Ye, Hoo, Azam and Rusher Qualify for Roland Garros Junior Championships; Wang Reaches W15 Lakewood Semifinals; Ribbon Cutting for David Filer Courts in South Bend

Four Americans have reached the main draw after posting wins today at the Roland Garros Junior Championships qualifying. Sarah Ye saved three match points with No. 2 seed Maria Pop of Romania serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set, but the 16-year-old from New Jersey won the last three games of the match for a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory that puts her in her first junior slam main draw.

Seventeen-year-Carrie-Anne Hoo, who made her junior slam debut this year in Australia, defeated No. 16 seed Fleur De Bresser of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-4 to reach the main draw.

Sixteen-year-old Safir Azam and 17-year-old Agassi Rusher will be making their junior slam main draw debuts, with No. 3 seed Azam beating Lucas Yunez of Ecuador 7-5, 6-3 and Rusher defeating No. 9 seed Maxi Carrascosa Diaz of Spain 7-5, 6-4.

The draws for the Roland Garros Junior Championships, which begin Sunday, will be out tomorrow.

Although 15-year-old Allison Wang has yet to break into the ITF Junior Top 100, the Northern Californian is poised to have a Pro Circuit breakout during the next seven weeks of the SoCal Pro Series. Wang, who qualified for the W15 event this week in Lakewood California, is through to the semifinals of what is just her second pro event, beating No. 4 seed Kailey Evans(Texas Tech, San Diego) 6-0, 6-0 in 68 minutes today. Next up for Wang is No. 5 seed Anne Christine Lutkemeyer, the recent UCLA graduate, who beat No. 2 seed Dasha Plekhanova of Canada 6-7(8), 6-1, 6-4 in 3 hours and 19 minutes.

Lutkemeyer's teammate, top seed Mayu Crossley of Japan, defeated Kallista Liu(Maryland) of Hong Kong 6-4, 6-1. The top seed will play qualifier Tatum Evans(UNC), who, like Wang, didn't lose a game in her quarterfinal against wild card Olivia Center(UCLA).

Top seed Kaylun Bigun(UCLA) is through to the semifinals of the M15 in Lakewood, defeating Texas rising junior and qualifier Oliver Ojakaar of Estonia 6-1, 7-6(2). Bigun will face another Longhorn in rising sophomore and qualifier Lucas Marionneau of France, who defeated No. 8 seed Noah Zamora(UC-Irvine) 7-6(2), 6-2. 

In the bottom half, No. 4 seed Amit Vales of Israel will face unseeded Spencer Johnson, a rising senior at UCLA. Johnson, who was 14-5 last year during the SoCal Pro Series (including qualifying) defeated Theo Dean(Yale, Cal) 6-1, 7-6(4) in today's quarterfinals.

After a washout Thursday, the second round was played today at the W35 in Wichita Kansas, with No. 3 seed Lea Ma(Georgia), No. 2 seed Clervie Ngounoue and wild card Reese Brantmeier(UNC) the Americans advancing to the quarterfinals. Ngounoue and Brantmeier will meet for the first time Saturday.

The ATP Challenger 75 in Little Rock Arkansas has also been delayed by rain, with both second round and quarterfinal matches played today. No. 5 seed Michael Mmoh is currently the only semifinalist that has been determined, with the three other quarterfinals either in progress or yet to begin.

At Roland Garros today, all three Americans in action lost their third round matches, with eight others on the schedule Saturday looking to make the second week.

Friday's third round Roland Garros results of Americans:

Casper Ruud [15](NOR) d. Tommy Paul[24] 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(4), 7-5
Rafael Jodar[27](ESP) d. Alex Michelsen 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3

Belinda Bencic[11](SUI) d. Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-3

Saturday's third round Roland Garros matches featuring Americans:

Zachary Svajda v Francisco Cerundolo[25](ARG)
Learner Tien[18] v Flavio Cobolli[10](ITA)
Frances Tiafoe[19] v Jaime Faria[Q](POR)
Brandon Nakashima[31] v Felix Auger-Aliassime[4](CAN)

Iva Jovic[18] v Naomi Osaka[16](JPN)
Madison Keys[19] v Victoria Mboko[9](CAN)
Coco Gauff[4] v Anastasia Potapova[28](AUT)
Amanda Anisimova[6] v Diane Parry(FRA)

The ribbon-cutting for the A. David Filer Tennis Courts in South Bend Indiana took place yesterday, with the dedication highlighting the efforts of the area's tennis community to provide a fitting tribute to Filer, who died of brain cancer three years ago at the age of 16. Honoring Filer, a top national junior, with this renovation and rejuvenation of his local courts will not only keep his memory alive, but give others the opportunity to discover the joy he found in the game. 

This Week's USTA Pro Circuit Features M25 in Pensacola and W35 in Bethany Beach; USTA's Urhobo Feature; Goodman Named Head Coach at Missouri; ITA Announces New Board of Directors; IONsport Partners with Tennis Europe

Qualifying was completed today at the two events on the USTA Pro Circuit, with the women competing in a W35 in Bethany Beach Delaware and the men playing at an M25 in Pensacola Florida.

Rain washed out the first day of qualifying Monday in Bethany Beach, so two rounds had to be played today, but fortunately for officials, the qualifying draws did not fill and and several players qualified without playing a match.

Americans reaching the main draw via qualifying are: Ligaya Murray, a Baylor recruit, Kaitlyn Carnicella(Auburn, South Carolina), Jane Dunyon(South Carolina), Paola Lopez and Zoe Hitt.

Only one wild card was awarded, to 18-year-old Florida signee Capucine Jauffret, a Delaware native. 

Madison Brengle, another Delaware native, is the top seed, with Anna Rogers(NC State) the No. 2 seed.

Four first round matches were played today, with future Georgia Bulldog, Bella Payne beating former Georgia Bulldog Mell Reasco, the No. 4 seed from Ecuador, 7-6(2), 7-6(5). No. 3 seed Haley Giavara(Cal), Kylie Collins(Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State) and Savannah Broadus(Pepperdine) also won their opening matches.

In Pensacola, five American advanced through qualifying to reach the main draw: Drew Van Orderlain, Oren Vasser(William & Mary, Miami), Ilyas Fahim(Virginia Tech), Ryan Haviland(Stanford) and Alex Finkelstein(Brown, SMU). Kentucky junior Eli Stephenson advanced to the main draw as a lucky loser.

The three wild cards went to LSU recruit Nick Stoot, who won his first round match today; Lucca Liu(UC Santa Barbara) and Florida State's Justin Lyons and Corey Craig.

Daniel Milavsky(Harvard) is the top seed, with Andrew Fenty(Michigan) the No. 2 seed.

Roland Garros main draw wild card winner Akasha Urhobo is the subject of an in-depth feature at the USTA's new Inside American Tennis newsletter. USTA National Coach Jermaine Jenkins, who has been working with Urhobo for nearly a year now, explains how he and Urhobo have been building her baseline game, as she was one of the rare juniors who learned to serve and volley from the outset. 

Another recent article focuses on Welles Newman and Jordyn Hazelitt, who won the W35 Boca Raton doubles title two weeks ago.

The University of Missouri named a new women's head coach today: University of Tennessee associate head coach Robin Goodman. Missouri's previous head coach, Bianca Turati returned to her alma mater Texas last summer as an associate head coach, with Silvia Chinellato, her associate head coach at Missouri named interim coach for the 2025-26 season.

The ITA announced its new board of directors for the two-year term beginning July 1, 2026. You may recognize some of them, but others may be new to you, so take time to read the biographies of those who will be leading the governing body of college tennis in the coming years.

IONSport, which has provided live scoring for Kalamazoo for the past several years and has been in the college tennis space for quite some time, has announced a major partnership with TennisEurope for its junior events. The press release is below:

IONSport Named Official Live Scoring and Data Partner of Tennis Europe

Multi-year agreement brings a unified scoring and data ecosystem to more than 540 Tennis Europe events

ATLANTA (May 11, 2026) – Tennis Europe has announced a multi-year partnership with IONSport, naming the company its Official Live Scoring and Data Partner and integrating the platform at all Tennis Europe Junior Tour events.

Beginning this summer, IONSport will power a unified scoring and data ecosystem across approximately 540 tournaments and team events held at over 300 venues in 45 member nations, bringing consistent scoring, centralized data delivery, and enhanced digital experiences to one of the largest junior tennis networks in the world. Together, this represents one of the most comprehensive digital scoring implementations in junior tennis and lays the foundation for continued innovation in how match data is captured, distributed, and experienced across the Tennis Europe network.

From first serve to match point, the platform will deliver live scoring, real-time match statistics, and integrated digital distribution across mobile, web, broadcast, and in-venue experiences, turning every match into a connected, shareable moment for players, coaches, and fans. The platform will also serve as a single digital destination for scores, statistics, streaming video, and match updates.

The collaboration is designed to deliver faster, more reliable live scoring and instant access to results, draws, and schedules for players, while providing tournaments with standardized tools that reduce operational workload and enhance both on-site and online fan experiences. Built to integrate seamlessly with existing tournament operations, IONSport simplifies scoring and data management while enabling consistent execution across events of all sizes.

“Technology continues to play an increasingly important role in the development and visibility of our sport,” said Henrik Thorsøe Pedersen, President of Tennis Europe. “By appointing IONSport as our Official Live Scoring and Data Partner, we are ensuring that Tennis Europe competitions are supported by world-class digital infrastructure. This partnership strengthens the competitive environment for our players while enhancing engagement and accessibility for fans, coaches, and national associations across Europe.”

“We are honored to be named the Official Live Scoring and Data Partner of Tennis Europe,” said Dave Mowrey, Founder and CEO of IONSport. “With IONSport integrated into the Tennis Europe competition framework, we’re not just delivering live scoring, we’re creating a more connected competition experience across every tournament, every match, and every point.”

In the coming weeks, Tennis Europe Junior Tour event organisers will be contacted with full details on implementation timelines, onboarding, and how to prepare for upcoming events as part of this partnership.

For more information, visit https://www.ionsport.com/.
For company updates and announcements, follow @IONSportapp on Instagram, LinkedIn and X.

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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, 2026

Division II

MEN:

Team:
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

Singles:

1. Yan Kodjoed, Barry

2. Sebastian Rondon, West Florida

3. Diego Duran, West Florida

4. Kelly Giese, Lubbock Christian

5. Pedro Liborio, North Georgia

6. Lukas Janousek, Cameron

7. Mario Garoz, Florida Southern

8. Lawson Prather, Rollins

9. Thomas Cardona, Columbus State

10. Harry Pugh, Lander

Doubles:

1. Sebastian Rondon and Diego Duran, West Florida

2. Jose David Segovia Perez and Kodai Kato, Saint Leo

3. Adrian Solorzano and Cian Mikkelsen, Harding

4. Angel Guerrero and Alejandro Flores Monteverde, Biola

5. Noe Milliard and Lukas Janousek, Cameron

WOMEN:

Team:

1. Barry

2. Embry-Riddle

3. West Florida

4. West Alabama

5. Nova Southeastern

6. Catawba

7. Mississippi College

8. Florida Southern

9. Columbus State

10. Lynn

Singles:

1. Kristyna Hranacova, Nova Southeastern

2. Salma Djoubri, Lynn

3. Alyssa Novoa, Rollins

4. Emily Buchanan, Mississippi College

5. Carlota Verdu, West Florida

6. Dana Heimen, Barry

7. Shaira Rivera, West Alabama

8. Selin Sepken, Midwestern State

9. Natasha Sengphrachanh, Grand Valley State

10. Yona Bancarel, UT-Tyler

Doubles:

1. Kristyna Hranacova and Katja Markus, Nova Southeastern

2. Alexa Milliam and Shaira Rivera, West Alabama

3. Emily Buchanan and Ann Cabot Stockett, Mississippi College

4. Andrea De Bernardo and AnaMaria Zoric, Lubbock Christian

5. Carlota Verdu and Sandra Recuenco Tarin, West Florida

Division III

MEN:

Team:

1. University of Chicago

2. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

3. Denison

4. Tufts

5. Carnegie Mellon

6. Case Western

7. Johns Hopkins

8. Swarthmore

9. Kenyon

10. Washington-St. Louis

Singles:

1. Advik Mareedu, CMS

2. Ruilin Feng, Emory

3. Michael Melnikov, Swarthmore

4. Kael Shalin Shah, Denison

5. Mark Kneiss, Bowdoin

6. Emil Grantcharov, Chicago

7. Alex Merson, Babson

8. Drew Goldman, Pomona-Pitzer

9. Gage Gohl, Gustavus Adolphus

10. Alex Ganchev, Tufts

Doubles:

1. Advik Mareedu and Caleb Settles, CMS

2. Jared Perry and Kishan Kersten, Trinity

3. Sacha Maes and Alex Ganchev, Tufts

4. Trey Lambright and Bryce Ware, Case Western

5. Ethan Green and Kael Shalin Shah, Denison

WOMEN:

Team:

1. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

2. Washington-St. Louis

3. Wesleyan

4. Chicago

5. Johns Hopkins

6. Carnegie Mellon

7. Babson

8. Emory

9. Trinity

10. MIT

Singles:

1. Matia Cristiani, Babson

2. Sarena Biria, Chicago

3. Eliana Hann, Washington-St. Louis

4. Rebecca Kong, CMS

5. Tina She, Amherst

6. Ananya Sriniketh, CMS

7. Emily Kantrovitz, Emory

8. Elise Van Wieren, Middlebury

9. Lindsay Eisenman, CMS

10. Maegan Deng, Redlands

Doubles:

1. Lindsay Eisenman and Rebecca Kong, CMS

2. Eleanor Archer and Caitlin Bui, Washington-St. Louis

3. Iris Berman and Emily Kantrovitz, Emory

4. Matia Cristiani and Alessandra Sikharulidze, Babson

5. Kamila Wong and Ava Li, Johns Hopkins

Easter Bowl 12s Finals Videos; Change in D-I Eligibility Rules Allows Unlimited Prize Money Prior to Enrollment; Combs and Ye Earn First Pro Circuit Wins at Orlando W15; SI Interview with Michael Antonius

After finishing the Tucson ITF J300 and San Diego J300 finals the last few days, I've processed the first two videos from last month's USTA Level 1 Easter Bowl, with the 12s finals available below. To view the other videos from my recent trip out west, see the tenniskalamazoo YouTube Channel. 

The NCAA announced today that its D-I Cabinet has adopted changes to pre-enrollment eligibility rules that will affect all sports, including tennis.

Tennis had carved out a special exemption allowing $10,000 in prize money per year prior to enrollment, without regard to expenses, but that will no longer be necessary with all sports now allowing unlimited prize money prior to enrollment.

However, the issue of student-athletes accepting prize money after enrolling has not changed, so any collegiate player who makes substantial prize money prior to January of their senior year will continue to face the prospect of declining it to retain eligibility. That was the case for Fiona Crawley of North Carolina, who qualified for the US Open in 2023 after her junior season, but could not accept the prize money if she wanted to return to Chapel Hill for her senior season, and more recently, Oliver Tarvet, who could not accept his second round Wimbledon prize money if he wished to return to San Diego for his senior year, which he did. 

The lawsuit that Reese Brantmeier filed against the NCAA is being settled, but this announcement references that settlement as pertaining only to prospects, and it will not include any carve-out for enrolled student-athletes. It appears that an initiative from the USTA, LTA or some other governing entity, allowing any prize money to be put in a trust for post-graduation use, is still the only solution to the dilemma enrolled student-athletes will continue to face.

Another key topic of discussion is an age eligibility rule, but no decision has been made on that, according to this NCAA announcement on the eligibility of prospects.

Today at the W15 in Lake Nona, 15-year-old wild card Emery Combs and 16-year-old Sarah Ye, an ITF Junior Reserved entry, earned their first wins on the USTA Pro Circuit. 

Combs defeated 19-year-old Valentina Mediorreal Arias of Colombia 6-1, 6-3 in just her second USTA Pro Circuit match; Ye beat former Michigan All-American Jaedan Brown, a qualifier, 7-5, 6-3. Eighteen-year-old qualifier Capucine Jauffret also won her first round match, beating Carolina Bohrer Martins of Brazil 6-4, 6-3. Combs will play No. 3 seed Carla Markus of Argentina next; Ye's opponent in the second round is No. 7 seed Jessica Hinojosa Gomez of Mexico.

It's unusual for any pro tennis journalist to interview a junior, but Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim spoke to 16-year-old Michael Antonius about his win last month at the M25 in Bakersfield California, his coaching (correction on the spelling of the last name of USTA National Coach Troy HAHN) at the USTA, his game style, his college plans, and what making Pro Circuit history means to him. As long as I've known Michael, I did not know he spoke Norwegian.

My Article on Junior Practice Partners at ATP Dallas Open; Zheng, Jodar Receive BNP Paribas Open Main Draw Wild Cards; Exsted Faces Wolf at Naples M15; Three Teens Advance to W35 Arcadia Semis; Easter Bowl Entry Lists

As I mentioned earlier this month, when I wrote about attending the Dallas Open while I was there for the ITA Men's Team Indoor, I don't see much professional tennis live. I catch a game here and there at Wimbledon and the US Open, but I'm usually too busy with the juniors to see much more than that, so mostly I see pro tennis at ATP Challenger or WTA 125 level.

Although I enjoyed my day at the Dallas Open and wrote about two of the matches I saw here, but I was also preparing an article focusing on the local juniors who were serving as practice partners for the pros. I enjoyed talking with both Eliot Spizzirri and Ethan Quinn about their experiences in that role as juniors, and with four of the juniors who were on site that day warming up and practicing with the pros. I'm not sure I grasped what a rite of passage such a role is for juniors, but I hope this Tennis Recruiting Network article conveys the importance of that apprenticeship. 

The full list of wild cards for the BNP Paribas Open was announced today, with two-time NCAA champion Michael Zheng,  in his senior year at Columbia, receiving a main draw wild card. He is joined by Gael Monfils of France, Rafael Jodar(Virginia) of Spain, Martin Damm and Zachary Svajda.

The women's main draw wild cards were awarded to Venus Williams, Bianca Andreescu of Canada, Donna Vekic of Croatia, Jennifer Brady(UCLA), Sloane Stephens, Alycia Parks, Katie Volynets and 2025 Roland Garros girls champion Lilli Tagger of Austria. 

The men's qualifying wild cards feature five teenagers, with the oldest 19-year-old SMU junior Trevor Svajda. Stanford freshman Jagger Leach, 18,  received a qualifying wild card for winning the ITF J300 Indian Wells title last March; he is joined by reigning Kalamazoo champion Darwin Blanch, 18, 16-year-old Andy Johnson and 15-year-old Izyan Ahmad, who is part of the BNP Paribas-sponsored high performance group at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy.

In contrast, the women's qualifying wild cards were given to an older group: Elli Mandlik, 24, Elvina Kalieva, 22, Mary Stoiana(Texas A&M), 22, and teens Akasha Urhobo, 19, Julieta Pareja, 17 and Emerson Jones of Australia, 17. Pareja, like Leach, earned her qualifying wild card as the 2025 ITF J300 Indian Wells champion.

Eighteen-year-old Max Exsted, a freshman at USC, is through to his second M15 semifinal this week in Naples Florida, beating No. 8 seed Kaylan Bigun(UCLA) 6-3, 6-3 in their first meeting. Exsted, who reached his first M15 semifinal in December, played for over four hours yesterday, but that didn't translate to any advantage for the 19-year-old Bigun. Exsted will play wild card JJ Wolf(Ohio State), who has had no trouble at this level in his first competitive matches in over a year. Wolf defeated unseeded Evan Bynoe(Cornell) 6-2, 6-1 in today's quarterfinal. The top half semifinal will feature No. 4 seed Miguel Tobon of Colombia and unseeded John Hallquist Lithen(Ole Miss) of Sweden.

Exsted and Tobon, the top seeds, will play for the doubles title Saturday against unseeded Adam Jones and Toby Martin of Great Britain.

For the second week in a row, three teenagers have advance to the semifinals of a USTA Pro Circuit W35. One of them, 16-year-old Kristina Liutova, won the title last week in Las Vegas; this week in Arcadia California, Liutova has added to her winning streak, beating No. 7 seed Haley Giavara(Cal) 7-5, 6-0 today. 

Liutova will play 17-year-old qualifier Thea Frodin, who beat No. 4 seed Hanna Chang today 6-4, 6-1. They have not played in juniors or on the Pro Circuit. Frodin, an Australian Open girls semifinalist, reached the semifinals of a USTA Pro Circuit W15 last fall, but will be playing in her first semifinal at the W35 level Saturday.

Top seed Akasha Urhobo defeated No. 5 seed Eryn Cayetano(USC) 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-1 and will play No. 3 seed Lea Ma(Georgia), who defeated No. 6 seed Julieta Pareja, a semifinalist last week, 6-4, 7-6(6).

The selections for next month's USTA National Level 1 Easter Bowl have been published for all four age divisions, with the 12s and 14s scheduled to play from Saturday March 21st through Thursday March 26th and the 16s and 18s competing from Tuesday March 24th through Sunday March 29th.

Winter Nationals champion Dimitriy Flyam tops the boys 12s acceptance list, with Summer Yang, the Winter Nationals doubles champion, at the top of the girls 12s list.

Les Petits As quarterfinalist Nadia Poznick, Bolton and National Indoor champion Anna Kapanadze and recent ITF J60 Claremont champion Isha Manchala lead a strong girls 14s field, with National Indoor champion Ishaan Marla topping the boys 14s list. 

Lennart Hammargren and National Indoor champion Eli Kaminski are 1 and 2 on the boys 16s acceptance list, with National Indoor champion Sylvana Jalbert and Winter National champion Shristi Selvan the top two on the girls 16s list.

Omar Rhazali and Yashwin Krishnakumar led the boys 18s field, with Kalamazoo 16s champion and last year's Easter Bowl 16s champion Marcel Latak also entering. Tristan Stratton, who Latak beat in the Easter Bowl 16s final is also on the acceptance list.

Calla McGill and Ellery Mendell are the top two entrants in the girls 18s, with Easter Bowl 16s champion Armira Kockinis looking to add another Easter Bowl title to her resumé. 

See the Easter Bowl website for more on the upcoming tournament.

2023 Australian Boys Finalists Tien and Blockx Meet Again in Next Gen Finals; Catching Up on News I Missed While at IMG and Orange Bowl

Nearly three years after they met in the Australian Open boys final, top seed Learner Tien(USC) and No. 2 seed Alexander Blockx of Belgium will play in another big final at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah Saudi Arabia.

Tien returned to the Next Gen Finals championship match with a  4-2, 4-1, 4-3(3) win over Nishesh Basavareddy. Tien, who is now 4-0 in pro matches against the former Stanford star, appears to have found his form after a slow start Wednesday.  

Blockx is undefeated this week, advancing to the final with a 4-3(4), 4-3(8), 4-2 win over Nicolai Budkov Kjaer of Norway. His serve has been one of the best shots on display this week; Tien's return Sunday will be critical to his success.

Their 2023 Australian Open boys final was a thriller, with Blockx taking it 6-1, 2-6, 7-6(9). I covered that match (via the ESPN streaming) here. That was one of three consecutive exceptional AO boys finals, with Bruno Kuzuhara beating a cramping Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic 7-6(4), 6-7(6), 7-5 in 2022, and Rei Sakamoto of Japan defeating Jan Kumstat of the Czech Republic 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 in 2024.

For more on Sunday's NextGen ATP Finals final, see this article from the tournament website.

While I was in Florida, I didn't have the opportunity to keep tabs on what else was going on in tennis as the year wound down.

Below are several articles I ran across that pertain to college tennis, junior tennis, or both:

The ITA has announced the creation of an NCAA Division II Individual tournament, which will be played in the fall. The host, beginning in the fall of 2026 will be the Tuscaloosa Tennis Center in Alabama, which has a three-year commitment to the event. The NCAA Division II hasn't had a spring individual championship tournament in the 20 years I've been covering college tennis, while Divisions I and III have a long history in holding those competitions. This is not an NCAA event, but one organized by the ITA.

Great Britain's Julian Cash(Mississippi State, Oklahoma State) and Lloyd Glasspool(Texas) ended the season at No. 1 in the ATP rankings. The BBC website provided this look into their partnership and the doubles dynasty coach Louis Cayer has developed in the UK.

Ashleigh Barty has advice for 2024 ITF World Junior Champion Emerson Jones, 17, who will play the women's main draw of the Australian Open as a wild card for the second straight year next month.

2025 USTA National Indoor 14s champion Anna Kapanadze moved to number 1 in the USTA National rankings after her title earlier this month, and her hometown's Staten Island Advance featured her in this article.

And finally, there is a possibility of a settlement between Reese Brantmeier and the NCAA in her lawsuit, which is scheduled to go to trail in the fall of 2026. The Carolina Journal has the latest here.

My Article on Cozad's Commitment; USA Teams Advance to Semis at Junior Davis and BJK Cups; Blanch Reaches Challenger Semis; Teens Urhobo, Hance and Johnston Move On in Orlando; Tien Makes Second ATP Final; Zheng Will Defend NCAA Title After Qualifying Today

Ryan Cozad, who turned 17 a few weeks ago, is No. 1 in Tennis Recruiting Network's Class of 2027 rankings and after visiting TCU, Georgia, Texas and Virginia, he made his decision to commit to the Cavaliers late last month. I spoke to Ryan and his father Matt about the whirlwind of the past four months which began with Ryan speaking with college coaches in June, narrowing his search to the schools he wanted to visit, and finding the best fit with Andres Pedroso and the Cavaliers, for today's article at the Tennis Recruiting Network.

After a day off Thursday, the ITF Junior Davis Cup and Junior Billie Jean King Cup resumed today in Santiago Chile with quarterfinals matches. Both top-seeded teams from the United States, both defending champions, again posted 3-0 victories, with the girls beating unseeded Japan and the boys defeating unseeded Spain.

Captain Georgi Rumenov has not made any changes to his No. 1 and No. 2 singles lineups, with ITF World Junior No. 1 Kristina Penickova at No. 2 singles and Julieta Pareja, WTA No. 347, at the No. 1 spot. Neither has lost a set, and that continued today, with Penickova beating Miyu Nishiwaki 6-1, 6-2 and Pareja defeating Yui Komada 6-2, 6-4. Because it's the knockout stage, the doubles matches often aren't played after clinch, but Kristinia and Annika Penikcova played a short-sets match with Aoi Watanabe and Nishiwaki, winning it 4-2, 4-0.

The girls will face No. 4 seed Czech Republic in Saturday's semifinals, after the Czech Republic beat No. 7 seed Great Britain 2-0. The other girls semifinal will feature No. 6 seed Poland, who beat No. 2 seed Romania 2-1 and No. 3 seed France, who defeated No. 8 seed Taiwan 3-0.

The US boys have lost two sets in singles, with one coming in today's win over Spain. Jordan Lee dropped the opening set to Adolfo Abascal 7-5, but rebounded to take the second and third sets 6-3, 6-2. Andrew Johnson, playing No. 1 singles for the first time this week, defeated Alberto Pulido Moreno 6-0, 6-4 to clinch the tie. Johnson and Michael Antonius won the doubles match 6-2, 6-3.

The boys will play No. 8 seed Turkey, who beat No. 7 seed Korea 2-1. The surprise of the day was unseeded Germany's 2-1 win over No. 2 seed France, with Eric Dylan Mueller beating France's No. 1 Daniel Jade 5-2, 5-7, 6-3 to even the match, then partnering with Jannik Soetebier for a 6-4, 6-1 win in the deciding doubles over Jade and Amaury Abbas. Germany faces No. 4 seed Japan, who beat No. 3 seed Czech Republic 2-1.

Links to streaming(subscription) and live scoring can be found at the ITF Junior Circuit site. Selected replays are available without a subscription at the MEGA YouTube channel. Today's US boys match with Spain is here. 

Kalamazoo 18s champion Darwin Blanch continued his run at the Knoxville Challenger 50, reaching his first Challenger semifinal with a 6-3, 7-6(5) win this afternoon over No. 2 seed Jay Clarke of Great Britain. Blanch will play No. 6 seed Daniil Glinka of Estonia, who beat qualifier Shunsuke Mitsui(Tennessee) 7-5, 6-3. In the top half, No. 5 seed Mitchell Krueger defeated Inaki Montes(Virginia) of Spain 7-5, 6-4 and will face unseeded Cedrik-Marcel Stebe of Germany, who beat qualifier Murphy Cassone(Arizona State) 7-6(13), 6-3.

Seventeen-year-olds Keaton Hance and Noah Johnston reached their first USTA Pro Circuit semifinals today, with Hance following up his win over top seed Tristan McCormick Thursday with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Christopher Li(UNC, Tennessee, Ohio State) in today's quarterfinals at the Orlando M15. He will play qualifier Ryan Colby(USC, Georgia), who reached his first Pro Circuit semifinal with a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 3 seed Felix Corwin(Minnesota).

Johnston posted his third win in the past four months today over fellow left-handed junior Nikolas Stoot, taking a 7-6(5), 6-1 decision. Johnston will face unseeded Aleksa Ciric(Georgia Gwinnett) of Serbia, who beat No. 5 seed Ryan Fishback(Virginia Tech) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

Eighteen-year-old Max Exsted will play for the third Pro Circuit doubles title of his career Saturday in Orlando when he and William Nolan(Auburn), the top seeds, face the unseeded team of Colby and Noah Zamora(UC-Irvine).

In the quarterfinals of the women's W35 in Orlando, the veterans overcame the juniors, with the exception of 18-year-old Akasha Urhobo. Urhobo, the No. 8 seed, beat University of Georgia sophomore Anastasiia Gureva of Russia 6-4, 6-1 and will face No. 2 seed Eva Bedder of the Netherlands, who beat No. 6 seed Madison Sieg(USC) 6-1, 6-3. Top seed Viktoria Hruncakova of Slovakia defeated 15-year-old qualifier Welles Newmman 6-0, 6-2 and will face No. 3 seed Katarina Jokic(Georgia) in the semifinals. Jokic defeated 16-year-old wild card Thea Frodin 6-1, 2-6, 7-5.

Although they lost in singles, Frodin and Newman have advanced to the doubles final. They defeated Sophia Biolay(Central Florida) of France and Katerina Mandelikova(Florida International) of the Czech Republic 7-6(6), 6-4 and will face another unseeded team in Samantha Alicea(Arizona State, Nebraska) and Malkia Ngounoue(Kansas) Saturday.

At the M25 in East Lansing, Michigan State senior Ozan Baris and Yale senior Vignesh Gogineni continued their confidence-building runs prior to the NCAA championships by advancing to the semifinals. Gogineni defeated Gavin Young(Michigan) 7-5, 6-3 to reach his second semifinal in just his fourth Pro Circuit tournament played, all this year. The 22-year-old from Ohio will play LSU freshman Erik Arutiunian of Belarus, who beat No. 7 seed Maik Steiner(Western Michigan) of Germany 6-1, 6-4.

Baris, who had saved seven match points in his first round win over No. 2 seed Paul Jubb(South Carolina) of Great Britain, saved another one today in his second set tiebreaker with No. 5 seed Adhithya Ganesan(Florida).  Down 5-2 in the third set, Baris won the final five games of the match for a 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-5 win.

His opponent in the semifinal, No. 4 seed Aidan McHugh of Great Britain, prevented an all-Spartan semifinal with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Michigan State sophomore Matt Forbes. McHugh and Baris played last summer in the quarterfinals of the M25 in East Lansing, with McHugh winning 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.

At the W15 in Lincoln Nebraska, 18-year-old Anna Frey advanced to her second W15 semifinal, beating No. 4 seed Kristina Novak(Oklahoma State) of Slovenia 6-4, 6-1. The North Carolina recruit will face top seed and Oklahoma freshman Edda Mamedova of Russia, who beat Pepperdine freshman Sonja Zhiyenbayeva of Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-3. Duke sophomore Irina Balus of Slovakia, the No. 2 seed, will play unseeded Lucia Peyre(Oklahoma State) of Argentina in the other semifinal. Balus beat Duke recruit and No. 5 seed Aspen Schuman 6-2, 6-3 today.

At the WTA 125 in Austin Texas, both Mary Stoiana and Elli Mandlik lost today, so I believe that means Mandlik clinches the USTA's Australian Open wild card, although it will be Monday before the USTA is likely to confirm it. Top seed Iva Jovic beat Stoiana 6-0, 6-1 and No. 3 seed Renata Zarazua of Mexico defeated Mandlik 6-1, 6-3. Jovic will play unseeded Marina Stakusic of Canada in the semis; Zarazua's opponent is University of Texas sophomore Carmen Herea of Romania, who won the battle of the Longhorn wild cards with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Malaika Rapolu.

Learner Tien(USC) has reached his second ATP final, both this fall, with the 19-year-old beating lucky loser Vitaliy Sachko of Ukraine 6-1, 6-4 at the ATP 250 in Metz today. Tien hasn't had the toughest draw this week, beating a wild card and two lucky losers, but he did beat former ATP Top 10 player Matteo Berrettini of Italy 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals Thursday. In Saturday's final, Tien will play No. 7 seed Cam Norrie(TCU) of Great Britain for the fourth time this year; Tien has won the past two meetings.

Eight more players have booked their spots in the D-I NCAA singles championships in Orlando, which begin in 11 days, after winning quarterfinal matches at the ITA Conference Masters today.

The women's semifinalists are Georgia's Aysegul Mert[1], UNC-Charlotte's Ni Xi[7], USC's Eugenia Zozaya Mendendez[8] and Cal's Mao Mushika[2]. Reigning men's NCAA champion Michael Zheng will return to defend his title, after surviving two set points in the opening set to beat No. 7 seed Veljko Krstic of Elong 7-6(5), 6-1.

NC State's Martin Borisiouk[4], Florida's Jeremy Jin[6] and Pepperdine's Edward Winter[2] are the other men's semifinalists advancing to Orlando.

August's San Diego Final Opens Door to North Carolina for Wygodzki; Top Seeds Penickova and Goode Begin Play Tuesday at ITF J300 Pan American Closed

©Colette Lewis 2025--

Spring, Texas

Although those living in South Texas scoffed at the suggestion that it was more like summer than fall today for the opening round of the ITF J300 Pan American Closed, but temperatures in the low 90s with little breeze did challenge many of those engaged in long three-set battles at the Giammalva Racquet Club outside Houston. 

But New Yorker Paige Wygodzki was able to work her way back from a slow start Monday afternoon, beating wild card Alexandra Patton of Texas 7-5, 6-4 on Stadium Court.

Patton received her wild card from Tournament Director Victor Pinones as this summer Texas Closed 16s champion, and she jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead over Wygodzki, the 2025 USTA National 16s finalist, who wasn't familiar with Patton's game.

"She played some very good points, but I also definitely gave her a lot of errors," said the 16-year-old left-hander from Huntington. "But even though I was down 2-5, I was only down one break, so I knew if I was able to hold my serve, I could get the break at 3-5. That return game at 3-5 really changed the first set, and allowed me to win the five game in a row I needed."

Wygodzki turned the tables on Patton in the second set, going up 5-2, and she too, was unable to serve it out on her first attempt, but made no mistake during her second opportunity.

"I did realize she didn't really like it when I hit fast and deep, and she would give me some short balls," Wygodzki said. "At that point it was just executing on the short balls."

Wygodzki said her run in San Diego in August definitely came at the right place and the right time.

"It didn't necessarily change my outlook or my perspective," Wygodzki said. "I always have the perspective of getting better each match, fighting through each match no matter how I'm feeling. But one thing the final did for me was unlocked a lot of doors towards college and that's something I'm tremendously grateful for. It's the one tournament where you do really well, you'll get a lot of recognition, and I was fortunate to have my mind straight for those seven days."

Wygodzki, who is a junior, wanted to commit early for two reasons.

"One, I didn't want to worry about my spot being taken, and Two, I wanted to make my choice so that I could continue to develop the next two years, see how good I could get before entering college," Wygodzki said.

After taking three official visits, Wygodzki verbally committed to North Carolina for 2027.

"One of my dream schools for sure," said Wygodzki, who trains with Steve Kaplan and Robbie Wagner Tennis's Adrian Chirici. "I'm very excited. I want to thank coach Brian (Kalbas) and coach Tyler (Thomson) for giving me the opportunity and allowing me to come on a visit so early. I'm so grateful. And I also want to thank all the other coaches for giving me the opportunity."

Wygodzki will play No. 14 seed Marianne Angel of Mexico in the second round Tuesday.

All seeds are in action on Tuesday.

Girls:

(USA unless noted)

1. Annika Penickova

2. Nancy Lee

3. Capucine Jauffret

4. Kori Montoya

5. Carrie-Anne Hoo

6. Chukwumelije Clarke

7. Thara Gowda

8. Isabelle DeLuccia

9. Zaire Clarke

10. Ireland O'Brien

11. Maggie Sohns

12. Karlin Schock

13. Janae Preston

14. Marianne Angel, MEX

15. Jordyn Hazelitt

16. Clemence Mercier, CAN

Boys:

1. Gavin Goode

2. Ryan Cozad

3. Michael Antonius

4. Andrew Johnson

5. Roshan Santhosh

6. Volodymyr Gurkeno, CAN

7. Dani Szabo, CAN

8. Benjamin Azar, CAN

9. Sklar Phillips

10. Tanishk Konduri

11. Vihaan Reddy

12. Xavier Massote, CAN

13. Ford McCollum

14. Joshua Adamson, CAN

15. Caden Colburne, CAN

16. Mason Taube

The first round of doubles was also played today, with all seeded teams in action Tuesday. Ryan Cozad and Gavin Goode are the top seeds in the boys draw, with Capucine Jauffret and Annika Penickova the No. 1 seeds in the girls draw.

Damm, Zheng and Perez Reach Columbus Challenger Quarterfinals; Qualifiers Kotzen, Zamora Post Wins at M15 Fayetteville; New Orange Bowl Venue Update; Noah Johnston Feature

Four of the second round matches at the ATP Challenger 75 this week in Columbus Ohio were played today, along with the two first round matches that weren't scheduled Monday or Tuesday. Three Americans are through to Friday's quarterfinals: No. 7 seed Martin Damm, Michael Zheng and Alfredo Perez.

Perez, who got a first-set retirement from top seed Juan Pablo Ficovich in the first round, defeated former Ohio State star Justin Boulais of Canada, a qualifier, 6-3, 6-3 today.  The former Florida All-American will face Columbia senior and 2024 fall NCAA champion Michael Zheng, who beat Andre Ilagan(Hawaii) 6-3, 7-6(1). Zheng led 6-3, 4-2, but lost three straight games to give Ilagan an opportunity to serve for a third set. But Zheng broke and then dominated the tiebreaker to reach his fifth Challenger quarterfinal of the year. This is Perez's fourth Challenger quarterfinal, all coming this year; he has yet to reach a semifinal. 

Damm defeated qualifier Antoine Ghibaudo of France, a sophomore at Kentucky, 6-3, 6-4 and will play the only Buckeye remaining, No. 3 seed James Trotter of Japan. Trotter defeated Patrick Maloney(Michigan) 6-2, 6-3.

In the two first round matches played today, Virginia sophomore Rafael Jodar of Spain defeated No. 4 seed Nicolas Mejia of Colombia 6-3, 6-2 and Daniel Masur of Germany beat fellow qualifier Preston Stearns, a junior at Ohio State, 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-6(5).

In doubles, only one seeded team remains, No. 2 George Goldhoff(Texas) and Theo Winegar(Columbia, Duke). Benjamin Kittay, a senior at Michigan, and partner Joshua Sheehy(Abilene Christian) beat No. 4 seeds Scott Duncan and Tom Hands of Great Britain 6-3, 6-2 and will play Ohio State's wild card team of Aidan Kim and Bruce Nakashima. Kim and Nakashima defeated Ilagan and Australia's Moerani Bouzige 6-3, 6-4.

Thursday's schedule:

Columbus Challenger - Columbus, OH, United States
$100,000
14 - 21 September 2025

Court 1 - start 10:00
Darwin Blanch (USA) vs [Q] Samir Banerjee (USA)
Rafael Jodar (ESP) vs Alex Rybakov (USA)
[WC] Aidan Kim (USA) / Bryce Nakashima (USA) vs Benjamin Kittay (USA) / Joshua Sheehy (USA)
Jody Maginley (ANT) / Alfredo Perez (USA) vs [2] George Goldhoff (USA) / Theodore Winegar (USA)
Court 3 - start 10:00
Tyler Zink (USA) vs Abdullah Shelbayh (JOR)
[Q] Daniel Masur (GER) vs [6] Andres Martin (USA)
Nicolas Mejia (COL) / Abdullah Shelbayh (JOR) vs Sai Karteek Reddy Ganta (IND) / Ryuki Matsuda (JPN)
Federico Bondioli (ITA) / Carlo Alberto Caniato (ITA) vs Patrick Harper (AUS) / Johannus Monday (GBR)

Rain disrupted play at the M15 in Fayetteville Arkansas, but both American qualifiers won their opening matches before the rain arrived. Alex Kotzen(Columbia, Tennessee) beat UCLA sophomore Rudy Quan 7-5, 6-3 and Noah Zamora(UC-Irvine) defeated No. 6 seed Strong Kirchheimer(Northwestern)  3-6, 7-5, 6-3.

Keaton Hance lost to Orel Kimhi, a sophomore at Oklahoma, 7-6(7), 6-3.

Texas's two qualifiers, Timo Legout of France and Sebastian Eriksson of Sweden, had opposite results, with Legout falling to Oklahoma senior Luis Alvarez of Mexico 7-6(4), 6-0 and Eriksson beating Noah Schachter(Texas A&M) 6-4, 3-6, 6-4. Eriksson's second round opponent Thursday will be No. 2 seed Micah Braswell, the former Texas All-American, who beat Ryan Fishback(Virginia Tech) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in his first match since February.

A brief update on the renovations to the Jimmy Evert Tennis Center in Fort Lauderdale Florida, the new venue for the ITF J500 Orange Bowl this December.

I'm told they are on schedule, with the courts likely to be ready for play next month. There is a ribbon-cutting scheduled for Monday December 8th, the first day of the ITF main draw, with Chris Evert expected to be in attendance. Representatives of the Orange Bowl committee, the USTA and the City of Fort Lauderdale will be on hand to celebrate the new era for the tournament, which is moving from nearby Plantation. The Orange Bowl was held at Plantation's Frank Veltri Tennis Center from 2011 through 2024.

Georgia's athletic website georgiadogs.com has published a feature on freshman Noah Johnston, currently No. 27 in the ITF junior rankings. Johnston, who has made two junior slam doubles finals this year, is one of five new players for the Bulldogs this season. 

Top Seeds March On at USTA National Championships in Kalamazoo, But Two Unseeded Players Reach Round of 16; 18s Doubles Quarterfinals Set for Wednesday

©Colette Lewis 2025--
Kalamazoo MI--

Ford McCollum has played many a tiebreaker in his junior career, including three this week alone prior to Tuesday's fourth round of the USTA Boys 18s National Championships. But the 17-year-old left-hander from Los Angeles had never participated in one that came close to the 36-point tiebreaker he played today on Stowe Stadium's Court 5, which resulted in a 6-4, 7-6(17) victory over No. 16 seed Braeden Gelletich.

McCollum won two tiebreakers Monday night, in another three-hour two-setter, that match finishing under the lights, when he defeated No. 19 seed Nav Dayal 7-6(4), 7-6(3).  With that match concluding at 10 p.m., McCollum was hardly fresh to start Tuesday's match, with the wall of fatigue surfacing late in that epic second set tiebreaker.

"I was physically so dead in the last five points of the breaker," said McCollum, a Princeton recruit who was the third alternate when the initial Kalamazoo acceptances came out last month. "At the 15-all point, he was running me, there was a ball I could have gotten, but I literally couldn't move anymore. I got a little bit lucky that he missed a first ball on the set points he had. But I'm just so happy I got through it, I didn't want to play another set."

Gelletich had six set points to force a third, while McCollum had six match points before he finally forced an error. 

"This week I've been feeling good in breakers, been serving well, holding easily," said McCollum, the 2024 Orange Bowl 16s finalist. "I have the confidence that I'm playing a little bit better than the other guy, believing in my game. This is my fourth one; this one was obviously the craziest one."

McCollum, who is coached by 2004 Kalamazoo 18s doubles champion Phillip Simmonds, let out all his pent up emotions when the two-hour and 58-minute match finally ended.

"I was almost worried that I was going to cramp if I yelled," McCollum said. "But when I won the point, the adrenaline and everything, I couldn't control it."

His run this year to the last 16 makes up for what he considered a disappointing appearance in Kalamazoo last year.

"I had an unfortunate tournament in the 16s last year," said McCollum, the 2024 Orange Bowl Boys 16s finalist. "I lost my second match(third round). So I'm super happy to be in the round of 16, playing well, competing well. I knew I was playing well going into the tournament, but being unseeded is not easy; you never know who you are going to draw. But when I saw my draw, I saw that I had a chance."

Next up for McCollum is No. 2 seed and 2023 Kalamazoo 16s champion Cooper Woestendick, who defeated No. 28 seed Shaan Patel 6-3, 6-3.

Top seed Darwin Blanch was tested again, but got past the fourth round, where he had lost last year, with a 7-5, 6-2 win over No. 31 seed Tanishk Konduri. Blanch faces No. 10 seed Maxwell Exsted for a place in the quarterfinals, after Exsted beat No. 21 seed Gavin Goode 7-5, 7-5.

No. 3 seed and 2024 finalist Jack Kennedy continued to roll through opponents, beating Winston Lee 6-1, 6-4, to set up an all-Cavalier match Wednesday. Kennedy, who has committed to the University of Virginia for next fall, will play No. 14 seed Roy Horovitz, who is a rising sophomore in Charlottesville. Horovitz defeated No. 33 seed James Weber 7-5, 6-4 today, after saving three match points in his 2-6, 7-5, 6-0 win over 2022 Kalamazoo 16s finalist Calvin Baierl, a 33 seed, on Monday.

No. 4 seed Benjamin Willwerth trailed No. 18 seed Dylan Long 4-2 in the opening set, but reeled off five straight games and cruised to a 6-4, 6-2 win. Willwerth will play No. 11 seed Maximus Dussault, who beat No. 27 seed Jacob Olar 7-5, 6-2.

2024 Boys 16s champion Gus Grumet was the second Top 16 seed in the 18s division to fall, along with Gelletich, with the No. 12 seed beaten by No. 22 seed Matisse Farzam 6-3, 7-5 today.

The 16s division also features an unseeded player in the round of 16, with Andrej Markovic taking out No. 8 seed and 2025 Easter Bowl 16s finalist Tristan Stratton 6-3, 6-3.  

Markovic is making his debut in Kalamazoo, thanks to a run to the final of an L3 in Scottsdale this winter.

"I was playing ITF tournament when I was 13 and I took a bit of a break from the USTA, so then I couldn't get in to anything, said the 16-year-old, who is coach by former University of Portland star Michail Pervolarakis. "In January I managed to get into our local L3, as last alternate," said Markovic, who lives in Fountain Valley Arizona. "And I won doubles and got singles finalist, and from there I've just kept playing USTA."

Markovic, who has now beaten three seeds in succession, saved match points in his first round win over Dan Horwitz.

"I've been training for this tournament all year, that's been the focus," said Markovic, who has Serbian heritage and visits the country every summer.  "I felt confident going in, but my first match I was down 4-5, 0-40 returning in the third set. I managed to get through that match, and I think that helped my confidence a lot."

Markovic said his strategy against Stratton was to play aggressively from the start.

"I don't want to give too much away, but I started very relaxed, going very big," Markovic said. "I was actually up 5-1 in both sets, but he did a great job fighting back, making it a close match. I've always been more aggressive, it's more fun for me. I think when I was serving for it at 5-1, I was a little too passive and I was letting him dictate the points and that was not how I was winning the match, so at 5-3 I told myself, just do what you do in practice and go for it. And it worked."

Markovic will face No. 16 seed Colin McPeek, who defeated No. 24 seed Lennart Hammangren 6-3, 4-6, 6-3. 

Top seed Michael Antonius, who received a walkover from No. 27 seed Gadin Arun, will play No. 33 seed Kamil Stolarczyk Wednesday. Stolarczyk, a wild card, defeated one of the four Top 16 seeds to fall in the fourth round, taking out No. 14 seed Joseph Lee 6-3, 6-3. No. 31 seed Joseph Nau beat No. 12 seed Shaan Majeed 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 and No. 33 seed Nile Ung beat No. 13 seed Navneet Raghuram 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 in just under three hours.

Ung will face No. 2 seed Andrew Johnson, who beat unseeded Joshua Bayete Miller 6-1, 6-3. 

No. 10 seed Jarrid Gaines Jr and No. 30 seed Rowan Qalbani battled on Court 4 for three hours and 51 minutes before Gaines posted a 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-4 victory.

All Wednesday's main draw matches in 16s and 18s will be at Stowe Stadium, beginning at 9 a.m. with 16s singles, followed by 18s singles beginning at noon. The 16s doubles fourth round is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. at Stowe, with the 18s doubles quarterfinals in the evening, with the last match scheduled for 6 p.m.

In today's 18s fourth round doubles, the top three seeds won, but No. 4 seeds Ronit Karki and Maximus Dussault fell to No. 9 seeds Nicholas Patrick and James Weber 6-2, 5-7, 10-8. Patrick, the 2023 Kalamazoo 16s doubles champion, and Weber will face No. 8 seeds Justin Lin and Bryan Assi, while top seeds Woestendick and Exsted play No. 10 seeds Jack Kennedy and Jacob Olar. 

In the bottom half, the unseeded team of Noble Renfrom and Theo Hegarty will play No. 3 seeds Keaton Hance and Ryan Cozad. No. 2 seeds Willwerth and Noah Johnston play No. 5 seeds Jack Satterfield and Arnav Bhandari. One of those eight teams will win a wild card entry into the US Open men's doubles. 

The Western Michigan courts will close down tomorrow afternoon when the fifth round of feed-in consolation qualifying matches have concluded.

Links to live streaming and live scoring can be found at ustaboys.com.

The Athletic Looks at Italian Tennis Player Development Template with New USTA General Manager Tracy Davies; 14-Year-Old Fagan Earns First USTA Pro Circuit Win at W50 in Indian Harbour Beach; Former Tennis Star Fralick Turns to Baseball

The Athletic's Matt Futterman looks at Italy, the latest national tennis federation drawing attention for their development strategy in this article. The number of Italian men who have broken through to the top of the game the past several years, and the success of Jannik Sinner at the very top of the sport, has generated a lot of conversations about their methods and pathway, including in the United States.

Futterman relates how Jose Higueras's email last spring prompted USTA CEO Lew Sherr to be “much more directly involved with our player development efforts and organization." That led to a reorganization, which saw the departure Player Development General Manager Martin Blackman last year and creation of a new position as General Manager of US Tennis. Longtime USTA executive Tracy Davies was recently announced as the choice for that new position, and Futterman talks with her about what they USTA can learn from the Italian model.

Brian Vahaly, the new Chairman and President of the USTA Board, has been seen as skeptical of the role of Player Development plays in the success of American tennis, but acknowledges that having American great players is an important facet of inspiring young players and growing the game. 

I've been around long enough to see France, Spain and even Canada touted as federations who have player development systems that the USTA should emulate. I don't believe that's practical as all countries are different, and have their own challenges to overcome and problems to solve. But if all the USTA takes from Italy is that an increase in the number of Pro Circuit tournaments would help, I'm all for implementing that, sooner rather than later. The United States has such an advantage with the college system in place here, and adding more Pro Circuit tournaments in regional calendar segments would be welcomed by juniors and college players alike.

Davies has a huge job ahead in taking over and coordinating so many different facets of American tennis, and while learning from other countries can be useful, there's plenty of wisdom and innovation right here that can help the USTA achieve its goals.

At the USTA Pro Circuit W50 in Indian Harbour Beach Florida, qualifiers Elizabeth Ionescu and Kristina Liutova and wild card Scarlett Fagan won their first round matches today. 

Fagan, 14, who is playing her first USTA Pro Circuit event, advanced when 37-year-old qualifier Tori Kinard retired trailing 7-5, 4-2. Kinard will face top seed Arina Rodionova of Australia in the second round Thursday.

Ionescu, who beat Verena Meliss of Italy 6-2, 6-2, will play No. 2 seed Hanna Chang Thursday; Liutova defeated Haley Giavara(Cal) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 today and will play No. 4 seed Carol Zhao(Stanford) of Canada next.

Randy Walker of World Tennis was at Indian Harbour Beach for the first round of qualifying and wrote this article about the match he watched between Madison Brengle and Liutova. 

Back in 2022, I had heard about Chase Fralick, who was playing the Kalamazoo 16s, but was contemplating a career in baseball instead. Fralick's matches always had many coaches from top programs in attendance, and he played an extremely competitive match with Darwin Blanch, who went on to win the tournament, in the round of 16. 

But Fralick did indeed end his tennis career that summer, and is now a catcher on the Auburn baseball team.

For more on his journey from one sport to another, check out this article from the Montgomery Advertiser.

My Article on JoAnna Kennedy's Commitment to Florida State; Jovic Sole Teen to Advance to Semis in USTA Pro Circuit Events; Michigan and Ohio State Meet Again in Big Ten Conference Tournament Final

I had an opportunity to talk with blue chip JoAnna Kennedy late last month in Indian Wells about her verbal commitment to Florida State for the fall of 2026. Kennedy's decision to stay at home in Colorado, while attending regular high school, sets her apart, as does her height, which required a change in the game style that had brought her success prior to her growth spurt. You can read how she navigated that change and her advice to other girls preparing for the college recruiting process in my article today at the Tennis Recruiting Network. 

All the teenagers competing in singles quarterfinals at the three USTA Pro Circuit events (the Savannah Challenger didn't have any teens in action today) took losses, except for 17-year-old Iva Jovic, who continued her march through the draw at the the W100 in Charlottesville Virginia. The top seed, Jovic defeated No. 6 seed Whitney Osuigwe 6-2, 6-4 to advance to a semifinal meeting Saturday with No. 4 seed Laura Pigossi. The 30-year-old Brazilian defeated last week's W50 Zephyrhills champion Iryna Shymanovich of Belarus, the No. 8 seed, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.  The other semifinal also features two veterans, with 29-year-old Astra Sharma(Vanderbilt), the No. 7 seed, facing unseeded 30-year-old Irina Bara of Romania. Sharma defeated No. 3 seed Hanna Chang 6-3, 6-1, while Bara beat No. 5 seed Lauren Davis 6-3, 7-6(2).

At the W35 in Charlotte North Carolina, 17-year-old qualifier Alexis Nguyen and 18-year-old Mayu Crossley of Japan both fell in today's quarterfinals.

Nguyen, who had gotten her best win by WTA ranking last night over top seed and WTA No. 283 Ana Sofia Sanchez of Mexico 5-7, 7-5, 7-6(4), probably paid the price for needing more than four hours to earn that win. She lost to No. 8 seed Ayana Akli(Maryland, South Carolina) 6-3, 6-2 in today's quarterfinals. 

Crossley lost to unseeded Alicia Herrero Linana(Baylor) of Spain 6-4, 7-5 today.  Herrero Linana will play unseeded Katarina Jokic(Georgia) of Serbia in the semifinals; Akli will take on wild card Jada Robinson in an all-USA semifinal. Robinson advanced when Jaeda Daniel(Auburn, NC State) retired at 6-5 in the first set.

At the M15 in Vero Beach, both Jack Kennedy and wild card Keaton Hance were beaten in the quarterfinals, with the 17-year-old Hance falling to qualifier Ryan Dickerson(Duke, Baylor) 6-1, 6-0  and the 16-year-old Kennedy losing to unseeded Blu Baker of Great Britain 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. 

The longtime friends and frequent doubles partners in juniors did advance to the doubles final however, with the wild cards beating Andrew Fenty(Michigan) and Baker 7-6(3), 7-6(0) in tonight's semifinal. They will play No. 3 seeds Peter Bertan(Georgia, USF) of the Dominican Republic and Jesse Flores(UCF, Miami) of Costa Rica. 

In the singles semifinals, No. 7 seed Will Grant(Florida) will face Dickerson and Baker will play unseeded Tomas Luis of Portugal.

At the Challenger 75 in Savannah, Eliot Spizzirri(Texas) is through to the semifinals after defeating qualifier Stefan Kozlov 6-3, 7-5. Spizzirri, who has been the No. 1 seed in all three of the green clay Challenger 75s this month, will face unseeded Nicolas Mejia of Colombia Saturday. No. 4 seed Liam Draxl(Kentucky) of Canada will face unseeded Genaro Olivieri of Argentina in the other semifinal. Draxl beat Great Britain's Oliver Crawford(Florida) 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-2 and Olivieri defeated wild card Andres Martin(Georgia Tech) 6-4, 6-2 to advance.

This week's Big Ten conference championship tournaments are proceeding without upsets, with the top-seeded Michigan women advancing to Saturday's final in Ojai with a 4-1 win over No. 4 seed UCLA today. It will be another Michigan-Ohio State battle for the conference title, after the second-seeded Buckeyes defeated No. 3 Washington 4-1 this evening. The Wolverines have won both their meetings this year; 4-3 in March in Ann Arbor and 4-1 last week in Columbus. Michigan is looking for its fourth straight Big Ten tournament title, beating Ohio State the past three years in the final. In 2021, Ohio State won the conference tournament title over Michigan.

The men's quarterfinals in Columbus started with a tight one between the top-seeded Buckeyes and No. 8 Illinois, with Ohio State claiming a 4-3 decision; they will play No. 4 seed Washington in Saturday's semifinals, after the Huskies beat No. 5 seed Nebraska 4-3.

No. 2 seed UCLA is through to the semifinals with a 4-1 win over No. 7 Michigan; the Bruins will face No. 3 Michigan State, with the Spartans defeating No. 6 seed Southern California 4-2 Friday night.

Dussault and Lagaev Go Back-to-Back at ITF J200s in Dominican Republic; Jovic Reaches Final of Cold-Delayed W50 in Texas; My Appearance on No-Ad No-Problem Podcast to Recap D-I Men's Team Indoor; Interviews with Acapulco ATP 500 Qualifiers Tien and Basavareddy

While I followed the results of the ITF J300 in Brazil, the warmup to this week's J500 Banana Bowl, where Noah Johnston swept the titles and Thea Frodin made both finals last week, there were several other titles for Americans on the ITF Junior Circuit. Floridian Maximus Dussault won his second consecutive J200 in the Dominican Republic, a feat matched by Canadian Nadia Lagaev. 

Dussault, a 17-year-old left-hander who has committed to TCU for this fall, was the top seed both weeks and didn't lose a set in his 10 victories. In the all-USA final, Dussault, now up to 45 in the ITF junior rankings, defeated No. 8 seed Nischal Spurling 6-0, 6-2. Spurling did collect a title in the doubles, partnering with Ford McCollum. The unseeded pair from Los Angeles beat No. 4 seeds Emanuel Ivanisevic of Croatia and Vitor Ryden of Sweden 7-6(3), 6-1 in the final.

Lagaev, also a 17-year-old left-hander, dropped just one set in her ten victories, beating No. 5 seed Hyunyee Lee of Korea 6-3, 7-6(4). Lagaev, who has verbally committed to Georgia for the fall of 2026, is now up to No. 30 in the ITF junior rankings. 

Top seeds Lagaev and Kayla Moore lost in the doubles final to No. 3 seeds Sabrina Lin and Great Britain's Daniela Piani 6-3, 6-3.

At the J60 in Eau Claire Wisconsin, No. 12 seed Roman Sancilio and top seed Thara Gowda won their second career ITF Junior Circuit singles titles in all-USA finals. 

The 17-year-old Sancilio defeated unseeded Aaron Beduhn in the final, while Gowda, 16, defeated Sophia Budacsek 6-1, 7-5. 

Gowda also took the girls doubles title, with Karlin Schock, with the top seeds beating No. 3 seeds Budacsek and Sobee Oak 6-1, 6-0. No. 5 seeds Tej Bhagra and Chase Kelley took the boys doubles title, beating top seed Adrian Treacy and Avner Wong 6-1 6-2 in all-USA final.

At the J60 in Guatemala, unseeded Carolina Castro won her first ITF Junior Circuit title, with the 16-year-old from Maryland defeating No. 8 seed Camille Allegre 6-2, 4-6, 7-6(6) in another all-USA final. 

Top seeds Jordyn Hazelitt and Canada's Elicia Lin won the girls doubles title, beating Castro and Sasha Miroshnichenko 6-1, 7-6(2) in the final. 

Sixteen-year-old Jerald Carroll swept the boys titles at the J30 in Mexico. The third-seeded Floridian defeated unseeded Sebastian Garcia Puente of Mexico 6-0, 6-1 in the singles final, and partnered with Peru's Alessandro Rubini Garcia Belaunde for the boys doubles title. The No. 3 seeds defeated No. 4 seed Valentino Arjona and Rodrigo Garza of Mexico 2-6, 6-2, 10-5 in the final.

After playing just five games in reaching the cold-delayed quarterfinals today at the W50 in Spring Texas, 17-year-old Iva Jovic advanced to the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-1 win over qualifier Eryn Cayetano(USC), and then reached the final with a 6-3, 4-6, 10-7 win over Caty McNally. The final is still scheduled for tonight, with Jovic's opponent not yet determined, with Texas A&M senior Mary Stoiana playing Canada's Carol Zhao(Stanford) in the semifinals. Stoiana defeated Whitney Osuigwe 6-2, 3-6, 10-7 in the quarterfinals.

Over the weekend I spoke with John Parsons about the recently concluded ITA Men's Division I Team Indoor Championshps for his No-Ad No-Problem podcast, which is a must-listen (his weekly podcast, not my guest appearance) for any D-I college tennis fan. John and I were both in Dallas and at a men's Team Indoor Championship for the first time since 2013 so we had a lot to discuss. Our wide-ranging conversation touched on the SMU facility, the buzz around the tournament, SMU men's head coach Grant Chen's successful efforts to make it a special event, the Electric Line Calling system being used, our standout players and matches and the story lines we're following in the next two months as the conference season gets going. John knows his stuff and college tennis is fortunate to have him as an advocate for the sport.

Ben Rothenberg is at the ATP 500 in Acapulco this week, and he spoke to both Learner Tien and Nishesh Basavareddy after their first round qualifying wins Saturday, catching up with the two rising American teenagers after their first Australian Open pro experiences last month. The interviews at Rothenburg's Bounces are behind a paywall (which he does for some articles, but not all), but please consider subscribing, even if you don't want to pay, as a free subscription, which goes directly to your email inbox, is available. Both Tien and Basavareddy won their final round qualifying matches, with Tien set to play Cam Norrie(TCU) of Great Britain later tonight, and Basavareddy likely to play Dallas Open champion Denis Shapovalov of Canada Tuesday.