hoo's momentum didn't survive that break, with Combs breaking in the first game of the third set, which changed her outlook.

"There was definitely a lot of negative thoughts that I had," said the 15-year-old from South Carolina of getting broken to lose the second set. "But I kept pushing myself, telling myself I want it more than she does, so that helped."

The break was short-lived, with Combs giving it right back, but she broke and held for a 3-1 lead, with Hoo, a 17-year-old from New York, staying close the rest of the set. 

Combs did not feel she could afford to underestimate Hoo despite holding on to the lead.

"I know she's a great player and very tough, she's going to fight," Combs said. "I don't think I relaxed at all; if anything, I expected her to fight more."

Hoo spent much of the match defending Combs' powerful all-court game, which didn't give her the time to take control of the rallies. Serving at 3-5, Hoo fell behind 15-40, but saved the first match point when a Combs slice was wide. On her second match point, Combs made the uncharacteristic decision to stay in the point as long as she could, rather than go for a winner.

"I think every shot was a backhand," said Combs, who is coached by Jimmy Mendieta of Playmakers Tennis Academy in Myrtle Beach. "I told myself I was going to out-rally her, high percentage tennis and I was not going to miss. Instead of going for a big backhand line, I thought that was the only thing that would help me."

Combs did not miss, with Hoo making the error that ended the long rally, and the match.

Unlike Combs, Kockinis was cruising along in the second set against Mendell, leading 6-2, 4-1. 

"At 4-1 she started playing like nothing to lose," said the 16-year-old from Southern California. "She started going for her shots more and mixing it up a bit, so I had to adapt, and I didn't adapt in time."

Serving for the match at 5-4, Kockinis was broken without getting to match point, and in the tiebreaker that followed she couldn't shake Mendell who broke at 5-all and won the next point to earn a third set.

Kockinis took the 10-minute heat break as an opportunity to reset.

"I had a decision to make," Kockinis said. "I could either dwell on the second or change the third. I made sure to go in there, make a lot of balls and stay positive, regardless of what the score was."

Kockinis credited her serve as the difference maker late in the third set.

"I tried to serve really big, because we were both pretty tired and I wanted to start the points out on offense," said Kockinis. "I tried to use a lot of serve plus-ones, which was going pretty well, and at 4-all I served well and it went my way."

Combs and Kockinis played in the quarterfinals of the J300 in Tucson this past spring, with Combs winning 6-4, 6-3.

"I didn't play too well that match but I'm playing much better now, have improved a lot and so has she," Kockinis said. "She's a good doubles player, good at the net. I'm just going to slap it and pray, and you can put that in there too. I'm just going to hit hard, and if I make it, I make it; if I miss it, I miss it. Hopefully I can just keep her back, serve well, make a lot of balls, and pray."

"I feel like Armira's game is pretty straighforward," Combs said. "She's just going to attack, attack, attack. I just need to neutralize and try to get on offense."

Combs has already captured one Pan American Closed title, winning the doubles championship Friday evening with partner Olivia De Los Reyes. The singles semifinals avoided any rain delays, but the doubles finals were interrupted for over an hour, with the girls final in the second set and the boys final in the first set when a brief light shower and lightning caused play to be suspended.

No. 3 seeds Combs and De Los Reyes were trailing No. 2 seeds Isabelle DeLuccia and Hoo 2-3 when play was suspended, and lost the set 6-3, after taking the first 7-6(1). But they were in a familiar position, having won the match tiebreaker in both their quarterfinal and semifinal matches, so they were confident they could raise their level again.

"I think we can read momentum, and that we can trust each other," said De Los Reyes, who now lives in Orlando Florida. "We're very aware of situation, especially in tiebreaks, and that showed this week," Combs said. "We try to stay more active and keep it simple in the tiebreaks."

At 5-all, the pair, who have now won seven World Tennis junior titles in the past 12 months, began to show that trust and teamwork, with Combs hitting a reflex lob winner and De Los Reyes making it 9-5 with a soft drop volley winner.

Combs missed an overhead on their first championship point and DeLuccia held her two serves to make it 9-8, but De Los Reyes and Combs kept it simple, with a De Los Reyes first serve and a Combs volley putaway delivering their biggest WT junior doubles title yet.

"During pressure moments, we trust each other and believe in our skills," said De Los Reyes. "I think she believed in my serve, and obviously I think my serve is a huge weapon, so I focus on that, and I know she's going to put that plus one away. We know our strengths and we can rely on them."

Konduri is also going into Saturday's singles final with a title already secured after taking the doubles championship with Johnson. The top seeds, who started around 5 p.m. in order to give Johnson appropriate recovery time, defeated No. 8 seeds Antoine Clavel and Andy Tichinda Kepche of Canada 6-2, 6-4 under the lights.

Johnson referred to his singles loss as a heartbreaker, but both he and Konduri were happy with their level throughout the match.

"That's a match I won't forget for a while," Johnson said of his loss to Davidov. "It was four and a half hours. But I wasn't thinking about it at all in the doubles, it's a different sport really and I'm feeling fine. We played really well."

Konduri agreed that Johnson didn't need any extra effort from him.

"I couldn't even tell Andy played a match this morning," Konduri said. "He came out with so much positive energy around the court and was volleying really well. We got an early break on the bigger serve and that really loosened us up for the rest of the match."

Although Johnson and Konduri have played together before, this is their first title as a team, with each making a junior slam doubles final this summer with other partners: Johnson with Michael Antonius at Wimbledon and Konduri with Marcel Latak at the US Open.

The singles finals are both scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, with a chance of thunderstorms again in the forecast for the afternoon.

At the USTA Pro Circuit W100 in Templeton California, unseeded 17-year-old Julieta Pareja has reached Saturday's semifinals, defeating No. 7 seed Caroline Dolehide 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. Pareja will face No. 8 seed Madison Brengle, who beat SMU sophomore Amelie Van Impe of Belgium, a qualifier, 6-0, 6-4. 

In the top half, No. 1 seed Tatjana Maria of Germany will face qualifier Ella McDonald of Great Britain, a junior at LSU. Maria beat wild card Malaika Rapolu(Texas) 6-0, 6-3, while McDonald defeated 17-year-old Kristina Penickova 6-4, 6-3.

Kockinis Takes Out Top Seed Alexander, Rain Disrupts Hoo and Combs on the Brink, Top Seeds Johnson and Konduri Roll into Semifinals at J300 Pan Am Closed; Pareja and Penickova Reach Quarterfinals at W100 Templeton

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Spring Texas--

Carrie-Anne Hoo has had a long junior career, but the 17-year-old from New York had a new experience today in the quarterfinals of the World Tennis J300 Pan American Closed Championships today: a rain delay when she had reached match point.

The second-seeded Hoo, a singles finalist at this tournament last year, had taken control of her match against No. 12 seed Brooke Wallman, building a 5-1 lead in the third set, after Hoo had taken the first set 6-2 and Wallman the second set 6-4. As the sprinkles began and thunder approached, Hoo had worked her way back to 40-30 when the walkie-talkie call to the roving umpires came to suspend play at 11:45 a.m.

"I was actually down 0-30 in that game and I came back, so I felt like good momentum," said Hoo. "That's why I was a little bit upset. I was feeling good, and then the rain delay happened."

The downpour lasted only about 20 minutes, but play didn't resume until 1:45 p.m., so Hoo had a long time to think about how she would approach that match point.

"I was thinking when I went back on court that I had to focus on a first serve, getting that in," Hoo said. "I was definitely a little bit tight, a little nervous, but I tried to forget that it was match point. I was having problems with my serve, my toss, jumping, so I was focusing more on the steps in my serve rather than what the score was."

In ten seconds or less, the match was over, with Hoo getting her first serve in and Wallman sending the return long to secure the 2-6, 4-6, 6-1 victory.

Hoo's opponent in the semifinals, No. 4 seed Emery Combs, was not quite as unlucky as Hoo, but she was serving for the match at 7-6(6), 5-4, 15-0 against No. 10 seed Londyn McCord when play was suspended.

Combs, who had claimed the 95-minute first set by winning the last four points of the tiebeaker, ended up losing the first five points when play resumed after the rain delay, but chalked that up to a failure of execution, not a failure of strategy.

"My goal was just to play my game," said the 15-year-old from South Carolina, who will be playing in her second J300 semifinal Friday. "I have a very aggressive game, I'm an all-court player, so I tried to open up the court with big targets and make my way into the net. But I was very nervous. I think I did the right things, just didn't make the shots."

Combs broke McCord again and served for the match for the second time at 6-5, but didn't get to match point in that game either. In their second tiebreaker, Combs got the mini-break she needed with a great overhead from deep in the court for a 5-3 lead. McCord held for 5-4, but Combs earned her first match point by forcing an error with a big forehand and converted it with an excellent first serve.

Combs and Hoo have been doubles partners but have not played in singles.

"I've seen here play a little bit, but obviously I've never seen how my game would do against her," Hoo said. "I think it'll be a fun match tomorrow. She's younger, they play with no pressure."

"I think I can go into tomorrow with a similar game plan," Combs said. "She's a little craftier, but she's going to force me to make that extra ball."

The semifinalists in the top half both finished before the rain, with No. 11 seed Ellery Mendell ending the run of unseeded Sena Yoon 7-5, 6-1 and No. 5 seed Armira Kockinis taking out top seed Avery Alexander of Canada 7-6(3), 6-4.

Kockinis had beaten Alexander in July in the semifinals of a J200 in Mexico, a win that helped her in her approach to today's match.

"She played really well today and she played really well in Mexico as well," said the 16-year-old from Southern California. "I knew she wasn't going to miss many of balls, so I was definitely trying to be consistent, but when I saw something I could go for, I tried to go for it, move her around a bit."

Kockinis played a nearly flawless first set tiebreaker taking a 6-0 lead before making her only unforced error in the nine points played.

"In the breaker, it's obviously a tight situation, so I'm going to go for it," Kockinis said. "I was starting out in the first set I was going mostly cross, so in the breaker I started going line for the first time in the match."

Down 3-1 in the second set, Kockinis won five of the next six games, but had to come from 15-40 down to close it out serving at 5-4.

Kockinis has been disappointed in her results this summer.

"This whole year I've been working toward getting to the US Open and Hard Courts, I had a pretty bad result, College Park, I had a pretty bad result, and US Open (qualifying), I had a pretty bad result," Kockinis said. "So I've been trying to stay positive from the low, so this is my first tournament since US, so, so far, so good. Just trying to get back on track."

Kockinis knows she will always be trying to calibrate her big game with the errors that are a byproduct of that style.

"Me and my coaches have always said my game is going to have a lot of mistakes," said Kockinis, who is coached by Jay Leavitt at Tier 1 Performance. "But I'd rather go for it than stay in these long rallies. I think in breakers and in tight moments I know how to pull the trigger when other people wouldn't. That gives me an edge in third sets or breakers. I'm trying to be smarter on when to pull the trigger, but it's going to get pulled."

Kockinis and Mendell will be meeting for the first time in the first J300 semifinal for both.

The top two seeds in the boys draw made short work of their opponents today, with No. 1 Andy Johnson defeating 15-year-old qualifier Piotr Gradzki 6-1, 6-2 and No. 2 Tanishk Konduri avenging his loss this spring to No. 7 seed Erik Schinnerer 6-1, 6-1.

Konduri's semifinal opponent will be No. 4 seed Joshua Adamson of Canada, who reached the final of last week's J200 in Corpus Christi. The 17-year-old left-hander avenged his loss last month at a J200 to No. 9 seed Kamil Stolarczyk, beating the 2026 Kalamazoo 16s champion 6-3, 6-4 today.

Johnson will face No. 10 seed Teodor Davidov, who returned from the rain delay still in his second set with wild card Achyuth Binu. The 16-year-old Floridian, who had won the 100-minute first set 7-5, dropped the final two games of the second to give Binu a 6-3 set, but soon took control in the third for a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 victory and a place in his first J300 semifinal.

Johnson and Davidov played in the quarterfinals of the J300 in San Diego this spring, with Johnson winning 6-1, 6-3.

The doubles finals Friday will feature four of the singles semifinalists.

Top seeds Konduri and Johnson will face No. 8 seeds Antoine Clavel and Andy Tchinda Kepche of Canada for the boys title. Clavel and Tchinda Kepche defeated No. 4 seeds Mason Vaughan and Stolarczyk 6-3, 4-6, 10-7, while Konduri and Johnson beat No. 3 seeds Caden Colburne and Adamson 6-3, 6-4.

Hoo and Combs will play twice Friday, with Hoo and her partner Isabelle DeLuccia, the No. 2 seeds, facing No. 3 seeds Combs and her partner Olivia De Los Reyes. Hoo and DeLuccia beat No. 8 seeds Anya Arora and Sylvana Jalbert 7-5, 7-5; Combs and De Los Reyes defeated No. 5 seeds Thara Gowda and Ireland O'Brien 3-6, 6-4, 10-4.

The three singles semifinals featuring players in doubles are scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday, with the Kockinis - Mendell match second on, not before noon. The doubles finals times are to be determined, after the singles and suitable rest.

At the USTA Pro Circuit W100 in Templeton California, 17-year-olds Julieta Pareja and Kristina Penickova advanced to the quarterfinals with wins today.

Pareja defeated No. 2 seed Mary Stoiana 7-5, 7-5 to avenge her 6-3, 6-4 loss to Stoiana this summer in the second round of the W100 in Evansville.  Pareja will play the winner of tonights second round match between No. 7 seed Caroline Dolehide and UCLA junior Kate Fakih, a qualifier. 

Penickova, who received a Junior Exempt entry into the main draw, defeated No. 6 seed Iryna Shymanovich of Belarus 7-6(4), 6-2 in the first round and LSU sophomore Carolina Kuhl of Germany 6-2, 6-3 in the second round today. Penickova will play another LSU Tiger in the quarterfinals: junior Ella McDonald of Great Britain. McDonald, a qualifier, defeated Whitney Osuigwe 7-6(3), 6-2 today to advance.