ITF Junior Rule Changes for 2018

Every year around this time I read through the ITF Junior Rules and Regulations, and highlight some of the most interesting changes in a post.  For 2018, the ITF introduced a completely new point system and has eliminated lets for serves, which meant the ITF felt the need to communicate these changes in its own announcement late last year.

I wrote about the point restructuring last month in my Eight Intriguing Questions post for the Tennis Recruiting Network, and I'm no closer to understanding why the ITF has decided to provide more weight to the Junior Slams, the Youth Olympics and the ITF Masters than I was when I first heard about the change.  With the recent ITF announcement regarding its new Transition Tour, and its goal of providing a better pathway from the Junior Circuit to the Professional Circuit, I suppose the changes could be related to that, but the connection isn't obvious to me.  The ITF has settled on the Junior Top 100 as a meaningful ranking for transition purposes, and that number doesn't really have any direct correlation to performances and points earned in Grade As and Grade 1s.  More points for progressing to the later rounds of all levels of tournaments isn't necessarily a bad idea, but I still don't understand what problem this is solving.  One of the primary benefits of the ITF system was that it rarely changed, which frees coaches, players and families to concentrate on development, rather than constantly needing to reeducate themselves on a new system. 

The change in the points system will take effect after this year's Easter Bowl, with the ITF Grade 1 International Spring Championships the following week the first US tournament using the new point structure. Points earned up until then will be converted on April 2.  The ITF said they would produce shadow rankings for this first quarter of 2018, but I don't see any evidence of those; perhaps they are only revealed to those with an IPIN.

The no-lets of serves rule is unpopular with many; I personally don't find it worth arguing over, perhaps because I saw it for many years in men's college tennis. 

Maria Carle(ARG) receiving coaching advice at the 2017 US Open Junior Championships

The ITF also has formally endorsed coaching for the junior slams, the Youth Olympics, which is this fall, and the ITF Masters.  Last year at the US Open, juniors were able to consult with their designated coaches during changeovers. The ITF rules and regulations do not go into any detail on the restrictions on the coaching, other than to say: Other than at Grand Slams, the ITF Junior Masters and the Youth Olympic Games where alternative rules as approved by the ITF may be adopted, players shall not receive coaching during a match (including the warm-up).

It's possible that some junior slams may not approve the coaching, but coaching was allowed at the Australian Open Junior championships, as was, I believe, the serve clock, which gets no mention whatsoever in the ITF rules and regulations. 

Again, I have no issues personally with coaching, although I know that allowing it is controversial, and for some, its prohibition is part of the essence of tennis. I do think that junior tennis might be the right place for coaching, but of course, to only allow it at the highest levels of junior tennis suggests that its educational value is not foremost in the minds of the ITF.

The Rules and Regulations are not fun to read, but they do serve a useful purpose, particularly for those who are just beginning to play ITF Junior Circuit tournaments.  The ITF publishes requirements for tournaments, and those are an important source of information should questions arise on what a tournament is responsible for.  Is a trainer/physio required? A doctor?  When is a chair umpire required? What is the maximum stringing fee recommended? What practice courts are required?  What should be served for lunch at a tournament providing hospitality? The answers to all these questions can be found in the ITF Junior Circuit Organisational Requirements document posted on the website.

Texas A&M Tops Women's Recruiting Class Rankings; Hewitt Signs with IMG; Qualifying Complete at San Francisco Challenger

The Tennis Recruiting Network announced its 2018 women's recruiting class rankings today, with Texas A&M coming in at the top spot.  The Aggies have two blue chips, Jayci Goldsmith and Katya Townsend, signed for the fall, as well as top Canadian Brindtha Ramasamy.  Texas Tech is No. 2, followed by Columbia, Harvard and Stanford.  As I mentioned when the men's rankings were released last month, these rankings are the first of two, with the May version likely to include some rearranging as additional players sign for the fall of 2018. 

Dalayna Hewitt will not be appearing on any of these lists in the future with IMG announcing today that it has signed the 17-year-old from Ohio to a representation contract.  Hewitt, who reached the third round of the US Open Junior Championships last September and the quarterfinals of the Australian Open Junior Championships last month, is currently 32 in the ITF junior rankings, her career-high. The 6-foot-2 Hewitt has a powerful pro-style game, but she has not played much on the Pro Circuit, so I expect she'll compete in both top junior events and in low level pro events in the coming months.  I wonder if a qualifying wild card for next month's Miami Open, which is owned and operated by IMG, might be given to Hewitt.

The only pro tennis being played in the United States this week is at the $100,000 ATP Challenger in San Francisco.  The qualifying was completed today, with JC Aragone (Virginia) and Jared Hiltzik (Illinois) the Americans advancing to the main draw, along with former UCLA Bruin Karue Sell of Brazil.  Wild cards went to DJ Thomas, Christopher Eubanks (Georgia Tech), former Cal star Florian Lakat of France and Christian Garin of Chile.

Seeded Americans in the draw are Mackenzie McDonald[2], Michael Mmoh[3], Denis Kudla[4], Bradley Klahn[5] and Noah Rubin[6].  Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan is the top seed.

I neglected to mention the final results of the $15,000 Palm Coast Florida Futures last week, with unseeded 20-year-old Tim Van Rijthoven of the Netherlands claiming his first singles title since 2015. Van Rijthoven defeated top seed Maxime Chazal of France 6-4, 6-4 in the championship match.  Former Cal stars Lakat and Filip Bergevi of Sweden, the No. 4 seeds, won the doubles title, beating top seeds Chazal and Fred Gil of Portugal 6-4, 6-1.

At the ATP 250 tournament in Sofia Bulgaria, Eddie Herr champion Adrian Andreev has received a wild card and will make his ATP main draw debut on Tuesday against Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan.

Brengle Wins Midland; McDonald Falls to Nishikori in Dallas; Kostyuk Claims $60K Title in Australia; Stanford Men Beat USC, UCLA in Dick Gould Challenge

No. 3 seed Madison Brengle continued her blitz through the $100,000 Dow Tennis Classic today, defeating unseeded Jamie Loeb 6-1, 6-2 in 54 minutes.  Brengle, who lost only 16 games in her five victories this week, missed only 2 first serves in entire first set and made very few errors in the rest of her game.  Loeb wasn't sharp, and Brengle's defense has always been a problem for Loeb, who is now 0-4 against Brengle, but Brengle was mostly on another level all week.  Brengle collects $15,200 in prize money and 140 ranking points in her biggest professional victory, and her ranking, 90 at the start of the tournament, will move back into the 70s again.   Loeb earns $8,108 for her first appearance in a $100,000 event final and will move to a new career high of 132 with the addition of the 85 finalist's points.

2013 NCAA doubles champions Kaitlyn Christian and Sabrina Santamaria won their biggest title as a team, beating Jessica Pegula and Maria Sanchez 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 in the women's doubles final.  The 26-year-old Christian and the 24-year-old Santamaria, who dominated women's collegiate doubles while at USC, do not play doubles as most opponents or fans expect to see it played on the WTA tour, but they are great fun to watch, and the Midland crowd was very appreciative of the unpredictability they bring to the game.  Prior to today's win, Christian and Santamaria's best title came last October at the $80,000 Macon tournament.

The $125,000 Dallas Challenger ended late Saturday night, with top seed Kei Nishikori defeating Mackenzie McDonald 6-1, 6-4.  Nishikori, who has taken wild cards into ATP Challengers the past two weeks as he returns from a wrist injury, took advantage of McDonald's errors early in the match, and although McDonald had four break point opportunities in the match, he failed to convert on any of them, with Nishikori getting the only break he needed in the second set. It was a great week for McDonald however, with the former UCLA Bruin now moving his ATP ranking into the Top 150 for the first time.  See the ATP website for more on the final.

Fifteen-year-old Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine won the $60,000 ITF Women's Circuit tournament in Burnie Australia, continuing her outstanding play to start the year. The unseeded Kostyuk, who qualified for the main draw at the Australian Open and reached the third round, defeated top seed Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland 6-4, 6-3 in the final. She moves into the WTA Top 200 now, after starting the year at 523.

Vania King and Laura Robson won the doubles title, with the No. 3 seeds beating Japan's Momoko Kobori and Chihiro Muramatsu 7-6(3), 6-1 in the final.

The Stanford men were outside the Top 10 to start the season, but that's about to change after the Cardinal beat No. 5 USC 6-1 on Friday and No. 6 UCLA 4-3 this afternoon in Palo Alto.  The matches were part of the inaugural Dick Gould Stanford/SoCal Challenge, which honors the legendary Stanford men's coach.  In today's match with UCLA, Stanford took the doubles point and got wins from William Genesen at line 6, Axel Geller at line 2 and Sameer Kumar at line 3 to clinch the win. Martin Redlicki beat Tom Fawcett at line 1 for the only UCLA point before the clincher; Logan Staggs and Maxime Cressy won the final two points for UCLA at lines 4 and 5.

Price Wins Grade 1 in Ecuador; Loeb and Brengle Reach Midland $100K Final; Vanderbilt Women Blank No. 1 Stanford; US Men Beat Serbia in Davis Cup

Fourteen-year-old Gabby Price won her first ITF Grade 1 title today in Ecuador, beating No. 3 seed Maria Rivera Corado of Guatemala 7-6(5), 6-4.  After reaching the semifinals at last week's Grade 1 in Colombia, Price, the No. 9 seed, will enter the ITF Top 100 for the first time.  Emilio Nava, the No. 6 seed, fell in the boys singles final to No. 3 seed Facundo Diaz Acosta of Argentina 7-5, 6-3.

The finals are set at the $100,000 Dow Tennis Classic in Midland, and it will feature nothing but Americans.

No. 3 seed Madison Brengle , who has marched through the draw this week, handled top seed Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania 6-4, 6-1 in the afternoon semifinal.  In the night match, unseeded Jamie Loeb defeated No. 2 seed Jennifer Brady 7-5, 4-6, 6-4 to advance to the biggest final of her pro career.  After Brady took the second set by breaking Loeb serving at 4-5 30-40, Brady appeared to have seized the momentum when she held to open the third set and then went up 0-40 in the the next game.  But Loeb fought back to hold, and they continued on serve until Loeb got the only break of the third set at 3-all.  Loeb went down 0-30 attempting to consolidate the break, and had to save a break point with a excellent first serve at 30-40, but she held for 5-3.  Brady won the next game quickly leaving Loeb to serve out the match. At 30-all Loeb's backhand just caught the far sideline to give her a match point, but she netted a backhand to give Brady new life.  A good first serve gave Loeb another match point and another excellent first serve ended the considerable suspense.  Loeb and Brengle have played three times, with Brengle winning all three matches, two of which were last year.

The doubles final will feature 2013 NCAA doubles champions Kaitlyn Christian and Sabrina Santamaria, who took out top seeds Mariana Duque-Marino of Colombia and Maria Irigoyen of Argentina 5-7, 7-6(5), 10-4 in a very entertaining semifinal.  The former USC stars led 5-3 in the first set and served for the second set, but once they reached the third set tiebreaker, those missteps were put aside and they dominated play.

Christian and Santamaria will be across the net from another USC star in the final, when they take on Maria Sanchez and her partner, Jessica Pegula.  Sanchez and Pegula, the last team to receive entry into the draw, beat wild cards Sanaz Marand and Whitney Osuigwe 6-4, 1-6, 10-8 in the last match of the evening at the Greater Midland Tennis Center.

In Division I college tennis, the top-ranked Stanford women traveled to No. 2 Vanderbilt, and the home team made a statement, beating the Cardinal 7-0.  Stanford played without junior Melissa Lord, and three matches went to three sets, but it was still an impressive performance by the Commodores.  For more on the match, see this article from the Stanford website.

The United States Davis Cup team advanced to the 2018 quarterfinals with Steve Johnson and Ryan Harrison winning the doubles point to give the USA a 3-0 sweep of Serbia.  Johnson and Harrison defeated  Nikola Milojevic and Miljan Zekic 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. The US team will play the winner of the Belgium - Hungary tie, which is currently 2-1 in favor of Belgium.  For more on today's match, see this article from usta.com.

January Aces; Nava, Price Reach Ecuador Grade 1 Finals; Korda Awarded ATP New York Wild Card; Norrie Posts Huge Win in Davis Cup; Loeb, Brady to Meet in Dow $100K Semis

My review of January's top performances is up today at the Tennis Recruiting Network, with 14 juniors and former collegians featured. Whether its a junior slam title or a first win on the Futures circuit, these achievements are a satisfying start to a new year.

The ITF Junior Circuit moved from Colombia to Ecuador this week, and two Americans have advanced to Saturday's final of the Grade 1 tournament.  Sixteen-year-old Emilio Nava, the No. 6 seed, will face No. 3 seed Facundo Diaz Acosta of Argentina for the boys title, and 14-year-old Gabby Price, the No. 9 seed, plays Maria Rivera Corado of Guatemala, the No. 3 seed, for the girls title.  Price, who reached the semifinals of last week's Grade 1 in Colombia, will be playing in her first Grade 1 final.  Nava reached the final of the Pan American Closed Grade B1 last fall.

Kacie Harvey and her partner from Ireland, Georgia Drummy, won the girls doubles title, with the top seeds beating No. 4 seeds Laura Rico Garcia and Antonia Samudio of Colombia 6-3, 6-0 in the final.

The New York Open, which is the ATP men's event replacing the Memphis tour stop, announced today that 17-year-old Sebastian Korda has been given a main draw wild card.  The Australian Open boys champion, whose ATP ranking is currently 846, will be making his ATP debut, having played only as high as the Challenger level previously.  The tournament, held on Long Island,  begins on February 11th.

The first round of Davis Cup has begun, with the United States taking a 2-0 lead on the road in Serbia.  Sam Querrey defeated Laslo Djere 6-7(4), 6-2, 7-5 to put the US up 1-0 and John Isner defeated Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(4) in the second rubber.  Ryan Harrison and Steve Johnson could clinch the tie with a win in the doubles on Saturday.

Great Britain is taking on Spain in Spain in another World Group tie, without Andy Murray or Kyle Edmund, although Edmund is with the team.  Liam Broady lost the opening rubber to Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(6) and when former TCU star Cameron Norrie went down two sets to none to ATP No. 23 Roberto Bautista Agut it looked as if Great Britain would head to the doubles down 2-0.  But after falling behind a break in the third set, Norrie rallied to earn an improbable 4-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 victory in the first five-set match of his career.  Norrie, who left TCU last spring after his junior year, is currently 114 in the ATP rankings.  Former University of Virginia star Dominic Inglot will be playing doubles for Great Britain Saturday, with Jamie Murray. For more on Norrie's win, see this article from the BBC.

At the $100,000 Dow Tennis Classic in Midland, No. 2 seed Jennifer Brady and unseeded Jamie Loeb have advanced to the semifinals with wins today.  Brady got past Bianca Andreescu of Canada 6-4, 7-5, while Loeb easily won the 2015 NCAA singles final rematch with Canada's Carol Zhao 6-2, 6-0.   Brady, who also was in the NCAA field in 2015, losing in the third round to Danielle Collins, came up with two great backhands with Andreescu serving at 5-6 30-30 to secure the victory.  Loeb faced only two break points against Zhao and played at a level above what she had shown in her first and second round victories.  Loeb and Brady will play Saturday for a place in the final.  In the top half, No. 1 seed Mihaela Buzarnescu of Romania beat Rebecca Peterson of Sweden 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3 and will face the winner of tonight's match between No. 3 seed Madison Brengle and No. 8 seed Evgeniya Rodina of Russia.

Live streaming for the tournament is available here.

Top seed Kei Nishikori is through to the final of the $125,000 ATP Challenger in Dallas, beating former Michigan star Jason Jung of Taiwan 6-4, 6-4 this afternoon.  Nishikori will face either Denis Kudla or Mackenzie McDonald, who play later this evening.  The free live stream is available here.

Pro Circuit Update; ITF Announces More Details of New Transition Tour; Appalachian State Tennis Player Suspended in Racial Incident; Ohio State Men, Stanford Women Top USTA Collegiate Rankings

My coverage of the Dow Tennis Classic in Midland will now be based on the live stream, with my trip there complete after the day matches yesterday.  Ken Thomas of RadioTennis.com is handling the commentary for the women's matches this week.

Seven of the eight quarterfinalists have been decided with No. 2 seed Jennifer Brady and No. 3 seed Madison Brengle advancing in straight sets.  A third American will join them, the winner of tonight's match between No. 4 seed Sonya Kenin and Jamie Loeb.

In addition to the women's $100,000 event this week, the men are in Dallas for the $125,000 ATP Challenger there, with three of the four semifinals now decided.  Former UCLA Bruin Mackenzie McDonald, who defeated No. 2 seed Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 2-6, 6-3 in the second round, cruised past No. 7 seed Tim Smyczek in today's quarterfinals 6-4, 6-2 and will face Denis Kudla, who beat No. 3 seed Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-3. Former Michigan star Jason Jung of Taiwan reached the semifinals with an impressive 6-1, 6-1 victory over Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia and will face the winner of tonight's match between top seed Kei Nishikori and former Tulane star Dominic Koepfer of Germany.

The live streaming for Dallas, with commentary by Mike Cation, is available here.

The other USTA Pro Circuit event this week is a $15,000 men's Futures in Palm Coast Florida.  Qualifier Strong Kirchheimer (Northwestern) and Junior Ore (Texas A&M) are the Americans in the quarterfinals.  Ore ousted No. 2 seed Pedro Sakamoto of Brazil in the first round.

The ITF released more information on the Transition Tour, part of the restructuring of the ITF Pro Circuit that was announced last year.  The $15,000 events like Palm Coast will be radically changed beginning in 2019 and they will no longer offer ATP ranking points.  That goes for women's $15,000 events as well, most of which are in the summer here in the United States.  These events will no longer be 9 or 10 days in length but will be limited to 7 days, including qualifying, so the 128-draws, so common in Florida this time of year, will be reduced to 24.  Places will be reserved for Top 100 juniors in these events, which could lead to more interest in ITF Junior Circuit competition, which a number of young players with pro aspirations have begun to bypass in recent years.  In order to make these events cheaper to stage, there will also be fewer officials employed. Whether this is a net gain for the sport remains to be seen.  The stated goal in these changes is to have 750 men and 750 women considered as professionals, rather than the thousands who now currently have an ATP or WTA point.

Here is the information the ITF sent out today, and there is a short video with a broader overview available here.

Appalachian State tennis player Spencer Brown has been suspended from the team indefinitely due to remarks he made to an opponent from North Carolina A&T in a match on Sunday.  The Winston-Salem Journal has details on how the incident came to light and Brown's current status.  I would imagine that most people who read this 2015 article about Brown from USTA South Carolina are surprised that he is involved in an incident like this.

The USTA conducts Division I team rankings separately from those produced by the ITA, with their first ranking poll released yesterday. The women's rankings are nearly identical, but the men's rankings contain some variation, especially at No. 1.

The USTA men's top 10:

1. Ohio State 2. North Carolina 3. Wake Forest 4. Georgia 5. USC 6. UCLA 7. Texas A&M 8. Florida 9. Baylor 10. Stanford The women's Top 10: 1. Stanford 2. Vanderbilt 3. Florida 4. Georgia 5. North Carolina 6. Pepperdine 7. Texas Tech 8. Georgia Tech 9. Duke 10. Michigan The ITA rankings had no changes in the women's Top 10, even after last weekend's Kickoff results: 1. Stanford 2. Vanderbilt 3. Florida 4. Georgia 5. North Carolina 6. Pepperdine 7. Georgia Tech 8. Texas Tech 9. Duke 10. Michigan The men's ITA rankings this week are the same for the Top 7.  Two teams, TCU and Texas, fell out of the Top 10, with Baylor and Stanford moving up. 1. Wake Forest 2. Ohio State 3. North Carolina 4. Georgia 5. USC 6. UCLA 7. Texas A&M 8. Florida 9. Baylor 10. Stanford