©Colette Lewis 2026--
Spring Texas--
The top seeds struggled in the third round of the
World Tennis J300 Pan Am Closed Wednesday, with another steamy day at the Giammalva Racquet Club producing plenty of drama.
Andy Johnson, the top seed and 2025 finalist, couldn't serve out the first set at 5-4 against unseeded William McEwan, and McEwan took advantage of that hiccup by Johnson to take the first set 7-5. But McEwan couldn't continue his success on the serve plus one in the next two sets with Johnson earning a 5-7, 6-2, 6-0 victory.
Avery Alexander's 2-6, 6-1, 6-2 win over 14-year-old Isha Manchala followed a similar pattern, with Manchala taking advantage of Alexander's inability to stay in a long rally in the opening set. But as Alexander began to make more balls, the 16-year-old Canadian started to take control of points and force more errors from Manchala.
Johnson's opponent in Thursday's quarterfinals is 15-year-old qualifier Piotr Gradzki, who defeated No. 6 seed Mason Vaughan 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals in just his second World Tour junior circuit J300 tournament.
Gradzki had to win three qualifying matches just to reach the main draw, going three sets in his first round match as well, before beating No. 12 seed Felipe Mamede of Brazil 6-3, 6-3 in the second round Tuesday.
"This was like my third three-hour match," said Gradzki, who turns 16 in November. "One of my qualifying matches was a three-hour and 20-minute match and the guy cramped in the (match) tiebreaker. So I'm battling here. I've already had so many long matches, but I'm feeling fine. Go to sleep early, eat a good amount, but I feel fine every day."
Gradzki has confidence in his ground strokes, so he has concentrated his serving and returning.
"I focus on two things: just making my returns and my first serve percentage," said Gradzki, who trains at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy in New York. "If I can make good returns and play the points after, I can out-rally a lot of people with my ball pace and quality."
Gradzki didn't get discouraged when he dropped the second set, saying reacting with frustration doesn't help him.
"My biggest go-to is being positive," Gradzki said. "Good mentality is always my best friend. Whenever I'm positive, whenever I want to do something, it happens, and I play my best when I'm my best friend."
Gradzki admits that he's didn't anticipate this kind of performance this week.
"I had no expecatations for this tournament," Gradzki said. "I'm surprised I'm winning, so I don't expect anything. I do whatever feels best for me and if it works, it works."
In addition to a qualifier, the boys quarterfinals also features a wild card, with Achyuth Binu continuing his run with a 6-1, 7-6(4) win over unseeded Gadin Arun.
Binu will next face No. 10 seed Teodore Davidov, who played the longest match of the day, a three-hour and 20-minute, 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 win over No. 8 seed Jerrid Gaines Jr.
The heat rule, which mandates a 10-minute break between the second and third sets, had just been announced when Davidov lost the second set, so it was an opportunity for him to regroup.
"I got some electrolytes in, some gels, went to the bathroom to cool down a little," said the 16-year-old from Bradenton Florida, who beat Gaines 6-3, 7-6(0) this summer in the J200 in Mason Ohio. "I got right back to it, but got broken to go down 2-1. He has a really big serve, so it's really important to hold serve, but I broke back, and we had some really intense games."
Davidov, who is famous among tennis nerds for hitting only forehands and serving both left-handed and right-handed, got the key break at 4-3, but then immediately squandered the opportunity to serve out the match, hitting a doubles fault and two unforced errors to give Gaines an opportunity to get back on serve.
Gaines then took his second medical timeout, complaining of pain in his legs, although he wasn't showing any of the obvous signs of cramping.
"I got a little distracted with all his shenanigans, but I locked it down," said Davidov, who will be representing the United States as a member of the Junior Davis Cup team that is competing in Egypt in November. "The medical timeout was pretty quick, just 45 seconds or a minute, so it was ok. I saw him mentally breaking down, so I wasn't too worried. I know he's not mentally strong, he's known for it, so it was ok."
Davidov broke Gaines to end the match and will have an opportunity to reach his first J300 semifinal with a win over Binu.
"I played him once, two years ago but he's having some great results," Davidov said, referring to his 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 win in the 16s quarterfinals at IMG in 2024. "Even though he's not seeded, I'm definitely not going to underestimate him."
In the rematch of the rematch of the Kalamazoo 16s final in August, Kamil Stolarczyk retook the lead in the recent head to head, beating Daniel Malacek 7-5, 6-1. Stolarczyk won the Kalamazoo final 6-4, 6-2, but in the semifinals at the J200 in Montreal earlier this month Malacek beat Stolarczyk 7-5, 2-6, 6-2.
Stolarczyk will play the only non-American in the quarterfinals, No. 4 seed Joshua Adamson, who Stolarczyk beat 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in the Montreal quarterfinals. Adamson defeated No. 16 seed Sebastian Godoy 6-2, 6-3.
No. 2 seed Tanishk Konduri will have a chance to avenge his loss at the J300 in Tucson this past spring when he takes on No. 7 seed Erik Schinnerer Thursday. Konduri beat No. 13 seed Mauricio Schtulmann Gasca of Mexico 6-1, 6-4, while Schinnerer won a prolonged battle with Sulaiman Syed 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2.
All but one of the girls quarterfinalists is seeded, with Sena Yoon the exception. Yoon, who beat No. 3 seed Adla Lopez 6-1, 6-4 in a result I completely overlooked yesterday, took out unseeded Adelina Iftime today 6-4, 2-6, 6-1. She will play No. 11 seed Ellery Mendell, who defeated Kalista Papadopoulos 6-0, 6-2.
Alexander's opponent in the quarterfinals is No. 5 seed Armira Kockinis, who defeated No. 9 seed Thara Gowda 6-0, 7-6(3). Kockinis beat Alexander in the semifinals of a J200 in Mexico earlier this summer 6-3, 3-6, 6-1.
In the bottom half, No. 2 seed and 2025 finalist Carrie-Ann Hoo received a walkover from No. 15 Reiley Rhodes due to illness. Hoo will play No. 12 seed Brooke Wallman, who beat No. 8 seed Isabelle DeLuccia 6-4, 6-3. No. 4 seed Emery Combs defeated Daniella Sales 6-4, 6-1 to set up a quarterfinal with No. 10 seed Londyn McCord. McCord defeated No. 6 seed Ireland O'Brien 6-4, 6-2.
The doubles semifinals are scheduled for 1 p.m. Thursday afternoon, after all eight singles quarterfinals are played at 9 a.m.
Top seeds Konduri and Johnson will face No. 3 seeds Adamson and Caden Colburne of Canada and No. 4 seed Stolarczyk and Vaughan will play No. 8 seeds Antoine Clavel and Andy Tchinda Kepche of Canada to decide the boys doubles finalists.
In the girls doubles, No. 2 seeds Hoo and DeLuccia will play No. 8 seeds Anya Arora and Sylvana Jalbert, and No. 5 seeds Gowda and O'Brien will face No. 3 seeds Combs and Olivia De Los Reyes.
The USTA announced its annual competition to decide the reciprocal wild card it receives for the Australian Open. The full release is below:
2027 Australian Open Wild Card Challenge to Begin Week of October 5 for Women, October 19 for Men
Orlando, Fla., September 30, 2026 – The Australian Open Wild Card Challenge, which will utilize indoor and outdoor hard-court and carpet professional tournaments to award an American man and woman a main draw wild card into the 2027 Australian Open, will begin with events the week of October 5 for the women and October 19 for the men.
The USTA and Tennis Australia have a reciprocal agreement in which main draw singles wild cards for the 2027 Australian Open and US Open will be exchanged.
The women's wild card will be awarded to the American with the most ranking points earned at a maximum of three tournaments during a five-week window, beginning with events starting the week of October 5. The women's Challenge window runs through the week of November 2. All indoor and outdoor hard-court and carpet events at the W35 level and above, including WTA Tour events, will be included in the Challenge.
The men's wild card will be awarded to the American with the most ranking points earned from a maximum of four events during a five-week window that begins the week of October 19 and runs through the week of November 16. All indoor and outdoor hard-court and carpet events at the M25 level and above, including ATP Tour and Challenger events, will be included in the Challenge.
Ranking points earned in the main draw and qualifying will be counted toward each player's Challenge point total. Should the player with the highest number of Challenge points earn direct entry into the Australian Open, the wild card will go to the next eligible American in the Challenge points standings. In the event of a tie for the men or the women, the player with the best singles ranking on the Monday immediately following the conclusion of the Challenge will earn the wild card. Americans who otherwise earn direct entry into the Australian Open are not eligible.
Previous Americans to earn wild cards into the Australian Open (year specified is the year of the tournament):
2026: Patrick Kypson (1R); Elizabeth Mandlik (1R)
2025: Nishesh Basavareddy (1R); Iva Jovic (2R)
2024: Patrick Kypson (1R); McCartney Kessler (2R)
2023: Chris Eubanks (2R); Taylor Townsend (2R)
2022: Stefan Kozlov (2R); Robin Anderson (1R)
2020: Marcos Giron (1R); CoCo Vandweghe (1R)
2019: Jack Sock (1R); Whitney Osuigwe (1R)
2018: Tim Smyczek (2R); Kristie Ahn (1R)
2017: Michael Mmoh (1R); Kayla Day (1R)
2016: Noah Rubin (2R); Samantha Crawford (1R)
2015: Denis Kudla (1R); Irina Falconi (2R)
2014: Steve Johnson (1R); Sachia Vickery (1R)
2013: Rhyne Williams (1R); Madison Keys (3R)
2012: Jesse Levine (1R); Madison Keys (1R)
2011: Ryan Harrison (1R); Lauren Davis (1R)
2010: Ryan Harrison (1R); CoCo Vandeweghe (1R)
2009: John Isner (1R); Christina McHale (1R)
2008: Jesse Levine (2R); Madison Brengle (1R)
2007: Madison Brengle (1R); No men’s wild card competition.
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