Big Upgrades to ITF Junior Circuit in US; Smith's ITF Winning Streak Reaches 13 in Winston-Salem M25; Three Americans and Andreescu Advance to W35 Bradenton Semis; Jovic Plays for Hobart Title

As I mentioned earlier this month, I had an opportunity to speak with the USTA's Dan Holman and Tracy Davies about the newly regionalized ITF Junior Circuit here in the United States and the five new J200s, in Las Vegas, Sumter, Nashville, Cincinnati and Delray Beach, that are part of that restructuring.

I wrote this article for the Tennis Recruiting Network about the philosophy behind this restructuring, which will continue in 2027 and 2028, and the financial commitment from the USTA that these J200s represent. The US had lagged its global counterparts at that particular level, primarily because it includes hospitality, which obviously increases expenses for the organizers.

The two J200s on red clay this spring are an interesting development, as are the many J30s and J60s that will be adopting the round robin/knockout format introduced this year by the ITF.

Here is the USTA's updated National Junior Calendar for 2026.

The semifinals at the USTA Pro Circuit tournaments this week, the M25 in Winston-Salem NC and the W35 in Bradenton FL, feature seven Americans and one former women's US Open champion.

In North Carolina, last week's Winston-Salem M25 champion Keegan Smith(UCLA) extended his ITF winning streak to 13 matches with a nearly three-hour 6-7(5), 7-5, 7-5 victory over former Wake Forest No. 1 Stefan Dostanic in today's quarterfinals.

The fourth-seeded Smith, who won an M15 title in New Zealand last month, will face unseeded Quinn Vandecasteele(Oregon), who beat qualifier Alex Kotzen(Columbia, Tennessee) 6-3, 7-5. Smith defeated Vandecasteele 6-1, 6-1 in the second round last week.

The top half semifinal will feature qualifier Will Grant(Florida) and recent NC State graduate Braden Shick. Grant beat Karl Poling(Princeton, UNC) 6-1, 6-2 and Shick defeated Wake Forest freshman Mees Rottgering 7-6(5), 6-4. 

In tonight's doubles final, last week's champions Shick and Dan Milavsky(Harvard), the No. 2 seeds, made it two in a row, beating unseeded Wake Forest teammates Dominick Mosejczuk and Poland's Kacper Szymkowiak 6-4, 6-3.

In Bradenton, rain Thursday forced a majority of the competitors to play both their round of 16 and quarterfinal matches today. 

2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada, the top seed, was one who posted two victories today. She beat Great Britain's Ella McDonald, a recent addition to the LSU roster, 6-4, 6-3 in the round of 16 and No. 8 seed Tatiana Pieri of Italy 6-2, 6-1.

Andreescu's semifinal opponent Saturday will be No. 6 seed Lea Ma, who beat the rain Thursday, so needed only one win today to reach the semifinals. The former Georgia All-American defeated Ena Koike of Japan 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Andreescu and Ma met in the ITF Juniors way back in 2014, with Andreescu winning their second round match at the J60 in Atlanta 6-2, 7-6(3).

In the bottom half, No. 5 seed Vivian Wolff (Georgia, UCLA) beat wild card Olivia Lincer(UCF, Oklahoma State) 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 and No. 3 seed Kajsa Rinaldo Persson of Sweden 7-6(1), 6-3. Wolff will play No. 2 seed Hina Inoue, who battled through two lengthy three-setters to reach the semifinal. She defeated Kylie Collins(Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State) 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4 in the round of 16 and qualifier Shilin Xu of China 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.

Eighteen-year-old Iva Jovic will play for her second WTA title Saturday(tonight in the US), at the WTA 250 in Hobart Australia. Jovic, the No. 3 seed, defeated Australian wild card Taylah Preston 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinals Friday. She will face qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy, who beat unseeded Antonia Ruzic of Croatia 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the final.