Latak Saves Three Match Points in Third-Set Tiebreaker to Win US Open Boys Title; Sun Reverses Wimbledon Final Result for First Junior Slam Title; Penickovas Claim Another Girls Doubles Title; Harrison and Skupski Win Men's Doubles

©Colette Lewis and Michael Lewis 2026--
Flushing Meadows, NY--

Although the women's final between the world's No. 1 and No. 2 players was on the horizon, most of the buzz on the grounds of the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center an hour before that championship match was about the boys final.

For nearly three hours, unseeded American Marcel Latak and top seed Guto Miguel of Brazil battled to a draw, as the crowd around Court 12 swelled and the tension mounted. The Brazilians, famous for their chants and their passion, did all they could to get their player over the finish line, but Latak never wavered, closing out his 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(13) victory with three consecutive winners.

Latak had built a 7-2 lead in the 10-point tiebreaker, but lost four straight points to give Miguel's hundred of fans, who had little to cheer about at that stage, some hope. Latak hit a good first serve to make it 8-6, following that with another first serve and a forehand winner to give himself three match points. 

Miguel then brought out his best serving of the match to swat away the first two, and when Latak double faulted at 9-8, the Brazilian fans celebrated loudly, sensing Miguel had turned the tide for good.

But Latak showed no sign of frustration or disappointment after sending that second serve long.

"I wasn't too upset," said the 17-year-old from Darien Illinois, who was No. 76 in the World Tennis junior rankings before he won the J300 in Canada last week. "I went for the second serve. I'd missed so many second serves not going for it, so if I'm going to miss it, at least I went for it."

Latak demonstrated that philosophy again in the next rally, with Miguel the first one to blink after Latak hit forehand after forehand to each corner to coax an error and earn a fourth match point.

Miguel saved that one with an ace, and hit another good first serve to earn his first match point, but Latak countered with a brave forehand into the corner that forced an error. Latak hit a backhand long to give Miguel a second match point, and he again made his first serve, got a weak return and missed the short forehand well wide.

"I could have had more courage," said Miguel, who dropped to his knees briefly after that unforced error. "Especially the forehand that I missed. I won't sleep for two days thinking about that."

Another good first serve gave Miguel his third match point at 13-12, but that's when Latak found another level. He pummeled a forehand winner off a short ball, with the chants of USA from the crowd growing louder and more confident. A first serve and two more big forehands, the second a clean winner, gave him his fifth match point as he gestured 'right now' to his player's box which held his mother Klaudia, traveling coach Maciej Rajski and Stanford head coach Paul Goldstein, where Latak is heading in 2027.

Latak said he guessed that Miguel would go up the T on match point No. 5, allowing him to handle yet another first serve by Miguel, then sent another forehand deep in the corner.

"I was just praying that he'd hit that forehand down the line, and he did," said Latak, the 2025 Kalamazoo 16s champion. "The second I saw that he hit it to my backhand, I knew I was going to win the point."

Latak had the whole court open and he didn't hesitate, crushing the backhand for a winner, dropping his racquet and collapsing on the baseline. As the cheers and applause of the enthralled fans  continued, Latak made his way over to his player's box to share with them the improbable conclusion to a stunning tournament.

Latak, who beat the Australian Open boys champion in the first round and the Roland Garros champion in the final, as well as the No. 10, No. 4 and No. 2 seeds in between, hadn't quite grasped what he'd accomplished, even after being introduced on Ashe as the US Open boys champion during the women's final.

"It hasn't really set in yet, like, hey, you really did this," said Latak, who is the first American boy to win the US Open since Taylor Fritz defeated Tommy Paul in 2015. "Maybe tomorrow morning when I wake up, I'll definitely feel it."

Latak said this run of 12 wins in two weeks taught him just how  much his mindset effects his game.

"Me, a year ago, wouldn't have been able to deal with all the bumps I've had every single match," Latak said. "I've really realized how, I guess, gritty, I can be on the court."

Latak, who will move into the junior Top 10 and is now in the running for the Junior Finals in Chengdu China next month, knows this changes how the rest of the junior circuit views him.

"Today was the last day I'll be an underdog," said Latak, who is expecting to play more on the USTA Pro Circuit this fall. "People are coming for me now."

Miguel had already announced that this would be his last junior tournament, and after reaching the semifinals of an ATP Challenger 75 in Jamaica last month, he is already at 660 in the ATP rankings.

"Now the real journey starts," Miguel said. "We didn't finish the way we wanted, but it still was positive. It escaped from my hands and I'm really sad about this part. I was so close to my second grand slam, but we're confident we're on the right way."

The celebration Latak is planning is a simple one: pizza.

"Any New York slice," Latak said. 

The expression “third time’s the charm” isn’t one that 16-year-old Chinese player Xinran Sun seemed to be familiar with.

But it applied in a big way to her in Saturday’s US Open girls singles final. After losing in the final at Roland Garros and Wimbledon this year, Sun was in her third straight championship match, here at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center.

And this time, Sun finished the job. After losing a one-set lead, she dominated the final set and captured her first slam singles title, beating No. 5 seed Anna Pushkareva of Russia, 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 on Court 7.

“It was really big pressure, because you know I have been in the final for the third time, and I lost the first two times, so it's really such a big experience,” Sun said. “This time, I want to focus more on my tactic and don’t think about the result.”

Pushkareva had beaten Sun in the Wimbledon final in July, in the longest girls final in that tournament’s history.

Saturday’s match didn’t come close to approaching that drama, but was still competitive and compelling.

Sun came out strong at the start, breaking serve in the fourth game to snag a 3-1 lead. An ace on game point boosted her to a 4-1 edge, and after a slight wobble got Pushkareva back within 5-4, the 18-year-old Russian couldn’t get back on serve, double-faulting on set point.

But Pushkareva came back strongly in the second set, breaking Sun at 1-all and maintaining the lead throughout the set.

“I always say I try not to think too much, so after the second set I didn’t want to think about the third,” said Pushkareva, a 17-year-old from Moscow.

“I congratulate her; it’s already her third (slam) final and I’m so happy for her. She really, really deserves this,” Pushkareva graciously added.

Sun came out on fire in third set, holding serve, then breaking, then holding serve again to go up 3-0 trying to win her first Grand Slam title.

“I was thinking in that moment (after the second set), because in the second set I think I played so soft, and I think in the third set I need change something,” Sun said. “So I tried to play more aggressive.”

Sun said she even took some fan’s advice during the match.

“They were saying my name and saying, Come on, come on, you can do it,” Sun said of the crowd. “And I heard some guy said some tactic for me. Yeah, it really works. I tried it.”

When Pushkareva’s final slice backhand fell harmlessly into the net, Sun immediately dropped her racket and started crying, as she brought her hands up to her face. These tears, however, were of a different variety than those she shed after losing the Wimbledon final from a set up.

Sun shook the chair umpire’s hand and continued sobbing while going to embrace her team.

Sun, who has been training in Serbia for the past five years, said she will play the year-end World TennisCJunior Finals in China in October, but isn’t sure she’ll play any further junior tournaments.

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While Latak and Sun were collecting their first junior slam titles,  Annika and Kristina Penickova were adding to their collection, with the 17-year-old twins defeating the unseeded Russian team of Polina Berezina and Alisa Terentyeva 7-6(11), 6-3.

The Penickovas, who won the Australian Open girls doubles title in 2025, began to figure out how to counteract the aggressive game of their opponents.

"We definitely got them scared a little bit," said Annika, the left-hander. "When they were serving they were looking to poach a little more, so having a good return when they hit a weak serve kind of takes that option away from them. At the end we had good returns, were serving well and got them to back off, back up a little."

"It's absolutely amazing to win another slam with Annika," said Kristina, who won Wimbledon last year with Vendula Valdmannova of Czechia when Annika was out with an injury. "Especially at the US Open, the home slam, it always adds an extra cherry on top."

The Penickovas played women's qualifying and women's doubles so they have been in New York for over three weeks, and are eager to get back to Orlando.

"It was a challenge to keep our minds focus and stay engaged the whole way through," Kristina said. "But we did a really good job of that, relaxing when we weren't here, having a good dinner in the city, we went to Brooklyn Bridge, so we had that time, but we stayed locked in when we had to and kept that momentum going."

There are very few doubles teams as longstanding as the Penickova sisters, and boys doubles champions Valentin Gonzalez-Galino of Spain and Aaron Gabet of France are on the other end of the spectrum.

This week, Gonzalez-Galino and Gabet were playing in their second tournament as a pair, having reached the semifinals of the J300 in Canada last week before withdrawing so that Gabet could play qualifying for the US Open Juniors. 

Against Latak and Tanishk Konduri in the final, which followed the boys singles final after about an hour of rest for Latak, the two left-handers squeezed by the Americans 7-6(5), 2-6, 11-9.

"We were friends, best friends, but we didn't get to play with each other," said Gonzalez-Galino, 17. "One was in qualifying, one in main draw. But this week we went for it and we won the tournament."

Up 7-2 in the match tiebreaker, Gonzalez-Galino and Gabet saw that lead evaporate, but Gonzalez-Galino did not attribute it to their nerves.

"They played really good from 7-2," said Bonzalez-Galino, "made some good decisions, and we missed some returns, but I returned insane at 9-all, backhand cross, and match point was a relief."

Konduri netted a forehand on that match point, and said his play was subpar given the fatigue Latak was no doubt feeling, mentally, more than physically, after his final.

"I missed returns, I didn't make first serves, I was just really disappointed with the way I played," said the 17-year-old from Northern California. "Me and Marcel have been super good in breakers for a while. But his (singles) match was brutal and I didn't feel I executed at all, in anything today."

Gabet, 18, who has won five J200 doubles titles this year alone and 17 overall, including today's title, has one explanation for their unexpected win.

"We are best friends and have that connection on the court," Gabet said. "We fit together and that's why we play very good together."

In the men's doubles final this afternoon, 2026 Australian Open champions Christian Harrison and Neal Skupski added another major title on hard courts to their resumes, with the No. 5 seed defeating No. 6 seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz(Auburn) of Germany 6-4, 7-6(6). For more on today's championship match, see this article from usopen.org.