Nine Americans Reach Final Round of US Open Junior Qualifying; Teen Teams Play Friday in Women's Doubles; Zheng Makes Men's Singles Third Round; Latak Advances to J300 Repentigny Boys Final, All-British Girls Final Set for Friday

The first day of the US Open Junior Championships qualifying ended this evening with nine Americans advancing to the final round. Three boys and six girls won their matches today, and at least two US girls will qualify with two all-USA matches Friday.

After play had begun, the USTA sent a press release announcing that two of the courts at the Cary Leeds Tennis Center in the Bronx would have live streaming, which is free at the US Open's YouTube website. Live scoring is available at usopen.org.

The most notable result of the day was courtesy of 14-year-old wild card Nadia Poznick, who beat World Tennis junior No. 69 Pietra Rivoli of Brazil, the top seed in qualifying, 6-1, 6-1. Poznick, the reigning Easter Bowl 14s champion, has played only a handful of World Tennis junior events, but received a wild card as a member of the USA team that competed in the World Tennis 14-and-under team competition last month.

Scarlett Fagan was the 17th American girl to play in qualifying today; she took the place of Alisa Terentyeva of Russia, who played in the girls doubles semifinal today, so has probably received a special exempt spot in the main draw.

US Open Junior first round qualifying results of Americans

GIRLS:
Nadia Poznick[WC] d. Pietra Rivoli[1](BRA) 6-1, 6-1
Kokona Ishii(JPN) d. Nancy Lee[11] 6-3, 4-1 ret.

Siyoen Sim[2](KOR) d. Anya Arora[WC] 6-2, 6-4
Marija Lauva[9](LAT) d. Anna Kapanadze[WC] 7-5, 6-3

Pavla Sviglerova[16](CZE) d. Isabelle DeLuccia 6-2, 4-6, 10-7
Dusica Popovski(SRB) d. Brooke Wallman 7-6(4), 6-1

Scarlett Fagan[ALT] d. Olivia De Los Reyes 6-3, 2-6, 10-7
Ireland O'Brien[10] d. Barbara Kostecka(POL) 7-5, 6-4

Riyo Yoshida d. Maggia Sohns[5] 6-3, 2-6, 10-5
Nathalie Kha[WC] d. Tea Kovacevic[12](BIH) 6-4, 6-2

Clemence Merceier(CAN) d. Sarah Ye[6] 6-3, 6-2
Ran Wakana[13](JPN) d. Kathryn Cragg[WC] 6-1, 6-4

Arina Malygina(RUS) d. Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann[7] 7-6(5), 5-7, 10-8
Marianne Angel[15](MEX) d. Armira Kockinis 1-6, 6-2, 10-8

Yael Saffar d. Camila Rodero Contreras[8](CHI) 6-1, 6-3
Carrie-Ann Hoo[14] d. Yui Kubota[WC](JPN) 6-2, 6-3

BOYS:
Felix Roussel[1](CAN) d. Tomas Laukys[WC] 6-3, 6-2

Izyan Ahmad[WC] d. Xavier Massotte[13] 1-6, 6-4, 10-7

Daniel Malacek[WC] d. Eudald Gonzalez[5](ESP) 3-6, 6-2, 10-6

Matei Victor Chelemen[6](ROU) d. Zen Uehling[WC] 6-0, 6-3

Koki Nara[16] d. Agassi Rusher 6-1, 1-6, 10-1

Tyler Lee[WC] d. Christopher Thiese[14](GER) 6-0, 6-4

There have been a couple of late US Open Junior withdrawals, with Kristina Liutova withdrawing yesterday, with ninth-ranked Zangar Nurlanuly of Kazakhstan also pulling out yesterday. Nurlanuly is the only current Top 20 boy not playing.

Women's doubles began today, with USTA Collegiate Playoff winners DJ Bennett and Ava Esposito of Auburn losing to No. 13 seed Storm Hunter(AUS) and Desirae Krawczyk(Arizona State)[13] 6-0, 6-3. 

Wild cards Reese Brantmeier(UNC) and Savannah Broadus(Pepperidine) lost to top seeds Katerina Siniankova(CZE) and Taylor Townsend 6-2, 6-4.

Tomorrow USTA National 18s champions Bella Payne(Georgia) and Sara Shumate(Oklahoma) will play their first round match against Eri Hozumi(JPN) and Andreja Klepac(SLO).

The Penickova twins, who have won two W35 titles in the past two months, will play Sara Errani(ITA) and Lilli Tagger(AUT).

Men's doubles begins Friday, with USTA Collegiate playoff winners Nikita Filin and Brandon Carpico(Ohio State) facing No. 8 seeds Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos of Brazil.

Marcel Latak has reached his second J300 final this week in Repentigny Canada, with the unseeded 17-year-old beating a seed in each of the past four rounds. including today's 6-3, 7-5 win over No. 5 seed Mark Ceban of Great Britain. In the final Friday Latak will face his fifth seeded opponent, No. 15 Rhys Lawlor of Great Britain, who advanced when No. 7 seed Kai Thompson retired at 1-1 in the first set. Lawlor defeated Latak 6-4, 6-3 in the second round of the J300 in Roehampton this summer.

A British champion is guaranteed in the girls final, with Hollie Smart, the No. 9 seed, facing No. 6 seed Daniella Britton. Smart defeated No. 4 seed Antonina Sushkova of Ukraine 6-3, 6-4, while Britton advanced when unseeded Andrea Cabio of Canada retired trailing 6-3, 3-0. Britton beat Smart 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 this spring in the final of a J200 in England.

The girls final was not played, with Cabio unable to recover from her injury. She and Camille Allegre gave a walkover to top seed Renee Alame of Australia and Ilary Pistola of Italy. 

In the boys final, No. 3 seeds Lawlor and Ceban defeated top seeds Leonardo Storck Franca and Pedro Chalbagoity of Brazil 6-3, 6-3. Neither boys doubles semifinal was played and only one of the girls doubles semifinals was played.

The second round of the US Open singles is nearly finished, with just two more matches yet to be completed tonight.

Two-time NCAA champion Michael Zheng(Columbia) came back from his first US Open main draw win yesterday to get a second today, beating lucky loser Yunchaokete Bu of China 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. Zheng gets another lucky loser in the next round, Arthur Gea of France, who beat Zachary Svajda 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. If he beats Gea Saturday, Zheng can eclipse Steve Johnson(USC), who won two rounds as a two-time NCAA champion in 2012, but lost to Richard Gasquet of France in the third round.

Americans overall went 15-6 in the second round, with the men 7-3 and the women 8-3.

Thursday's US Open second round results of Americans:

Taylor Fritz[9] d. Matia Bellucci(ITA) 6-0, 6-1, 6-1

Learner Tien[14] d. Gael Monfils(FRA) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3

Arthur Gea[LL](FRA) d. Zachary Svajda 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2

Michael Zheng[WC] d. Yunchaokete Bu[LL](CHN) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3

Coco Gauff[4] d. Paula Badosa(ESP) 6-4, 7-6(5)

Amanda Anisimova[10] d. Lilli Tagger(AUS) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1

Madison Keys[22] d. Anna Bondar(HUN) 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(5)

Iva Jovic[14] d. Francesca Jones[Q](GBR) 6-4, 6-4

Friday's US Open third round matches featuring Americans:

Jessica Pegula[3] v Leylah Fernandez[31](CAN)

Emma Navarro[26] Karolina Muchova[17](CZE)

Taylor Townsend v Diana Shnaider[15](RUS)

Ann Li[29] v Linda Noskova[6](CZE)

Ben Shelton[8] v Denis Shapovalov(CAN)

Tommy Paul[20] v Alexander Bublik[15](KAZ)

Frances Tiafoe[11] v Valentin Vacherot[22](MON)

Alex Michelsen v Daniel Merida(ESP)

College Park J300 Recap, Videos; Zheng Claims First US Open Main Draw Victory; Junior US Open Wild Cards; 16 Americans Account for Half of Girls Qualifying Spots; Latak Reaches J300 Repentigny Semifinals

My recap of the World Tennis J300 tournament in College Park for Tennis Recruiting Network is available today, which condenses my week-long coverage into one article about the major warmup event for the US Open Junior Championships.

Videos of the singles finals are below; a full replay of both singles finals, with additional coverage of the doubles finals, can be found at the Cracked Racquets YouTube channel.

At the US Open today, there was more rain, but that didn't stop

two-time NCAA champion Michael Zheng from doubling the number of NCAA wild card winners advancing to the second round since 2012, although his wild card was not a result of his November 2025 NCAA singles title. Zheng, who graduated from Columbia in May, decided not to compete in the USTA's US Open Collegiate Playoff (he discusses his reason for skipping it in this conversation I had with him in July) but the fact that he qualified for all three slams this year made him an obvious choice for a US Open main draw wild card.

In the first slam where Zheng was not required to qualify, he easily defeated Fabian Marozsan of Hungary 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in a first round match that was scheduled for Tuesday but postponed until today due to rain. Zheng's win over Marozsan in the first round at Cincinnati went to a third-set tiebreaker, so the level Zheng brought today, with 33 winners and 17 unforced errors, is a testament to the comfort level he beginning to feel at slams, especially after reaching the third round at Wimbledon.

"Getting to the third round, knowing that I can compete with some of the top players in the world definitely helps," Zheng said in his press conference, attended by Michael Lewis and other reporters. "So I think just having those experiences definitely helped with the nerves, with everything today."

Zheng and Marozsan were playing on Court 10, one of the smaller outer courts at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, but Zheng saw that as an asset.

"Yeah, it was amazing," Zheng said when asked about the atmosphere. "I got, I would say, a solid court, but you know, one of the smaller courts, and I think that just made it better. It was
pretty much packed, and the energy was through the roof, so it was amazing.

"Coach Howie (Endelman) was there, a lot of alums that came out to watch," Zheng said. "But yeah, it just felt like a college tennis match, really. You know, Howie, I think, and his brother, really turned it into a college atmosphere. My teammates came out. They had the, 'let's go, Michael' chants and I'm not sure my opponent was ready for it, but that's just the college tennis atmosphere, and you rarely see so many people come out to college tennis match like today on one court, so to have that energy on one court was super special."

Because the match was postponed until today, Zheng will be back for his second round tomorrow, where he will play lucky loser Yunchaokete Bu of China, who shocked No. 12 seed Rafael Jodar(Virginia) 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 in another first round match pushed from Tuesday to today. Many college fans were hoping to see Jodar vs Zheng, which did not happen in Jodar's sole semester at Virginia in 2025, but that will have to wait.

Sebastian Gorzny, the Texas graduate who won the USTA's US Open Collegiate Playoff in Zheng's absence, also got a first round victory Monday, saving five match points to beat Raphael Collignon of Belgium 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(9). He was not as competitive in his second round encounter today with No. 7 seed  Daniil Medvedev, falling 6-1, 6-3, 7-5, but Gorzny was encouraged by the 2021 US Open champion's comments when they shook hands.

"He was really nice. He told me, 'great match,'" Gorzny told Michael Lewis. "He said you have a great game, you should go pro. It was really nice to hear that from him, that he believed I was good enough."

Although Gorzny said he thinks he will have another year of eligibility in college, he is not currently planning to return.

"I'm not going to school in the fall for sure," Gorzny said. "I'll play futures, challengers, I'm planning on pro."

As for his four days at the US Open, Gorzny couldn't be more pleased.  

"It's been amazing. Couldn't have asked for a better experience. Was really struggling last year, then kind of turned it around. Had a decent summer, won the playoff. There's been learning and growing every single week. The first match, couldn't have painted a better first match, no matter how I dreamed of it happening. Today, getting to play on Armstrong, against a Grand Slam champion like Meddy, is just a great experience and something I'll learn from, and keep in the memory bank."

Wednesday's US Open first and second round results of Americans:

Daniil Medvedev[7](RUS) d. Sebastian Gorzny[WC] 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 

Frances Tiafoe[11] d. Rei Sakamoto[Q](JPN) 6-3, 7-6(2), 7-5

Ben Shelton[8] d. Hubert Hurkacz(POL) 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(3), 7-5

Alex Michelsen d. Brandon Nakashima[16] 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 

Tommy Paul[20] d. Dino Prizmic(CRO) 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4

Michael Zheng[WC] d. Fabian Marozsan(HUN) (rd 1 moved from Tuesday) 6-4, 6-4, 6-2

Zachary Svajda d. Daniel Altmaier(GER)(rd 1 moved from Tuesday) 6-3, 6-1, 6-7(5), 6-2

Ignacio Buse[32](PER) d. Marcos Giron 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 6-7(6), 6-1 (rd 1 moved from Tuesday)

Jessica Pegula[3] d. Sofia Kenin[WC] 6-3, 6-1

Marta Kostyuk[11](UKR) d. Sloane Stephens[WC] 6-1, 7-5

Emma Navarro[26] d. Caty McNally 3-6, 6-2, 6-3

Ann Li[29] d. Donna Vekic(CRO) 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-4

Taylor Townsend d. Taylah Preston[WC](AUS) 6-1, 6-1

Iva Jovic[14] d. Magdalena Frech(POL) 7-5, 6-3 (rd 1 postponed from Tuesday)

Thursday's US Open second round matches featuring Americans:

Taylor Fritz[9] v Matia Bellucci(ITA)

Learner Tien[14] v Gael Monfils(FRA)

Zachary Svajda v Arthur Gea[LL](FRA)

Michael Zheng[WC] v Yunchaokete Bu[LL](CHN)

Coco Gauff[4] v Paula Badosa(ESP)

Amanda Anisimova[10] v Lilli Tagger(AUS)

Madison Keys[22] v Anna Bondar(HUN)

Iva Jovic[14] v Francesca Jones[Q](GBR)

Americans went 21-20 in first round matches over the past four days, with the men having a 10-8 record and the women 11-12.

With the US Open Junior Championships qualifying beginning tomorrow at Cary Leeds Tennis Center in the Bronx, the USTA has provided me with the main draw wild cards for the US Open Junior Championships, which often change at the last minute when players move into the main draw or receive special exemptions from their performance in Canada.

Boys:

Kamil Stolarcyzk

Safir Azam

Navneet Raghuram

Teodor Davidov

Jerrid Gaines Jr

Matias Reyniak

Kayden Colombo

Mason Vaughan

Girls:

Shristi Selvan

Kristina Penickova

Annika Penickova

Hannah Ayrault

Emery Combs

Allison Wang

Isha Manchala

Thara Gowda

Marcel Latak was expected to receive a main draw wild card given his ranking and his position in qualifying, but he has advanced to the semifinals of the J300 in Repentigny, so he will receive a special exempt entry, freeing up a wild card for Raghuram.

Latak defeated No. 6 seed Simone Massellani of Italy 7-5, 6-3 today and will play No. 5 seed Mark Ceban of Great Britain in the semifinals. Great Britain's Rhys Lawlor, the No. 15 seed, is also in line for a special exemption into the main draw after beating No. 8 seed Kanta Watanabe of Japan 7-6(5), 6-1. He will play No. 7 seed Kai Thompson of Hong Kong, who beat No. 3 seed Tito Chavez 7-6(7), 0-6, 6-1.

Camille Allegre and Canada's Andrea Cabio got a walkover in the doubles semifinal today from No. 5 seeds Daniella Britton, a singles semifinalist from Great Britain, and Anna Pircher of Austria. They are awaiting their opponents, who play later tonight. The unseeded Cabio will play Britton in one girls semifinal; No. 4 seed Antonina Sushkova of Ukraine plays No. 9 seed Hollie Smart in the other girls singles semifinal.

Half of the competitors in the girls qualifying draw for the US Open Junior Championships are Americans, with all 16 first round qualifying matches Thursday featuring a US girl.

Qualifying wild cards were given to the two 14-year-old girls who played on the USA World Tennis team competition in Czechia last month: Nadia Poznick and Anna Kapanadze, while the third member of the team, Wimbledon 14-and-under champion Isha Manchala receiving a main draw wild card. The other girls qualifying wild cards went to Anya Arora, Kathyrn Cragg and Natalie Kha, who won hers as the fifth-place finisher in the 18s in San Diego. The sixth wild card always goes to a Japanese high school player, this year it is Yui Kubota. Five of the 16 US girls in the draw are seeded; Pietra Rivoli of Brazil, No. 69 in the current WT junior rankings, is the top seed.

American boys are much more scarce in US Open Junior qualifying, with only six of the 32 players in the draw from the United States. Five are wild cards: Tomas Laukys, Izyan Ahmad, Daniel Malacek, Zen Uehling and Tyler Lee. The sixth American, in by his ranking, is Agassi Rusher. The Japanese high school wild card is Yoshihiro Sakurai.

College Park J300 champion Felix Roussel of Canada is the top seed in boys qualifying ,with his career-high junior ranking this week at 46. 

Matches begin at 10 a.m. Thursday, with live scoring available on the US Open website.

Canada's Roussel and Spain's Pinera Celorio Claim First J300 Singles Title at College Park; Cozad Repeats as Doubles Champion, Chinese Pair Earns Girls Doubles Title; Fourteen Americans Play Sunday at US Open

©Colette Lewis 2026--
College Park Maryland--

Felix Roussel of Canada and Paola Pinera Celorio of Spain have a gap in the hard court experience that stems from the surfaces most common in their countries, yet both captured their first titles at the World Tennis J300 level today at the Junior Tennis Champions Center.

The fifth-seeded Pinera had the less arduous final on another warm and sunny day in the Washington DC area, defeating No. 3 seed Mariia Makarova of Russia 6-2, 6-4.

Pinera started slowly, losing 11 of the first 13 points as Makarova fired winners from every spot on the court.

"She played so good at the start," said the 15-year-old from Gijon Spain, who said she played even better today than she had in her 6-2, 6-1 semifinal win over Maia Burcescu of Romania Friday. "If she play like that in the first two games all the match, it's ok, you win, too good."

But the match turned quickly with Makarova broken from 40-0 up, and Pinera winning six games in a row, with a lob winner on set point. Pinera showed early that she was not intimidated by the Makarova serve, returning Makarova's strongest serves with pace and depth, and Makarova began to struggle in the rare rallies that went past four shots.

"I started to make mistakes and I think I lost the first set in like 20 minutes after this start," said the 16-year-old from Moscow, who had beaten Pinera on clay in back-to-back weeks last fall. "I could not play normal. It's so tough, playing in a final when you lose six games in a row."

Makarova made that seven games in a row when she was broken to open the second set, but she got the break right back only to give up another break serving a 2-all. Makarova kept herself within striking distance by saving a break point serving at 2-4, and had a break point to get back on serve at 3-4, but she missed a return and Pinera's forehand winners gave her the lead. 

Makarova won a rare easy game to force Pinera to serve for it, and the Spaniard went down 0-30, with a double fault to start the game.

"At 5-4, I'm so nervous, because it's 30-love," Pinera said. "But I said, come on, it's a final, focus, and I did. I'm so happy." 

"In last game, in my head, I think now I can do something, try to play better, but she had so good serve and I made mistakes on return," said Makarova, who is training in College Park for a few days before heading to New York for the US Open Junior Championships. "I thought I played better later, but I don't know, maybe it's time to change something before the US Open. She made all her mistakes in the first two games, and she played so good."

Pinera is also staying in College Park for a few days to rest and practice before heading to New York, where she is certain to be seeded after winning the title in the first junior event on hard courts she has played this year.

"In that last game I was nervous, but I played so good, and I am so happy to win," said Pinera, the first girl from Spain to win this tournament, which has been a J300 since 2013.

Roussel's 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 win over top seed Vincent Reisach of Germany put an exclamation point on his outstanding week, which also included a 6-4, 6-2 victory over No. 2 seed Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico in the quarterfinals.

Roussel wasn't able to find his form early in the match, and he admitted that he was not playing as aggressively as necessary at the beginning of his second J300 final. 

Reisach got 75 percent of his first serves in during the opening set and was able to dictate play, although he had to work to hold on to his break advantage for 3-1 and 4-2. But when he hit a passing shot winner for a 5-2 lead and served out the set comfortably, Roussel faced an uphill battle.

The 18-year-old left-hander from Canada was ready for it, despite feeling a twinge in his hamstring that required a medical timeout after the third game. Five of the first six games of the second set went to deuce, there were back-to-back breaks early, and the drama increased, especially in the ninth game, when Roussel saved two break points in a six-deuce game to hold. He had to come from 15-40 down in the 5-all game, but won four straight points to again put pressure back on Reisach, but the 17-year-old German held to force a tiebreaker.

Down 2-0, Roussel got back on serve with a volley winner and took control when he outlasted Reisach in a long rally, then ripped a forehand winner into the corner for a 6-3 lead. Roussel couldn't convert his first set point, netting a backhand, but Reisach netted a forehand on the next point to send the match to a third set after two hours and 10 minutes.

With the temperatures in the low 80s and not much breeze, both players were bound to begin feeling the effects of a week of daily matches and a lengthy final.

"Both my quads were cramping, especially my right one," said Roussel, who had the support of his future coach at the University of Kentucky Cedric Kaufman, who was among the several hundred spectators attending the final. "It was tough to explode up on the serve and run down balls, and I just pushed and it ended up working out."

Roussel said his physical issues weren't responsible for his more aggressive game style in the second set, but they did play a factor in the third set.

"In the first, I wasn't playing as aggressive as I normally do, and that's why I flipped it," said the Toronto resident. "In the third, I was extra aggressive, because I don't think my body could have handled longer points."

Reisach had requested the physio for the next changeover after the first game of the third set, and he received attention on his left leg, which was retaped, while Roussel had a visit for his left calf during the same changeover.

Reisach admitted that he began to wear down early in the third.

"Physically, I'm not feeling too good," said Reisach, who lives in a small town in Bavaria. "Honestly, it was the hardest match physically. I made the mistake that I was running after every ball, even was I was down 0-40, and it got me in the third set. I just didn't have the energy on the important points, to get to one more ball and give him the chance to make an unforced error."

Reisach said he wasn't expecting Roussel's backhand to be so effective.

"His backhand, he could really go down the line, pretty fast and with not much unforced, always got it over the net," said Reisach, a Wimbledon semifinalist who was playing in his first J300 final. 

Roussel was happy to win his first J300 title after falling in the final in the J300 in Costa Rica in January.

"It feels amazing, winning a big title here, especially from one set down, in my last year of juniors," said Roussel, who joins Felix Auger-Aliassime as the only Canadian singles champion in College Park. "It's something I'll remember for a long time."

Roussel said he met Auger-Aliassime, the College Park champion in 2015, at Wimbledon this year.

"He's a nice guy and hopefully I'll follow in his footsteps," Roussel said. "I'd love to be No. 3 in the world."

Rather than rest, Roussel is headed to the J300 in Canada, where he'll play his first round match tomorrow. 

"I'm excited, I love competing," said Roussel, who is scheduled to compete in the US Open Junior Championships qualifying Thursday if he does not reach the Repentigny J300 semifinals.

Reisach will rest this week, although he is heading to New York Sunday to be a spectator on the first day of the US Open.

"We're flying tomorrow to New York, and we're going to watch the match with (Alexander) Bublik in the night session," Reisach said. "My coach knows someone who is with Bublik. I'm looking forward to it, see how the pros are playing, so I can see something I can use there."

Boys doubles champion Yannik Alvarez is also heading to the US Open, where he'll compete in the main draw of men's doubles next week, and he and Ryan Cozad, last year's doubles champion, provided a confidence boost for that match with a title today. The top seeds defeated No. 3 seeds Kunanan Pantaratorn of Thailand and Arnav Paparkar of India 6-3, 6-2, without facing a break point.

"We knew they were going to return well, serve well," said Alvarez, who, alongside Noah Johnston, won the Kalamazoo 18s doubles title and with it, the US Open wild card. "We just kept staying aggressive, moving at the net, planning every point out and staying in every game, even if we were down, putting pressure on in every single game, not giving them any hope."

"We were just trying to make first serves, like we do always and a bunch of returns," said Cozad, who won last year's title here with Gavin Goode. "And like he said, stay in the games, when we were down returning, being aggressive at the net and just going for it."

After dropping the opening set in their first match in the second round, Alvarez, who represents Puerto Rico World Tennis junior competition, and Cozad didn't face another match tiebreaker the rest of the week.

"We played well the whole week," said Alvarez, who will be partnering with Cozad at the US Open Junior Championships, with Johnston no long eligible for junior slams.

Seventeen-year-olds Cozad and Alvarez won a USTA Pro Circuit M15 men's doubles title back in April, while girls doubles champions Yihan Qu and Yushan Shao of China, also both 17, earned a W35 title on the World Tennis women's circuit in Spain in June.

That title convinced them they should continue playing as a team, after a rough start, and they won their first junior title together today, beating JTCC wild cards Shristi Selvan and Aarini Bhattacharya 6-3, 6-3.

"The first and second time we play, the result is not good, actually," Qu said. "So our coach said, maybe we try this year, and it's getting better."

"We know each other very well since we were really young," said Shao, who lost in the final last year with current World No. 1 Xinran Sun of China as her partner. "Then playing in some women's tournaments, we feel pretty good, won a 35K, so we decided to play here."

Shao believed they had a major advantage over Selvan and Bhattacharya, who were playing together for the first time.

"The service games, I think, we do better," Shao said.

The pair are planning to play together at the US Open Junior Championships, after staying in College Park to practice for the next several days.

Full replays of the finals, including coverage of the doubles finals can be found on the Cracked Racquets YouTube Channel.

The first round of the US Open begins at 11 a.m. Sunday, with 14 Americans in action, including Kalamazoo 18s champion Jack Kennedy, who will play qualifier Lloyd Harris second match on Court 12. Collegiate Playoff winner Sebastian Gorzny will play Raphael Collignon of Belgium fourth match on Court 11.

US Open First Round Matches Sunday Featuring Americans:

Women:

Jessica Pegula[3] v Elena-Gabriela Ruse(ROU)

Venus Williams[WC] v Sofia Kenin[WC]

Carol Lee[WC] v Katie Boulter(GBR)

Emma Navarro[26] v Lois Boisson(FRA)

McCartney Kessler v Ekaterina Alexandrova[18](RUS)

Elvina Kalieva[Q] v Lanlana Tararudee(THA)

Alycia Parks v Taylah Preston[WC](AUS)

Men:

JJ Wolf[WC] v Alexander Bublik[15](KAZ)

Sebastian Gorzny[WC] v Raphael Collignon(BEL)

Tommy Paul[20] v Coleman Wong[Q]

Jack Kennedy[WC] v Lloyd Harris(RSA)

Jenson Brooksby v Jaime Faria(POR)

Alex Michelsen v Federico Cina[Q](ITA)

My Recap and Video Hightlights of Kalamazoo 16s Final; US Open Announces Big Increase in Prize Money; Eight Americans Reach Cincinnati Open Masters 1000 Quarterfinals

The Tennis Recruiting Network is more three-quarters of the way through its National Championship Week, with the articles on the 16s championships available today.

My article on Kamil Stolarczyk's sweep of the titles last weekend in Kalamazoo can be found here. My article on Jack Kennedy's title will be published Friday morning.

My video of the 16s final deviates from the previous years because the match was not played on George Acker Center Court, so the angle for Court 3 is not as good. There will not be any videos of the 18s final this year, due to Lee's retirement early in the first set.

The USTA announced this year's prize money quite a bit later than usual, but the news is good, as the increases are substantial and sufficient to avoid the media boycott that the top players implemented at Roland Garros this year. The announcement of the introduction of a new Grand Slam Player Council is also is at the request of the top players. The complete release:

US Open Offers Largest Player Compensation Package in Professional Tennis History at $108 Million,  an Increase of 20 Percent from 2025  Represents the second consecutive year of 20 percent increase and a 44 percent increase in compensation over two years Increased prize money sets new Grand Slam records for both singles champion and first-round payouts Includes a $2 million contribution to a new US Open Player Support Program, equally split between men and women US Open unites with other Grand Slams to establish a new Grand Slam Player Council FLUSHING, N.Y., August 20, 2026 –  The United States Tennis Association is once again offering the largest player compensation package in professional tennis history, reaching $108 million at the 2026 US Open. This represents a 20 percent increase from the previous record set at the 2025 US Open ($90 million) - the second consecutive year of a 20 percent increase and a 44 percent increase in total compensation over two years. Players across the event will enjoy significant increases, including the largest Grand Slam payments in history for Main Draw Singles Champions at $5.5 million and first-round singles payout at $140,000. The compensation package also includes a new Player Support Program seeded with an initial $2 million commitment in 2026, equally split between men and women players.   Today’s historic, record-setting and ground-breaking actions reflect the ongoing and deep commitment of the USTA and US Open to supporting all players who compete at the US Open, especially emerging and lower-ranked competitors.   USTA CEO Craig Tiley said, “This is a significant first step in a multi-year investment in athletes as the US Open continues to be the best economic opportunity for players and the most valuable platform in tennis for players, fans and partners. We are proud to deliver record-setting prize money and expanded player benefits as well as providing a new platform to work together with players.”   New US Open Player Support Program and Grand Slam Player Council   The four Grand Slams are aligned on the importance of supporting players throughout and after their playing careers. The US Open will become the first Grand Slam to establish a Player Support Program. As part of the total 2026 compensation, the US Open committed an initial $2 million, equally split between men and women players, which will be held in an escrow account pending the finalization of details of the new program, with guidance and input from the newly formed Grand Slam Player Council. Designed to complement existing end-of-career pension funds, this new US Open program will bring a range of benefits for mid-career life events and retirement transitions. It will be built upon a simple definition of player eligibility without reliance on ranking tiers, making the program available to US Open main draw singles and doubles competitors.    Additionally, in a separate Grand Slam announcement today, the US Open joined the Australian Open, Roland-Garros, and Wimbledon to form a new Grand Slam Player Council to give players a voice in on-court and in-tournament issues. The Player Council will also provide recommendations to the US Open to guide how the new US Open Player Support Program will be deployed.   “The US Open has a long history of listening to players, and this player support program and Council builds on that commitment. We look forward to working directly with players to better understand the opportunities and challenges they face, and to continue finding meaningful ways to support them both on and off the court,” said Brian Vahaly, Chairman of the Board and President of the USTA.    More details on the programs will be forthcoming following further consultation with players.    Significant Increases Across All Rounds    Players throughout the tournament will see significant increases in payouts in 2026. A full table of prize money can be found at the bottom of this document. Highlights include:     Champions of Women’s and Men’s Singles will earn $5.5 million, the highest-ever  Champions prize for any tennis event Main Draw Singles first-round payout will increase 27 percent to $140,000, the highest in Grand Slam history Men’s and Women’s Qualifying first round payout will increase 16 percent to $32,000 Men’s, Women’s, and Mixed Doubles Champions to win $1,000,000 per team Prize Money Breakdown

The ATP/WTA Masters 1000 in Cincinnati Ohio has been especially successful for Americans this year, with four US women making the quarterfinals for the first time since 2004. Jessica Pegula defeated Amanda Anisimova 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(4) this afternoon, with Coco Gauff and Madison Keys playing their quarterfinals Friday.

Tommy Paul lost today to Flavio Cobolli of Italy 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, but Brandon Nakashima and Taylor Fritz play each other in Friday's quarterfinals and Frances Tiafoe is scheduled to play Lorenzo Musetti of Italy.

Kennedy Wins Kalamazoo 18s Title and US Open Main Draw Wild Card with Lee's Retirement; New York's Stolarczyk's US Open Dream Comes True with Win Over Doubles Partner Malacek; Frodin Cruises to G18s Title in San Diego

©Colette Lewis 2026--

Kalamazoo MI--

History is part of the charm of Kalamazoo, but due to yet another wet day, and an unfortunate retirement, the 83rd edition of the USTA Boys 18s and 16s National Championships produced some unwanted firsts and rare disappointments Sunday.

After a more than three-hour delay due to morning storms, the 16s and 18s finals were scheduled to be played at the same time, a first in my 25 years of covering the tournament. 

Although the crowd was surprisingly large given the rain and the smothering humidity that followed, its attention was divided between Courts 2 and 3, with George Acker Center Court unused for the first time ever for the 18s final.

But it wasn't long before the 16s final was alone in the spotlight, with No. 6 seed and Wimbledon boys champion Jordan Lee retiring with top seed Jack Kennedy leading 2-1 in the opening set.

The match began with Kennedy breaking Lee, then Lee getting the break back in the next game. With a best-of-five format for the boys 18s final, there was plenty of time to shake off their nerves and play the quality tennis they had displayed all week, but Lee was broken in the next game and asked for a medical timeout at the changeover. The tournament's medical staff and tournament referee Scott Elbin attended to Lee, but after a few minutes, the chair umpire announced that Lee was retiring. He gestured to his chest when he approached the net to shake hands with Kennedy and went to the trainers room beneath the Tower for more evaluations.

"It's my chest," the 16-year-old from Orlando told me after the match. "I don't think it's a muscle, so I'm not sure what it is. My heartbeat's normal, my lungs are fine; I seriously don't know if it was nerves, something I ate, I'm not sure. I prepared myself very well, especially over the last couple of months, but today, something happened that was out of my control, but I'm very happy with this week. Last year I wasn't here at this tournament, wasn't even starting to play yet (after an injury), so it's only positives."

Lee still intends to play the US Open men's qualifying tournament with the wild card he earned for making the 18s final.

"I'll just go back home, rest a bit," said Lee, who was on court for less than an hour in his semifinal match Saturday. "New York starts in a week, so I have five or six days."

Kennedy, who had lost to Matt Forbes in four sets in the 18s final in 2024, was subdued, rather than elated after succeeding in his third and final attempt at the US Open main draw wild card.

"It's definitely mixed emotions right now," said the 18-year-old from Huntington New York. "I'm still just really upset with how this match turned out to be. We were both looking forward to it, a lot of people were looking forward to it. We were texting each other, 'let's have some fun tomorrow, and whatever happens, happens' all that, so for this to happen, it's really sad. This is not the way anyone wants to win, especially this tournament, three out of five. We wanted to enjoy the battle together, leave blood, sweat and tears on the court. I'm just super bummed for Jordan."

The other side of the coin is his eagerness to test his game in the main draw of the US Open in two weeks time.

"We're in main draw, and that's also a really exciting feeling," said Kennedy, who lost in the first round of men's qualifying the past two years. "It's my backyard tournament, a tournament I've been going to since I was five years old, and it's really cool to play on the biggest stages with the biggest names out there, giving myself a chance to do a little bit of damage there."

Kennedy says his success at the Challenger level this spring and summer has helped prepare him for what's ahead in New York.

"I think it's helped in a lot of different ways," said Kennedy, whose current ATP ranking is 392. "Mentally, with my confidence, stepping on the court knowing I can hang in there with the best of the best players. My game is ready, it's the physicality it's the part everyone has to adapt and adjust to. But in this tournament I know now that my game's ready and my physicality has been ready for this, so now I just need to go out and prove it. It's the experience, getting used to it, doing it over and over again, and this is the moment where it counts."

Kennedy is not interested in facing one of the top players in his slam debut.

"Maybe not first round, maybe second round if we can get to that point," said Kennedy, who is coached by Greg Lumpkin at Robbie Wagner Tournament Training. "The bigger names, I hope that doesn't happen, but at the same time, it would be cool to have that experience. But whoever I play, I think it's going to be a really special opportunity to witness and experience it. I don't have a name in mind, but whoever it is, we're going to have fun, take it all in and enjoy the heck out of it."

This is the first 18s final without a match point played since 2006, when Jesse Levine was unable to face Donald Young for the title due to food poisoning.

The abrupt end to the 18s final simplified things for the crowd, who may have recognized top seed Kamil Stolarczyk and No. 6 seed Daniel Malacek from their championship performance in the doubles final on Saturday.

Roommates all week, the pair warmed up together on the indoor courts at Kalamazoo College before the match, before Stolarczyk, took the second USTA gold ball of the 16s tournament with a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

Stolarczyk trailed 4-2 in the opening set, and the 16-year-old from Glendale New York was not pleased with his level.

"I came out a little groggy in the first set," said Stolarczyk, who did not blame his slow start on the three-hour plus delay in the start of the match. "But my (left) arm was killing me, from the doubles semifinals, and I told Daniel he would have to carry me at least that day, because my arm was shot. I kind of had to rely on my forehand, because I had no backhand."

After getting the break back and winning a deuce game to level the first set at 4-all, Stolarczyk didn't get discouraged when he couldn't convert his two break points with Malacek serving at 15-40, and got the break on his next opportunity.

"He played a great game at 3-4," said the 16-year-old Malacek,  coached by Mitch Stewart, who reached the Kalamazoo 16s semifinals in 2012. "And I could tell from the way he was playing he kind of loosened up, and it started snowballing. He started playing better and better, hit a little closer to the lines. He played amazing; big congrats to him."

Stolarczyk had three aces and no double faults in the match, but that doesn't tell the story of the impact of that shot, especially in the tenth game, when he saved a break point with an ace and closed out the set.

"It's a big thing that I worked on with Marcel," Stolarczyk said of his now former coach Marcel du Coudray at Robbie Wagner Tournament Training, who is currently coaching a WTA player. "Even when I'm not playing good, I can rely on my serve now and it's been great this last few months. We were working on the serve a lot and it's great to see it come out in pressure moments."

Stolarczyk had two aces serving at 2-1 in the second set and saved a break point serving at 3-2. Malacek came from 0-40 down in his 2-4 service game, but the left-hander, who had not dropped a set in advancing to the final, couldn't save a fourth break point.

Stolarczyk has been known to struggle closing out matches and this week had a 5-1 lead in the second set in the third round against Andres Quijada before winning it 7-5, so serving out the Kalamazoo 16s championship wasn't exactly automatic.

"I was a little surprised, honestly," Stolarczyk said of the relatively drama-free finish, with Malacek failing to return a second serve at 40-30. "I hit two good first serves in that game, and that really helped me a lot and I only needed two more to win."

Before this event Stolarczyk had never played in a USTA Level 1 match with a gold, silver or bronze ball at stake.

But this weekend he left with both gold balls, the first 16s player to sweep the events since John McNally in 2014, and is now looking forward to playing in the main draw of the US Open Junior Championships as a wild card.

"This has been the dream for me since I was seven, going out every year to to watch and then finally get to play is unbelievable for me," said Stolarczyk, who lives 15 minutes from the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. "This was literally the dream, for me and my dad, not just me. We've been literally thinking about this, thinking about to how to get here for years and years. So it's great."

For the first time in tournament history, the 16s and 18s singles champions received guitars from the Kalamazoo-based Heritage Guitar company in addition to their USTA gold balls. Although neither play now, Stolarczyk will add it to the guitar he bought as a room decoration, while Kennedy is considering lending his guitar to his friend and doubles partner Keaton Hance, a guitarist in a band with Kennedy, who said he contributes only as a vocalist.

Thea Frodin, who won the 18s doubles title last year at the USTA Girls National Championships, will compete in the main draw of women's singles this year, after breezing past Janae Preston 6-1, 6-0 in less than an hour in the 18s singles championship. See the recap of today's 18s finals from  Steve Pratt for USTA Southern California below:

NO. 3 THEA FRODIN WINS USTA BILLIE JEAN KING

GIRLS’ 18s NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP WITH 6-1, 6-0,

FINALS VICTORY OVER NO. 4 JANAE PRESTON

 

SAN DIEGO – (Aug. 16, 2026) – Moments after Thea Frodin captured the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships in singles, beating Janae Preston, 6-1, 6-0, on Sunday at the Barnes Tennis Center, she was asked the question every winner gets each year: 

 

“Now that you’re headed to New York with a main draw US Open singles wild card, would you rather face a high seed on Arthur Ashe Stadium? Or a qualifier on a back court in the first round?”

 

Frodin, from Woodland Hills in Southern California, took a few seconds to think about it, before answering: “I’m going with seeded player on Arthur Ashe. I want it all. Bring it on!”

 

The No. 3 seeded Frodin’s play impressed more than 30 former WTA legends of the game, who were introduced on court before the match. Tennis icons such as 39-time majors winner King, 12-time Grand Slam champion Rosie Casals, and San Diego native Karen Hantze Susman, who won the 18s girls’ singles nationals title three straight times in 1958, 1959 and 1960 before going on to win Wimbledon singles in 1962 and three more majors with Billie Jean Moffitt, were part of the cavalcade of stars.

 

The 17-year-old Frodin’s USTA singles gold ball from Girls’ 18s Nationals will proudly be displayed next to the doubles she won last year. Frodin joins fellow Southern Californians Iva Jovic, Lindsay Davenport and Tracy Austin, who all won both the singles and doubles at Girls’ 18s Nationals

 

“Honestly, it’s all a blur,” said Frodin, who beat top-seeded Julieta Pareja in the semifinals on Saturday in two tiebreaks. “I just really wanted it and was super excited to play. Yesterday, after I beat the No. 1 seed, it really boosted my confidence.” 

 

Preston, the No. 4 seed from Henderson, Nev., knew it was going to be a long day from the outset. “I tried to fight through it mentally,” said Preston, 16, who won a three-hour marathon three-setter on Saturday and had another three-set win on Friday. “It was a long week, and she played really well.”

 

In the girls’ 18s doubles final, Bella Payne of Hilton Head Island, S.C., and Sara Shumate of Charlotte, N.C., beat Welles Newman from Boca Raton, Fla., and Jordyn Hazelitt from Henderson, Nev., 6-2, 6-1. Payne (headed to the University of Georgia) and Shumate (Oklahoma) are next off to the US Open, just like Frodin, winning main draw wild cards into the women’s doubles draw. 

 

Julieta Pareja of Carlsbad won the third-fourth match against Chukwumelije Clarke from Humble, Texas, 6-1, 6-3. 

 

“It was a great tournament all week, and we extend our appreciation to Ryan Redondo, the Barnes Tennis and the Southern California Tennis Association,” said tournament director Lornie Kuhle. “Today was highlighted by our ‘Summer of Champions’ and the reunion of past WTA greats. We wish our winner Thea Frodin the best of luck, and she was also the 18s Sportsmanship award winner. We have a pretty good track record at producing champions and we think that is going to continue with Teah.”

 

For more information, visit the official tournament website at ustagirlsnationals.com.

Jauffret Ousts Fifth Seed Singh in Nearly Four-Hour Battle to Reach Kalamazoo 16s Fourth Round; Top 16s Seeds Stolarczyk and Syed Tested But Through in Straight Sets

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Kalamazoo MI--

After a day off Sunday, those in the main draw of the USTA National Boys Championships 16s division returned to the courts Monday, after a one-hour delay due to wet courts due to a second storm overnight.

In the third round matches played at both Kalamazoo College's Stowe Stadium and Western Michigan University, upsets were not rare, with the No. 5, 6 and 7 seeds all going out in grueling contests in the oppressive heat and humidity.

No one did a better job of surviving those conditions than No. 33 seed Carter Jauffret, who blew a 4-0 first set lead, served for the match twice in the third set and was down a mini-break in the deciding tiebreaker before posting a 6-7(2), 6-2, 7-6(4) win over No. 5 seed Kahven Singh in three hours and 54 minutes.

Jauffret, who was out for eight months with a stress fracture in his dominant right hand, was able to see the positives even as that first set slipped away.

"Once I lost that first set, I knew that I had the level, I just needed to string it all together," said the 16-year-old from Wilmington Delaware, who is the younger brother of Capucine Jauffret, who is competing this week in San Diego. "He started dealing with fatigue and some potential cramps toward the end of the second set, and then it just became cramps for the two of us in the third set."

Jauffret, who served for the match at 5-4 and 6-5 in the third set, and had a match point in that tenth game, saved by Singh with a brave backhand volley winner, was surprised he couldn't serve it out.

"I wasn't in my head about not being able to hold my serve, because I couldn't bend my legs," Jauffret said. "So the serve essentially became irrelevant. It was could I get a kick to the placement where I wanted, or was it going to be in the middle of the box. So once he broke, I knew I would have to play a gritty tiebreak and I came up with some shots I don't think I could do again if I had 15 chances."

One of those shots came with Singh serving at 4-3 in the tiebreaker, with a slick Jauffret pass with his one-handed backhand getting him back on serve.

"That backhand pass, you give me 20 balls, I'll miss all 20," said Jauffret, who had missed a backhand pass he thought he should have made when he was serving for the match.  "So I'm happy to be moving on."

Due to his cramping, Jauffret didn't sit down at changeovers and only was in the chair briefly in the 10-minute break between the second and third sets.

"I haven't dealt with cramps too many times, but I've seen it all on TV, at tournaments, when a guy sits down and doesn't get back up," said Jauffret, who had his older brother Connor providing coaching and encouragement during the break. "I knew the strategy, I knew what I needed to do. I knew his weaknesses, he knew my weaknesses, it was actually who could be fit enough to win a specific point and then a whole set."

Jauffret will play one of the four unseeded players remaining in the round of 32: Joseph Garrean, the Midwest Closed champion. 

Garrean defeated the reigning 16s USTA Clay Courts champion Gurbaaz Narang, the No. 18 seed, 7-5, 6-7(7), 2-1, ret.

No. 6 seed Colter Amey retired in his match with No. 33 seed Maddox Iliescu, who advanced with a 3-6, 6-4, 2-1 ret. victory, and No. 7 seed Eli Kaminski lost to No. 33 seed Niranjan Ramalingam 6-3, 1-6, 6-3.

Unseeded George Ho beat No. 12 seed Piotr Gradzki 6-2, 7-6(5), unseeded Nirbhay Agarwal defeated No. 30 seed Ishaan Marla 7-5, 6-0 and unseeded Alexander Lerman defeated No. 33 seed Paul Bower 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.

Although top seed Kamil Stolarczyk and No. 2 seed Sulaiman Syed both got through in straight sets, they were tested in their matches on the George Acker Center Court.

"He was playing well, and I definitely wasn't expecting it to be this long at the end," the 16-year-old from Glendale New York said of his 6-2, 7-5 win over No. 33 seed Andres Quijada. "I was up 5-1, and it was more of a mental thing than a physical thing, which is fine, because you can always work on that.  But it was a tough match, quite physical and he didn't miss much toward the end at all, so I had to work for it. In the first set he was throwing errors left and right, but he got into the match, he was playing well."

Stolarczyk will face No. 21 seed Aayush Vartak in the fourth round Tuesday.

Syed was at 4-all in his first set against No. 33 seed Damian Gutheil before finding his rhythm and closing it out 6-4, 6-1.

"I actually warmed up in the indoor center, so the court was a little different, so I had to adjust to it," said the 16-year-old from Chesterbrook Pennsylvania, who, like Jauffret, has a one-handed backhand. "I went down an early break, but I kept on believing, staying positive. I thought I was serving well, so it was just staying in the match, every point. I relaxed a little bit, got used to the ball, found a little more rhythm on my groundstrokes. I was getting more looks in my return games and I was able to take advantage of my opportunities."

Syed will face the unseeded Lerman in the fourth round Tuesday.

The third round of doubles was also played Monday evening, with no major upsets. The top four seeded in both the 16s and 18s advanced to the round of 16 without dropping a set.

The weather forecast for Tuesday contains a chance for thunderstorms with the fourth round of singles in both age divisions and the fourth round of 18s doubles on the schedule. There are no 16s doubles on the schedule for Tuesday. Play begins with the 16s singles at 9 a.m., with all matches at Stowe Stadium.

Live streaming is available on all 11 Stowe Stadium courts, at this link. Point-by-point real-time live scoring is available via ionCourt.

The seeds in the USTA Nationals 18s division in San Diego played for the first time today, with the Top 8 seeds, and Annika Penickova, a No. 33 seed, advancing to the third round. The 16s third round today is not yet complete, but so far there have been no major upsets.

Cracked Racquets is providing four hours of coverage of San Diego competition each day at their YouTube channel.

Anson Upsets No. 7 Seed Johnston in Kalamazoo Third Round 18s Match Finished Indoors; Karki Survives Upset Bid; Antonius Continues to Roll; Angus's Comeback Eliminates No. 14 Seed; Penickova Falls in W35 Final, Heads to San Diego

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Kalamazoo MI--

Only one unseeded player has advanced to the fourth round of the USTA B18s and 16s National Championships, but the No. 33 seeds made their mark Sunday, with seven of them beating Top 32 seeds on the 31 courts of Stowe Stadium and Western Michigan University.

The biggest upset of the day came after a 3:30 p.m. thunderstorm sent matches indoors. No. 33 seed Riley Anson, serving up 2-1 in the third set against No. 7 seed Noah Johnston, managed the 30-minute delay in getting matches set up in the Markin Tennis Center and completed his 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-3 victory.

"I wasn't super mad about it, honestly," Anson said of the delay. "I like playing indoors, I just played a tournament indoors a couple of weeks ago and I feel pretty comfortable there. Even though my momentum was stopped, I still got the job done indoors."

Anson, an 18-year-old from Laguna Niguel California, led 6-2 in the first set tiebreaker, lost six straight points, but handled that disappointment in the same fashion he handled the inopportune rain delay.

"It was pretty rough to be honest," said Anson, who has verbally committed to Princeton for 2027. "He played a few good points, but a couple were my fault; I could have extended the point, making a smarter decision instead of going for the kill shot. But I told myself to be professional, how would a professional handle this, just move on. There's two more sets if I want to win this match. I didn't just want to give it away, disappear in the second set. This is my last Kalamazoo and I didn't want to leave in the third round."

At 5-all Johnston double faulted on his game point, one of his 11 double faults in the match and Anson broke, then served it out.

"I knew I was going to hold that last game in the second set," Anson said. "I was feeling very confident with how I was serving in that second set."

Anson was happy with how quickly the was match moved indoors. 

"I think we were the first option to play," Anson said. "It was nice, I didn't really want to wait. The longer the wait, the more the momentum goes back to neutral, and he can reset a little bit."

The other match in progress when lightning was detected prior to a heavy thunderstorm, had an even more dramatic finish, with No. 24 seed Roshan Santhosh coming from 6-3 down in the final set tiebreaker to claim the final five points of the match in his 2-6, 7-5, 7-6(6) win over No. 33 seed Erik Schinnerer. 

No. 5 seed Ronit Karki barely escaped Johnston's fate, coming from a break down in both the second and third sets to defeat No. 33 seed Kayden Colombo 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Karki wasn't able to break the big serve of the 17-year-old from Georgia in the first set, so he was concerned when Colombo was able to break him twice in the second set.

"I got the first one back and that was already a lot of work," said the 18-year-old Stanford rising freshman, who is being coached this tournament by former Ohio State All-American Cannon Kingsley. "But I went down a break again shortly after that and I was honestly thinking to myself, from his perspective it was just hold, try to break again and then hold and he's run away with the match. I think he maybe got a little nervous or something, a few doubles faults, when in other service games he was popping aces."

Colombo consolidated his early break for a 3-1 lead, but that was the last game he won, with Karki sensing he had a physical edge in the last half of the third set.

"I think he started cramping a little bit, and on break point (serving at 3-2), he tried to serve and volley and I hit a good return," Karki said. "I had a little confidence when I saw he was breaking down physically, otherwise he was giving me a really hard time. He's got a big serve, a big forehand and he's not shy. If he sees the ball, he's going to rip it and come to the net. He closed out so many volleys today."

Karki is looking forward to the day off in singles for the 18s, as he was feeling the effects of the two-hour and 43-minute match.

"I wouldn't mind that," Karki said of the prospect of just a  doubles match on Monday. "I'm a little tired, a little stiff; it was a battle."

No. 2 seed Michael Antonius was on the court against No. 33 seed Yashwin Krishnakumar for an hour and 32 minutes, more than an hour less than Karki, and he acknowledged his 6-1, 6-2 victory didn't tell the story of the match.

"Yaswin's very fast and he was retrieving really well," said the 16-year-old from New York. "Fighting for dear life on every single point. It may be one of the longest 1 and 2 matches of my career. It was a long match, but I definitely felt in control for the most time, dictating well with my strokes."

Antonius acknowledges he's come a long way since he fell in the 16s quarterfinals as the No. 1 seed here last year, with two pro singles titles this spring and summer and an appearance in the Roland Garros boys final in June.

"As the two seed there's kind of a target on your back throughout the tournament," said Antonius, the first American to win two USTA Pro Circuit events before turning 17. "But you can't win a tournament in one day. It's a long week. My expectations aren't really that high. Obviously I'd love to do well, make it to the finals at this tournament, but I just want to play my best tennis. And if I'm doing that, the result will come."

Top seed Jack Kennedy again needed to extricate himself from a tricky first set in his 6-4, 6-2 win over unseeded Nihal Narisetty, who led 4-2 before Kennedy began to find his rhythm against the big-serving left-hander.

No. 3 seed Andy Johnson dropped the second set to No. 33 Ford McCollum, but returned from the 10-minute coaching break to take a 3-0 lead, en route to a 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 victory.

No. 4 seed Keaton Hance beat unseeded Julian Zhang 6-2, 6-1.

No. 33 seed Graeme Angus fought back to beat fellow wild card and No. 14 seed Nikolas Stoot 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, with a revamped mindset helping him ignore his two previous losses to Stoot.

"I can't put expectations on myself," said Angus, who trains with  his father Larry in Beaufort South Carolina. "I feel too much pressure and I don't compete as well as I should. And it's always going to be a tough match with him, he's such a great player."

Angus said he served well in the second and third sets and also changed his tactics on his groundstrokes.

"I needed to make more first serves," said Angus, who is expecting to sign with Elon for the spring season before the end of this month. "I played more through the middle of the court, not giving him as much angles to work with, and coming in when I have the opportunity to close out the point at the net."

Angus said he initially sought the attention of SEC programs before seeing that pursuit was hurting his tennis.

"I became very results oriented," Angus said. "And that's not good for me. I can't focus on results. At some point, I just realized that if I compete the way I compete, I'll attract the right coaches, and Elon is the right way to go."

The other 33 seeds who beat Top 32 seeds today are David Wu beat No. 31 seed Noble Renfrow 6-2, 6-4; Bryan Assi, who defeated No. 32 seed Mason Taube 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(2); Theo Hegarty, who beat No. 27 Jesse Yang 6-4, 6-4; Rowan Qalbani, who defeated No. 22 Carel Ngounoue 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) and Connor Plunkett, who beat No. 28 Arin Pallegar 6-2, 6-3.

The unseeded player through to the fourth round is Justin Zhang, who defeated No. 26 seed Alexander Suhanitski 6-4, 6-4 in the second round and No. 33 seed Micah Ward 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 in today's third round.

No. 8 seed Yannik Alvarez withdrew from his match with No. 33 seed Zen Uehling due to illness.

The 16s division did not have main draw matches today, just back draw, but they will play their third round of singles and doubles Monday beginning at 10 a.m. 18s will play their third round of doubles in the afternoon, no singles main draw in 18s.

Live streaming is available on all 11 Stowe Stadium courts, at this link. Point-by-point real-time live scoring is available via ionCourt.

The seeds in the 16s division at the USTA Nationals in San Diego played for the first time today, with the top four seeds all advancing in straight sets.

The 18s seeds begin play Tuesday. Cracked Racquets is providing four hours of coverage at their YouTube channel.

Annika Penickova's winning streak in W35 tournaments ended at nine with a loss in today's final in Southaven Mississippi. Penickova, who is scheduled to play Mia Yoon in the second round in San Diego at 1:30 pm Monday, lost to unseeded Dana Guzman(Oklahoma) of Peru 6-2, 6-4.

No. 4 seeds Carmen Herea(Texas) of Romania and Anita Sahdiieva(Baylor, LSU) of Ukraine defeated top seeds Maria Fernanda Navarro and Victoria Rodriguez of Mexico 6-3, 5-7, 20-6 in the doubles final.

Timo Legout(Texas) of France won the singles title at the M25 in Southaven, with the No. 5 seed beating No. 7 seed Evan Zhu(UCLA) 6-2, 6-4 in the final.  

Unseeded Kelly Giese(Lubbock Christian, Nebraska) and Sam Landau(Indiana, Duke) ended the winning streak of top seeds Max Exsted(USC) and Cooper Woestendick, taking the doubles final 1-6, 6-3, 10-8.

In the ATP Challenger 75 in Lexington Kentucky, unseeded Edas Butvilas of Lithuania defeated unseeded Andre Ilagan(Hawaii) 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(6) in today's final.

At the W100 in Landisville Pennsylvania, top seed Hanne Vandewinkel of Belgium defeated No. 2 seed Anastasia Zakharova of Russia 3-6, 6-3, 6-1. The doubles title went to top seeds I-Hsuan and Yi Tsen Cho of Taiwan, who beat unseeded Savannah Broadus(Pepperdine) and Kylie Collins(Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State) 6-2, 6-4 in the final.

My Kalamazoo Preview; Alternate Rosett Earns Two Wins in Final Kalamazoo Appearance; USTA National B12s Seeds; USA Girls Fall to Japan in World Tennis 14-U Team Semifinals

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Kalamazoo MI--

My annual preview of the Kalamazoo Nationals is up today at Tennis Recruiting Network, with all the players mentioned beginning their singles tournaments on Saturday, with seeds receiving first round byes. The B18s field features four players who have won USTA Pro Circuit events this year, in addition to Jordan Lee's title last month at the Wimbledon Junior Championships.

While all those players were searching for practice courts today with the 31 WMU and Stowe Stadium courts in use for first round action today, the unseeded players were meeting for their shot at a seed on Saturday.

One of those moving through to the main draw is Abraham Rosett, who didn't know until four days ago whether he would get an opportunity to compete in his fourth and final year at the Nationals.

The fact that Rosett is from Bloomfield Hills Michigan, just a two-and-a-half hour drive from Kalamazoo, meant that he didn't have to make complicated last-minute travel arrangements when he received the call informing him of a withdrawal that moved him into the main draw. The short notice didn't faze him mentally either, as he felt he was ready for the level he would face.

"When this list came out I was shocked I didn't get in," said the 18-year-old, who defeated Colin Cerminara 6-4, 6-2 on the Stowe Stadium's renowned George Acker Center Court. "I guess it's just based on the USTA points, but I was hoping I would get in. I knew I belonged here, I thought I could be dangerous in this tournament. I do have a chip on my shoulder, but I'm treating every match like I'm going to win. I'm not really thinking about it; I'm in the tournament, so I'm just competing now."

Rosett admitted that he would have been disappointed to miss out on his last chance to play Kalamazoo.

"I've played both years in 16s, last year I played 18s, so I wanted to complete the four years here," Rosett said. "I know I belong here, so I would have been pretty disappointed if I didn't come and compete and show what I got."

Players from Michigan usually are scheduled to play their main draw matches at Stowe Stadium, and Rosett has benefitted from that tradition, but today was his first opportunity to play a singles match on Acker Court.

"Us Michiganders get some privileges," Rosett said. "I've played doubles there; every year I've played my first round singles on like the fifth court, the last court on the first bank. But never singles on center court, so that was pretty cool. A lot of nerves coming out, but I got through it, and I think my best tennis is ahead of me in this tournament."

Rosett, who will play No. 33 seed Bryan Assi at Stowe Stadium Saturday, has committed to the University of Illinois for the fall of 2027.

"My assistant coach, Tim Kopinski, TK, was watching me, so nerves there as well, wanting to impress the coach," Rosset said. "But I'm super excited. I love the guys on the team, the culture that Brad(head coach Dancer) has built, and I'm so excited to get my butt over there."

Rosett and partner Henry Lessard also advanced in doubles this afternoon, beating Deepinder Singh and Darren Wei 6-4, 6-3.

Live streaming is available on all 11 Stowe Stadium courts, at this link.  Point-by-point real-time live scoring is available via ionCourt.

Cracked Racquets will be providing four hours of daily coverage of the USTA Girls 18s and 16s National Championships in San Diego beginning tomorrow with the G16s first round. See their YouTube channel for times for the free live streaming each day.

The seeds and draws for the USTA National Boys 12s Championships in Mobile Alabama are out. I'm posting the Top 16 below; I will also add them to my post from Thursday, so all the 12s and 14s seeds and links are available on one page.

B12s Top 16 seeds (Mobile Alabama):
1. William Zhou

2. Zephyr Zwicker
3. Caique Cavalcanti
4. Thomas Gamble
5. Jesse Goldman
6. Zachary Burunov
7. Aleksander Denisov
8. John Benedict
9. Louis Lu
10. Dylan Kivov
11. Kevin Wang
12. Satvik Arja
13. Isaac Milner
14. Alexander Yang
15. Reed Kuai
16. AJ Williams

The top-seeded USA girls team lost in the semifinals of the World Tennis 14-and-under championships today in Prostejov Czechia, falling to No. 2 seed Japan 2-1.

Ayaka Iwasa of Japan defeated Anna Kapanadze at No. 2 singles 6-3, 6-4, with Isha Manchala tying it up witha 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 win over Shina Okuyama at No. 1 singles. That sent the match to a deciding doubles match, which Iwasa and Okuyama won 7-6(2), 6-3 to send Japan, who finished second in its group, to the finals.

They will play No. 7 seed Italy, who defeated unseeded Czechia 2-0.  The USA will play Czechia for third place Saturday.

The boys final will feature No. 5 seed Switzerland and unseeded Brazil. Switzerland defeated No. 3 seed Australia 2-1, with the doubles deciding that one, while Brazil beat unseeded Bulgaria 2-0.

The USA boys, seeded sixth, lost to No. 4 seed Slovakia 2-1 today and will play No. 7 seed Colombia for seventh place Saturday.