My Article on Krishnakumar's UCI Commitment; Kennedy beats Nishkori to Reach Savannah Challenger Quarterfinals; Urhobo and Nava Lead Roland Garros Wild Card Race; Latest D-II and D-III Rankings
After reporting on his run to the quarterfinals of the ITF San Diego J300 as a lucky loser, at the Easter Bowl I took the opportunity to talk with Yashwin Krishnakumar about his commitment to join the University of California-Irvine Anteaters this fall for today's article at the Tennis Recruiting Network. I don't write as many of these commitment articles as I used to, for a variety of reasons, including the fact that signing season is not as well defined as it used to be, but I always enjoy hearing how top juniors navigate the recruiting process and what tips the scales for them.
After reaching the semifinals of last week's Challenger 75 in Tallahassee, Jack Kennedy is through to the quarterfinals of this week's Challenger 75 in Savannah after beating former ATP No. 4 Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-0 in the second round this afternoon. Nishikori led 5-2 and served for the second set twice, but Kennedy won four games in a row, and although he lost the tiebreaker, the effort Nishikori had to make from 5-2 up no doubt contributed to his inability to stay with Kennedy in the final set.
The 17-year-old from New York, who is committed to Virginia for this fall, is closing in on the ATP Top 500 after his M15 title two weeks ago and these five Challenger victories. He will face qualifier Nick Hardt of the Dominican Republic, who beat Stefan Kozlov 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 today.
Although Kennedy is racking up points in the USTA's annual Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge, he is far behind leader Emilio Nava, who picked up 30 more points today at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid with a first round win over Jenson Brooksby. Prior to today, Nava led Stefan Dostanic(USC, Wake Forest), with Nishesh Basavareddy(Stanford) in third place. Dostanic and Basavareddy play their second round matches at the Savannah Challenger Thursday. Nava won the Roland Garros wild card last year.
Akasha Urhobo continues to lead the women's race, with Kayla Day in second and Vavarva Lepchenko in third. Both Urhobo and Day have won their first round matches at the W100 in Charlottesville Virginia. This week is the fourth of the five-week window to earn ATP and WTA points. There is another W100 and another W35, both in Florida, next week, but the Savannah Challenger is the last USTA Pro Circuit tournament above the M15 level in the five-week period.
Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge standings after three weeks.
Women's Standings 1. Akasha Urhobo — 100 2. Kayla Day — 60 3. Varvara Lepchenko — 54 Men's Standings 1. Emilio Nava — 53 2. Stefan Dostanic — 44 3. Nishesh Basavareddy — 37
NCAA Division II and Division III are also approaching the conclusion to their seasons, with new rankings out today. The individual rankings for Division III are the first since last November, although there will be weekly updates through May 13, with the Division III singles and doubles championships continuing to be after the team event next month.
ITA Rankings April 22, 2026Division II
MEN:
1. West Florida
2. Barry
3. Flagler
4. Columbus State
5. Saint Leo
6. UT-Tyler
7. Catawba
8. Rollins
9. Florida Southern
10. Lubbock Christian
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