My Tucson ITF J300 Recap; Qualifier Jalbert, Lucky Loser Krishnakumar Reach San Diego ITF J300 Quarterfinals; Easter Bowl Wild Cards; Antonius Beats Bigun at Bakersfield M25

©Colette Lewis 2026--

San Diego CA--

Before I get to today's third round singles and quarterfinal doubles action at the ITF J300 North American Regional Championships at the sizzling Barnes Tennis Center, here is a link to my Tennis Recruiting Network's recap of last week's ITF J300 Tucson, with Andy Johnson and Camille Allegre earning their first titles at that level.  

Although Allegre lost in the first round here on Tuesday, No. 1 seed Johnson is still in the running for the junior version of the sunshine double, defeating No. 15 seed Izyan Ahmad 6-2, 6-1 this morning to reach the quarterfinals. Johnson will play unseeded Teodor Davidov, famous for his only-forehands playing style, after Davidov defeated wild card David Wu 6-3, 7-6(2). It will be the first meeting on the ITF Junior Circuit.

In the other quarterfinal in the top half, Tucson finalist Ryan Cozad, the No. 3 seed, will face No. 11 seed Roshan Santhosh for the second time on the ITF Junior Circuit. Cozad, who beat unseeded Gurjot Singh 7-6(4), 6-1 defeated Santhosh, a 6-3, 6-1 winner over No. 8 seed Agassi Rusher, 6-1, 6-3 in the second round of the ITF J300 in Indian Wells last year.

No. 2 seed Gavin Goode needed two and a half hours to get past No. 13 seed and fellow lefthander Ford McCollum 7-6(3), 7-6(1) and will face lucky loser Yashwin Krishnakumar, who continued his impressive play with a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 7 seed Safir Azam.

Krishnakumar, playing in just his second ITF J300 tournament, said he changed his strategy since losing to Azam twice in USTA events in the 14s in 2023 and the 16s in 2024.

"This is the first time I've beaten him," said the 17-year-old from Dublin California, who is headed to UC-Irvine this fall. "He doesn't really rush you that much, and before when I played him I would try to overplay and make a lot of mistakes. This time, I tried to construct the points and rally smart. I did a good job of coming in after long rallies and finish points off, and any time he tried to be aggressive and come to the net, my passing shots were pretty good."

The fourth quarterfinal will feature doubles partners Tanishk Konduri, the No. 4 seed, and Marcel Latak, the No. 9 seed.

Konduri defeated No. 14 seed Zavier Augustin 6-3, 6-2, while Latak downed unseeded Kamil Stolarczyk 6-1, 7-6(6).

Konduri and Latak, the No. 2 seeds this week in doubles and through to Thursday's doubles semifinals, began playing doubles together late last year in Florida, and they met in the quarterfinals in singles at the Orange Bowl, where they also reached the doubles final. 

"We warm up together every day and I've hit with him like twenty times in the last two weeks," said Konduri, who won their Orange Bowl quarterfinal 6-4, 6-3. "I can't speak for Marcel, but to me, it's just part of the sport. Honestly, almost everybody here you know and you've seen many times."

"I don't think it really affects how you perform," Latak said of their time spent together off the court. "We probably won't warm up with each other tomorrow, but if we don't find anyone else, maybe."

"It's going to be a good match," Konduri said. "Even when we play practice matches, it's always good quality. I'm just looking forward to enjoying playing good tennis."

The girls quarterfinals features six seeds, all of whom play each other, with Tucson finalist Allison Wang and qualifier Sylvana Jalbert meeting in the quarterfinal between unseeded players.

Wang defeated unseeded Aarini Bhattacharya 6-4, 6-2, while Jalbert fought back to eliminate No. 4 seed Lani Chang 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

After a quick first set, Jalbert knew that she had to make some changes in her approach.

"I just decided I was going to play more consistent," said the 15-year-old from Maryland, who is No. 1 in the USTA 16s rankings. "Just grind out points instead of trying to finish it quick and early. I felt like I was getting too desperate in the first set, so I decided to slow things down a little bit."

Jalbert said she is feeling fine physically after five matches in five days, and felt comfortable from her first match in the main draw. 

"It took me a little bit to get used to the courts and the conditions, but by the first round of the main draw, I had adjusted pretty well," said Jalbert, who trains with Vince Pulupa and Mateo Cevallos at OSSA Tennis Academy. "The courts are slower than in Tucson and I just felt like I had to ready myself for longer points, not get frustrated when I try to put away a shot and it doesn't go."

Top seed Nadia Lagaev of Canada had her hands full with unseeded Carlota Moreno on Stadium Court this morning, but emerged with a 7-6(2), 6-4 victory. She will face No. 5 seed Sarah Ye, who beat No. 9 seed Adla Lopez 7-5, 6-3. Lagaev, 18, and Ye, 16, met last year the second round of a J200 in Canada, with Lagaev winning 6-0, 6-1.

A second Canadian advanced to the quarterfinals, with No. 14 seed Avery Alexander beating No. 3 seed Olivia Traynor 6-4, 6-2. Alexander will play No. 11 seed Isabelle DeLuccia, who beat No. 6 seed Carrie-Anne Hoo 6-1, 6-3.

In the bottom quarter, No. 2 seed Jordyn Hazelitt defeated No. 16 seed Brooke Wallman 7-5, 6-2 and will play No. 12 seed Hannah Ayrault, who beat No. 8 seed Thara Gowda 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. Ayrault and Hazelitt have one head-to-head meeting on the ITF Junior Circuit, back in July of 2024, with Ayrault beating Hazelitt 6-3, 6-1 in the second round of a J60 in Orlando on clay.

The doubles semifinals are set for Thursday, with the top four boys seeds all advancing.

Tucson champions and No. 1 seeds Gavin Goode and Ryan Cozad barely escaped in their quarterfinal match with Felix Roussel of Canada and Mason Vaughan. Down 6-3 and 2-1 with Vaughan serving, Goode and Cozad won five straight games to force a match tiebreaker, but couldn't sustain their momentum. Up 9-7 in the tiebreaker, they lost both points and when Vaughan knocked off a volley winner, Goode had to hold serve in the next point to stay alive. A good first serve and a Cozad putaway saved the match point, and they closed out the match with a Cozad volley winner and Goode forehand up the middle.

They will play No. 4 seeds Xavier Augustin and Vihaan Reddy, who beat the fifth-seeded Canadian team of Joshua Adamson and Dani Szabo 7-6(5), 6-2.

No. 2 seeds Konduri and Latak defeated No. 7 seeds Izyan Ahmad and Canada's Quincy Yao 6-3, 6-1 and will play No. 3 seeds Xavier Massotte of Canada and Roshan Santhosh. Massotte and Santhosh came back to defaeted No. 6 seeds Safir Azam and Mason Taube 5-7, 6-3, 10-5.

Girls No. 1 seeds Carrie-Anne Hoo and Sarah Ye reached the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over unseeded Kylie Liu and Elena Zhao. They will play No. 7 seeds Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann and Karlin Schock, who defeated No. 3 seeds Lani Chang and Brooke Wallman 6-3, 3-6, 10-5.

No. 6 seeds Nadia Lagaev and Clemence Mercier of Canada defeated unseeded Ellery Mendell and Carlota Moreno 4-6, 6-1, 10-3 and will play No. 5 seeds Emery Combs and Jordyn Hazelitt. Combs and Hazelitt beat No. 2 seeds Hannah Ayrault and Capucine Jauffret 6-0, 6-2.

The Easter Bowl wild cards are below, with action beginning Saturday for the 12s and 14s divisions. The 16s and 18s begin Tuesday and run through next Sunday. Temperatures are expected to be in the low 100s throughout the event.

Boys 12s: Harvey Baek, Gaelen Thompson Healy
Boys 14s: Davidson Jackson, Keita Iida
Boys 16s: Anay Kulkarni, Indra Vergne, Smyan Thuta, Kensho Ford
Boys 18s: Arin Pallegar, Wesley Cotton, Rishvanth Krishna, Colin McPeek

Girls 12s: Malee Coupal
Girls 14s: Jacqueline Nick, Danielle Han, Cataleya Brown
Girls 16s: Tanvi Pandey, Blake Chang, Alexandra Grilliot, Emery June Martin
Girls 18s: Abigail Haile, Olivia de Los Reyes, Kalista Papadopoulos, Sophie Suh

At the M25 in Bakersfield California, 16-year-old wild card Michael Antonius is through to the second round after defeating No. 7 seed and 2024 Roland Garros boys champion Kaylan Bigun(UCLA) 7-5, 6-4. Antonius will play 30-year-old Jonathan Mridha of Sweden in the second round Thursday.

Stolarczyk Prevents Repeat of Tucson Collapse, Ousts No. 5 Seed, Lucky Loser Krishnakumar Rolls Past No. 12 Seed to Reach San Diego J300 Third Round; Second Seed Hazelitt Saves Two Match Points to Advance; Antonius Faces Bigun at Bakersfield M25

©Colette Lewis 2026--

San Diego CA--

Record heat in usually temperate San Diego contributed to lengthy matches Tuesday, with a number of three-hour plus contests as the seeded players took to the Barnes Tennis Center courts for the first time at the ITF J300 North American Regional Championships. 

In contrast to last week's second round at the J300 in Tucson, most of the seeds did survive those battles, although five boys seeds and four girls seeds were eliminated.

The highest of those departing seeds was No. 5 Xavier Massotte of Canada, who lost in to Kamil Stolarczyk 4-6, 6-2, 6-4 in one of those three-hour plus matches.

Stolarczyk was up 5-2 in the third set, but couldn't serve it out, a scenario that harkened back to his second round match in Tucson against Safir Azam, when he let a 5-1 lead in the third set slip away, losing six straight games to the No. 7 seed. It didn't help his mood to see Azam on the sidelines of his match today.

"It was kind of tough because Safir said 'he's going to choke this again' and it really got into my head a little bit," said the 16-year-old from New York. "I told him kindly to stop talking, got a point penalty, but then I clutched up and served well to close it out."

After dropping the opening set, Stolarczyk made adjustments to his approach. 

"I started putting more toss in my balls for sure, started going for less, but keeping the same pace," Stolarczyk said. "I knew either I was going to win or was going to lose horribly, because I was playing pretty bad in the first set, but I started play much better."

In the final game, Stolarczyk held at love, with little to suggest the trauma of Tucson was on his mind.

"I felt comfortable going into that game, honestly," said Stolarczyk, who trains with Robbie Wagner at Wagner's academy on Long Island. "I felt pretty loose, because on the changeovers, I rested my legs, which were pretty tight from 5-2 onwards. But I served well, started going for a higher percentage on the first serve so he couldn't attack as much and that really helped me pull through."

Stolarczyk will face No. 9 seed Marcel Latak, who defeated Gabriel Jessup 7-6(4), 6-2. Stolarczyk and Latak have their Polish heritage in common.

"We're both Polish, and it's going to be a great match," said Stolarczyk, who speaks fluent Polish with his parents immigrating here, although he was born in the United States.

Teodor Davidov needed more than three hours to defeat No. 6 seed Vihaan Reddy 7-6(2), 2-6, 6-3, but he moves into the round of 16 Wednesday against wild card David Wu of San Diego. Wu, a Harvard recruit, beat No. 10 seed Dani Szabo of Canada 6-1, 6-3, but that scoreline does not begin to suggest the battle it was, with 20-stroke rallies the norm, with the 16 games taking 140 minutes to play.

Top seed Andrew Johnson extended his winning streak to six games, but the Tucson J300 champion needed a comeback to defeated Canadian left-hander Felix Roussel 4-6, 6-1, 6-1. Johnson will face No. 15 seed Izyan Ahmad in a rematch of the 2024 Easter Bowl 14s final, won by Johnson 6-0, 6-2. Ahmad defeated wild card Colter Amey, 6-3, 6-3 today.

The match that had might have set a record for length was cut short today when No. 16 seed Jerrid Gaines Jr. retired with an illness against Gurjot Singh, who led 6-7(13), 6-4, 2-1 when Gaines called for the trainer and did not continue. The first set took 95 minutes to play and was nearing the three-hour mark when Gaines retired.  Singh will face Tucson finalist and No. 3 seed Ryan Cozad, who beat qualifier Loic Massotte of Canada 6-2, 6-4.

Bucking the day's trend, the fifth seed to fall went out in a hurry, with lucky loser Yashwin Krishnakumar beating No. 12 seed Joshua Adamson of Canada 6-1, 6-2.  But Krishnakumar was hardly fresh, having needed over three hours to win his first round match over Orange Bowl 16s champion Matias Reyniak 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. 

Krishnakumar had less than 30 minutes notice Monday after Tyler Lee withdrew with an illness.

"I wasn't expecting to play, but I came here before the 9 a.m. matches and I warmed up," said the 17-year-old from Northern California. "Going to sleep the day before I don't know that I expected to wake up and play a three-hour and 15-minute match."

Krishnakumar hadn't played Adamson, but had received some scouting reports from friends.

"Some people told me before the match that he's a big lefty and he tries to hit the ball pretty hard," Krishnakumar said. "I think I did a good job of keep the ball out of his strike zone and he struggled keeping up in the longer rallies, so I just tried to make every rally as long as possible. And I was holding serve pretty easily, so that gave me confidence too."

Krishnakumar did not play Tucson, opting instead for a UTR Pro Tennis Tour event in Las Vegas as preparation for this week. 

"I'm playing this and I'm playing Easter Bowl right after, so it's kind of back-to-back and I wanted to have a break in between," said Krishnakumar who reached the quarterfinals of the Easter Bowl 18s last year.

Krishnakumar will face No. 7 seed Azam in the third round Wednesday after Azam defeated qualifier Advay Singh 7-5, 6-3.

"I've played Safir a couple of times and every time we play it's pretty close," Krishnakumar said. "He's a good player, so we'll see."

Two girls matches went to third set tiebreakers, with Tucson finalist Allison Wang defeating No. 7 seed Capucine Jauffret for the second time in five days, this time by a score of 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5).  Wang had beaten Jauffret 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals of Tucson last Friday, but this match was much closer with Jauffret's level much higher than in Tucson. But at down 5-3 in the tiebreaker, Wang came up with the big shots, with a forehand forcing an error to get to match point and closing it out with a backhand winner.

Wang wlll face Aarini Bhattacharya, who beat No. 10 seed Karlin Schock 6-2, 1-6, 6-2. Wang defeated Bhattacharya 6-2, 7-5 in the final of a J60 in Costa Rica back in January.

Second seed Jordyn Hazelitt survived in her first junior match in six weeks, defeating doubles partner Emery Combs 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(7).

Hazelitt, a 15-year-old from Nevada, served for the match at 5-4 in the third and had a match point at 40-30. But Combs crushed a forehand return winner on a second serve to save it, then held and broke to serve for the match herself at 6-5. She lost the game at love, forcing a tiebreaker, but did earn a match point with Hazelitt serving at 5-6. Although the serving was shaky for both girls, Hazelitt came up with a big first serve when she needed it to save that match point.

Combs got another when Hazelitt sent a forehand long for 7-6, but Combs double faulted on her second match point, then missed a volley to give Hazelitt a second match point, which she converted with her backhand forcing an error.

Top seed Nadia Lagaev of Canada defeated wild card Armira Kockinis 6-0, 6-1 and will face Carlota Moreno, who beat No. 15 seed Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann 6-4, 6-3. 

Qualifier Sydney Jalbert defeated No. 13 seed Andrea Cabio of Canada 6-0, 3-6, 6-1.

No. 6 seed Carrie-Anne Hoo survived in a three-hour 15-minute marathon on Stadium court to close out the singles action for the day, beating Reilly Rhodes 6-1, 4-6, 7-5 after Rhodes had served for the match 5-4 in the third.

The third round of singles begins at 9 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time Wednesday, with the quarterfinals of doubles also on the schedule.

The only USTA Pro Circuit tournament this week is an M25 in Bakersfield California.

Qualifying was completed today, with Lucca Liu(UC-Santa Barbara), Christopher Papa(San Diego Christian, Pepperdine),  Alex Kobelt(Ohio State, UNLV), Daniil Kakhniuk(New Mexico), Ryan Haviland(Stanford) and Anju Watane(North Carolina) the Americans through to the main draw.

Wild cards were given to Gus Grumet, the 2024 Kalamazoo 16s champion, Gianluca Brunkow(UC-Santa Barbara), Ron Hohmann(LSU, Michigan State) and 15-year-old Michael Antonius.

Antonius will face 2024 Roland Garros boys champion Kaylan Bigun, the No. 7 seed, in the first round Wednesday.

Daniel Milavsky(Harvard) and Andrew Fenty(Michigan) are the top two seeds. 

Kockinis Defeats Tucson Champion Allegre in Opening Round of ITF J300 San Diego, Davidov Returns to Junior Hard Courts After Pro Circuit Wins on Clay; Nistad, Selvan Claim J60 Titles

©Colette Lewis 2026--
San Diego CA--

Armira Kockinis is into week three of her ITF Junior Circuit swing, having reached the semifinals of the J200 in Las Vegas and the quarterfinals as a qualifier at last week's J300 in Tucson. Yet despite all that tennis, the 16-year-old from La Habra Heights California still found the energy to start this week's ITF J300 North American Championships in San Diego with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 victory over Tucson champion Camille Allegre.

"This is my 17th match, my third tournament in a row," said Kockinis, who received a wild card into the main draw. "So my arm is on its way out. So lately, I've been trying to play with more variety and brain, be a little smarter, not just smash winners, work through points, use my legs and work hard. The legs are holding up for now."

Allegre had just one day off between her title and a first round this week, as she was not seeded in San Diego due to the one week lag in the rankings used. Her first serve was not as reliable as it had been last week, and Kockinis's strategy of staying in rallies rather than trying to end them quickly paid off.

Kockinis was not able to serve out the match at 5-1, with Allegre playing more aggressively on return and flashing some of the form she displayed in Tucson, but Kockinis showed no sign of frustration, and broke Allegre to secure the win.

"I knew it was going to be a battle, because she's coming off a really good win in Tucson," Kockinis said. "I knew she had a little bit of confidence and momentum from Tucson, so I just went into it with the mindset to give it all I got, work hard, and hopefully it would work out for me, and it did."

Kockinis's draw doesn't get any easier, as she faces top seed Nadia Lagaev of Canada Tuesday.

"I think going into that match, I'll just do what I did here," Kockinis said. "Do the best I can, focus on every point, don't focus on who I'm playing, focus on my own game. I'll just be smarter, do more than just blasting balls, and stay positive."

Allegre avenged the singles loss in doubles, with Allegre and partner Ciara Harding beating Kockinis and Ariana Morris 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 in first round doubles action this afternoon.

Tucson finalist Allison Wang also had a quick turnaround with a first round match today. The 15-year-old from San Jose California beat Harding 6-4, 6-3 and will play No. 7 seed Capucine Jauffret, whom she beat 6-3, 6-2 in the Tucson semifinals last Friday.

Fifteen-year-old Teodor Davidov made his 2026 junior debut today at the Barnes Tennis Center, defeating qualifier Keshav Muthuvel 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Davidov had stuck close to his Bradenton Florida home for the USTA Pro Circuit M15 circuit on green clay, earning his first ATP points in a run to the quarterfinals in Naples, while adding another win the following week. 

"It's a totally different game," Davidov said of going from Pro Circuit back to juniors. "And it's one of my first tournaments on hard courts in a few months. So today's match took a little more adjusting. In the pro tournaments you always play free, you're always the underdog, and here it's a little different. But I try to relax myself, just not think about that, just get better every day and just improve."

Davidov also had to adjust to calling his own lines again, which he did not have to do on the Pro Circuit.

"Actually I got used to the clay courts having marks," Davidov said. "So I remember a few times in this match when the ball was really far out, but I didn't call it. But it's ok, I'm getting used to it."

Davidov is also used to being something of a celebrity in tennis circles, as he does not hit a backhand, but switches the racquet from his right hand to his left hand as required to hit only forehands.

"I try to put that to the side and just focus solely on my game, get better every day," Davidov said of the many comments he receives from people who are seeing him play for the first time. "I pretty used to it, I don't give it much thought."

Davidov sees several advantages to his unconventional playing style. "You have two weapons and you can accelerate the ball more on each side," Davidov said. "You can cover the court more, hit more angles. That's my game, opening the court, playing aggressive."

Davidov will face No. 6 seed Vihaan Reddy in the second round Tuesday.

With excellent weather on Monday and ideal conditions forecast for Tuesday, 19 first round doubles matches were played today, with second round matches in both singles and doubles set for tomorrow.

Tucson champions Ryan Cozad and Gavin Goode, the top seeds again this week, will play Davidov and Jerrid Gaines Jr. in the second round.

Carrie-Ann Hoo and Sarah Ye are the No. 1 seeds in the girls doubles.

In addition to the J300 in Tucson, where Americans captured all four titles, US juniors won two J60s titles last week.

Shristi Selvan swept the titles in Puerto Rico, advancing through round robin play and defeating Bela Martinez Rivero of Puerto Rico 6-3, 6-4 in the final for her first ITF Junior Circuit singles title. The 15-year-old from Maryland partnered with Carolina Castro of Puerto Rico for the doubles title, beating Audrey Dussault and Puerto Rico's Aurora Lugo 6-2, 6-2 in the final.

Carson Kucher and Indra Vergne won the boys doubles titles, beating Ernesto Del Valle and Marco Perez of Puerto Rico 6-4, 6-2 in the final. 

In El Salvador, 16-year-old Peter Nistad of New Jersey won his second ITF Junior Circuit singles title, with that tournament also played in the new round robin/knockout format. Nistad defeated 15-year-old Luke Jones 6-3, 6-2 in an all-USA final.

David Bvunzawabaya won the doubles title in El Salvador, with partner Thomas O'Neil of Canada. The No. 3 seeds defeated the unseeded team of Nistad and Guatemala's Antonio Carlos Castellanos 6-2, 6-4 in the final.

Sarah Stoyanov and her partner Sandra Talamo Pinto of Venezuela won the girls doubles title, with the No. 1 seeds beating No. 4 seeds Payton Dith and Romy Gravenor of Canada 6-3, 3-6, 12-10 in the final. 

At the J100 in in Loughborough England, No. 8 seed Tomas Laukus reached the final, falling to No. 3 seed Ken Ink of Estonia 6-1, 6-3.

At the J60 in France, 16-year-old Diego Custodio Wagner won his fourth ITF Junior Circuit doubles title, this one with partner Karlo Jukic of France. The No. 2 seeds defeated unseeded Yuto Hisano of Japan and Filip Malis of Canada 6-4, 6-3 in the final.

San Diego ITF J300 Begins Monday with Lagaev and Johnson Top Seeds; Newman Falls in J300 Final in Brazil; Nine Americans Competing in J500 Banana Bowl; Losses for Top-Ranked Ohio State Men and Georgia Women; Quinn Wins Phoenix Challenger

The players have made their way six hours west for the second of the J300s this month, although the San Diego tournament, as an ITF Regional Closed event, allows only players from Canada and the United States. Most of the boys seeds are the same as last week's in Tucson, although three of them did not play last week: Canadians Dani Szabo and Joshua Adamson and New Yorker Izyan Ahmad.

The top two girls seeds did not play in Tucson: Nadia Lagaev of Canada and Jordyn Hazelitt of Nevada. 

San Diego J300 North American Regional Championships Seeds:

Girls:
1. Nadia Lagaev (CAN)
2. Jordyn Hazelitt
3. Olivia Traynor
4. Lani Chang
5. Sarah Ye
6. Carrie-Ann Hoo
7. Capucine Jauffret
8. Thara Gowda
9. Adla Lopez
10. Karlin Schock
11. Isabelle DeLuccia
12. Hannah Ayrault
13. Andrea Cabio (CAN)
14. Avery Alexander (CAN)
15. Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann
16. Brooke Wallman

Boys:

1. Andy Johnson

2. Gavin Goode

3. Ryan Cozad

4. Tanish Konduri

5. Xavier Massotte (CAN)

6. Vihaan Reddy

7. Safir Azam

8. Agassi Rusher

9. Marcel Latak

10. Dani Szabo (CAN)

11. Roshan Santhosh

12. Joshua Adamson (CAN)

13. Ford McCollum

14. Zavier Augustin

15. Izyan Ahmad

16. Jerrid Gaines Jr

The qualifiers from today's final round include just one Canadian, with the rest from the United States:  Sylvana Jalbert, Rose Biria, Daniela Del Mastro, Ava Quincy Brewer, Enya Hamilton, Lyla Messler, Arjun Krishnan, Loic Massotte(CAN), Gabriel Jessup, Keshav Muthuvel, Jacob Hewitt and Advay Singh. Anthony Dry received entry as a lucky loser.

Play begins Monday for the unseeded players, with the seeds beginning play on Tuesday. Tucson champion Camille Allegre and finalist Allison Wang are both in action Monday, with Allegre playing wild card Armira Kockinis and Wang facing Ciara Harding, who did not play Tucson.

Tucson produced American singles champions yesterday and today at the J300 in Porto Alegre, Brazilians took the winners' trophies. No. 3 seed Nauhany Leme Da Silva defeated No. 4 seed Welles Newman 6-1, 7-5 in the girls final for her second J300 title this year, while unseeded Pedro Henrique Chabalgoity won his first career title above the J60 level, ending the winning streak of Paraguay J300 champion Damir Zhalgasbay of Kazakhstan with a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) decision in the final. 

The ITF J500 Banana Bowl begins Monday with one US boy and eight US girls in the 48-player draws, all but two of them seeded: Jack Secord[4], Londyn McCord, Nancy Lee[10], Maggie Sohns[12], Anita Tu[16], Kori Montoya, Yael Saffar[13], Welles Newman[5] and Ireland O'Brien[15].

Yannick Alvarez of Puerto Rico is the top boys seed, with Victoria Barros of Brazil the girls top seed after taking a wild card into the event.

The ITF preview of the tournament is here.

The Division I college season has been difficult to get a handle on all year, and since the Team Indoor Championships it has been more confusing with each passing weekend. Yesterday the No. 1 Georgia women lost to No. 9 Texas 4-1 in Austin, with the Bulldogs taking their second loss in SEC play. Today No. 2 Ohio State lost to No. 12 USC 4-1 in Los Angeles, after the Buckeyes had lost 4-0 to No. 6 Pepperdine on Wednesday.

The men's side hasn't been any easier to understand, with No. 1 Ohio State losing 4-3 to No. 46 Michigan State today in Columbus, with 2024 Kalamazoo 18s champion Matt Forbes clinching for the Spartans at line 1 over Jack Anthrop. It's the first regular season conference loss in Columbus for the Buckeyes since 2003.

2026 Team Indoor Champion Texas, currently No. 3 in the rankings, has now loss three of its last four matches, falling to No. 28 Oklahoma 4-1 today in Austin.

See CollegeTennisRanks.com's Week Ahead and Week Behind tabs to follow all the results as the upsets are becoming so frequent that it's hard to know whether that term actually fits.

Ethan Quinn, the 2023 NCAA singles champion for the University of Georgia, won the ATP Challenger 175 in Phoenix today, the biggest title of his pro career. The 22-year-old from California, seeded No. 8, defeated No. 7 seed Marcos Giron, the 2014 NCAA singles champion for UCLA,  7-6(1), 4-6, 7-5 in the final. Quinn moves to a career-high ATP ranking of 56 with the title. 

In the doubles, unseeded Patrik Trhac(Idaho State, Utah) and Diego Hidalgo(Florida) won the title, beating top seeds Hugo Nys of Monaco and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France 6-7(6), 6-3, 10-4 in the final. 

Johnson and Allegre Claim ITF J300 Singles Titles, Cozad and Goode Earn Third J300 Title in Doubles, First-Time Pairing Combs and Traynor Capture Girls Doubles in Tucson; Newman Beats Top Seed to Reach Brazil J300 Final

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Tucson AZ--

Sixteen-year-old Southern Californians Andy Johnson and Camille Allegre both claimed a first ITF J300 title Saturday at the Tucson Racquet and Fitness Club, although they began the week at much different places in their junior careers.

The top-seeded Johnson, No. 16 in the ITF junior rankings, had won an M15 USTA Pro Circuit event in Sunrise Florida last month, had competed in the qualifying of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, and had reached a J300 final last October in Texas. The unseeded Allegre, 348 in the ITF junior rankings, had never won a match at a J300 until this week, with her best result on the ITF Junior Circuit a J60 final.

The championship matches Saturday morning were as different as the comfort level between the sun and the shade here in the desert, with Johnson needing barely more than an hour to defeat No. 5 seed Ryan Cozad 6-2, 6-2 and Allegre coming from behind to beat Allison Wang 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 in a two-and-a-half-hour battle.

**

The boys final, starting an hour before the girls due to Cozad's doubles final later in the day, began with a routine hold for Johnson, while it took seven deuces before Cozad got on the board. Johnson got his first break in Cozad's next service game and broke again for the set, with his unforced errors at a minimum and his form unquestionably the best he'd shown all week.

"I think I played a lot better than I had in the last few rounds," said the Rancho Palos Verdes resident. "I took a whole week off before this tournament, so I didn't have a lot of rhythm going into the tournament, but I progressively got better and better."

Cozad had two break points in the opening game of the second set but couldn't convert either, with Johnson winning four straight points from 15-40 down. After Cozad held, Johnson got into a 0-40 hole in his next service game but won five straight points to again avoid the break.

"I had two or three unforced errors in each of those games," Johnson said. "So it was just if I could get the ball in, really, play a good point. I just happened to get lucky, played a few good points."

Johnson broke to go up 4-2, held in a deuce game to take a 5-2 lead and broke at love to close out the title.

"I tried some different things, but he was just super on today," said Cozad, a 17-year-old from Atlanta. "It felt like he barely missed a ball and he had me super off balance. It was a really tough match today and he played really well."

Cozad said that Johnson has made a number of improvements since Cozad defeated him 14 months ago in the second round of the J300 in Costa Rica.

"He's developed a lot more of his shots," said last week's Las Vegas J200 champion, who saw his ten-match winning streak end in today's final. "His serve has gotten better, he was a lot better mentally today, locked in the whole time, I felt like. He's improved in a lot of areas."

Johnson said getting his first J300 title was secondary to the mental progress he felt he made during the week.

"Staying focused, going through this many rounds, plus doubles, I feel like I did that really good," said Johnson, who will be the top seed at the J300 in San Diego next week. "I didn't allow my emotions to take over, even though I felt like I could be playing better. I think I did a pretty good job of keeping my head, because I do have a temper, once in a while, never chuck a racquet or anything, but typical tennis player stuff. That was definitely the biggest box I checked this week."

**

The girls final looked like it might produce a similar result when Wang came out blasting winners, breaking Allegre three times in the opening set with her powerful groundstrokes. 

But Allegre immediately got herself back in the match, taking a 2-0 lead in the second set and winning the final four games from 2-all. Wang made only 36 percent of her first serves and early errors in most rallies required little more from Allegre than her baseline consistency.

"In the first set, she was just playing well," said Allegre, a Aliso Viejo resident. "In the second set, I was being a little bit more aggressive and the balls she was aggressive on, I would counter it and she would go for more and start missing."

In the third set, Allegre again went up 2-0, saw that lead disappear, but broke and held for a 4-2 advantage. Serving at 4-3 Allegre saved two break points at 15-40, but it took her five deuces to finally hold, with Wang beginning to find her level once again. Wang held for 5-4, forcing Allegre to serve out the championship, and again it was a struggle, with Wang fighting off three match points before finally earning a break point after a double fault from Allegre, one of the few first serves she missed in the game. Allegre saved the break point with a backhand on the line forcing an error, and on her fourth match point Wang sent a return well long.

One key reason for Allegre's comeback was her first serve percentage, which was 76 percent overall and 85 percent in the third set.

"I knew I had to get my first serve in," Allegre said. "She's such a good player and she returns so well, so once I missed a first serve the point was over. I had to get it in."

Wang gave credit to Allegre's defense and persistence, while saying she was not at her best.

"I think she played really well and was giving me a hard time," said Wang, a 15-year-old from San Jose California, who had not dropped more than than five games in a match until today. "Physically I wasn't really there today, but she did really well, was able to get my shots back. But this was just another match for me to improve on. The first few matches this week were a good confidence builder, and I think it was a good tournament, actually."

Allegre was excited that her first ITF Junior Circuit title was at the J300 level, but she wasn't willing to call it a surprise.

"I believed in myself and I knew I could do it," said Allegre, who, like Wang, will be unseeded in next week's ITF J300 in San Diego. "I didn't think each match would go as straightforward as it did, but I just stayed focused, stayed in the present."

Allegre will return to her Orange County home tonight and then drive the hour and a half to the Barnes Tennis Center later Sunday to get some time on the courts before her first round match Monday.

**

Although Ryan Cozad's winning streak in singles ended Saturday, he won his second consecutive doubles title, partnering with friend and regular doubles partner Gavin Goode for their third ITF J300 title.

Cozad and Goode, the top seeds, defeated No. 6 seeds Jerrid Gaines Jr. and Cooper Kose of Australia 6-3, 6-4 Saturday afternoon. 

Cozad and Goode got the only break of the first set with Gaines serving at 3-4 and Goode served out the first set. In the second set, they broke Gaines again in the first game and took a 4-0 lead. They were unable to serve it out at 5-2, but got the hold they needed at 5-4.

"We got off to a quick start, got a break in the first and were able to hold until 5-2 in the second," Cozad said. "We played good."

Cozad won the Las Vegas J200 title with Ford McCollum, with Goode not competing in that event, but they were back together this week, after winning the J300 in College Park Maryland last August and the J300 in Houston last October.

"Off court we're really close friends and we spend a lot of time together and that translates on court," Cozad said of the reasons for all their success. "We both return well and serve well, which are the two biggest parts, so we're able to win a lot of matches based off that."

"Also the lefty-righty combo helps a lot," said the 17-year-old Goode, who is the left-hander. "We played a little bit when we were 12 and 13 and really started playing last year, and it's been working, so we're going to keep it going."

Goode and Cozad, who did not need a match tiebreaker all week, are set to go for their fourth J300 title next week in San Diego.

**

While Goode and Cozad have an impressive track record as a team, girls doubles champions Emery Combs and Olivia Traynor had never played together until this week, and weren't planning to play together in Tucson either until Traynor's partner dropped out.

But the sixth-seeded pair felt in sync from the beginning, ending their week by beating top seeds Capucine Jauffret and Great Britain's Hollie Smart 6-3, 7-5.

"I actually felt comfortable from the first practice match we played before the tournament," said the 15-year-old Combs, who now has earned the biggest of her seven ITF Junior Circuit doubles titles. "I felt like we complemented each other really well and communicated really well."

"We played that practice match against our friends Lani Chang and Brooke Wallman, and they're obviously a good team, and we were playing really well together," said Traynor, an 18-year-old from New York. "We're a little bit different, but it works well in doubles. I'm consistent from the baseline and Emery here is a good doubles specialist, all over the net. It's a really good combo, because I can hang for a while and she'll put away the volleys."

Combs and Traynor couldn't convert a deciding point match point with Traynor serving at 5-4 in the second set, but they broke Jauffret in the next game and Combs served out the championship.

They will not be playing together in San Diego, but Traynor doesn't think this will be the first and last time they are partners.

"We're not playing at San Diego, unfortunately, but we'll play another tournament," Traynor said.

**there are no trophies in the photos because the shipment did not arrive in time.

The final of the ITF J300 in Porto Alegre Brazil will be played Sunday, with Welles Newman seeking her biggest title on the ITF Junior Circuit.  In today's semifinal, the 16-year-old from Florida defeated top seed Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi of Argentina 6-2, 3-6, 6-3. She will face No. 3 seed Nauhany Leme Da Silva of Brazil, who advanced when unseeded Tea Kovacevic of Bosnia retired trailing 5-1.

The boys final will feature No. 7 seed Damir Zhalgasbay of Kazakhstan and unseeded Pedro Chabalgoity of Brazil. 

Johnson and Cozad Meet Saturday for Boys Title, Unseeded Wang and Allegre Reach First ITF J300 Final in Tucson; Newman Advances to Semifinals at J300 in Brazil; San Diego J300 Qualifying Begins Saturday

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Tucson AZ--

No. 5 seed Ryan Cozad and top seed Andy Johnson continued their stellar form to advance to the boys singles final Saturday at the ITF J300 Tucson, while unseeded Camille Allegre and Allison Wang meet for the first time in a first final for both at the J300 level.

All four semifinal matches, played simultaneously on a hot and clear morning at the Tucson Racquet and Fitness Club, were decided in straight sets, and all finished within ten minutes of each other.

Cozad was the last of the four to finish, but he wasn't complaining about the length of his 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 7 seed Safir Azam, knowing his history this week.

"He's won all third sets, 5-1 down in one, so when I got up in the second I was pretty nervous, honestly, because I knew he was going to fight and come back," said the 17-year-old from Atlanta, who saw his 4-0 second set lead become 4-3. "He's a great fighter and a great competitor, so I had to keep my foot on the pedal. At 4-3 we had a tight game, I ended up holding at 30 and was able to break at love in the next game. He let up a little bit and I hit some good returns, so it was nice to get out of there."

Cozad, who won both the singles and doubles titles last week at the J200 in Las Vegas, points to a new coaching relationship as one of the reasons for his current winning streak.

"It's multiple things," Cozad said. "I'm doing a lot of really good physical work at home in the gym, and I'm working with Sukhwa Young at Dobsha Academy and he's been really helpful, great with the tactical stuff in my match, and he's helping me stay calm. He keeps it super simple; this is actually the first time he's been with me at a tournament, so it's new, but it's been really good."

While Cozad has benefitted from having Young coaching him during a match, which is now available to all juniors in ITF competition, Johnson doesn't feel the need for that. His coach, Vasile Beches, rarely travels with him, and he has been able to make the adjustments necessary, including in today's 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 10 seed Roshan Santhosh.

"A lot of people say I'm pretty good with that stuff," said the 16-year-old from Rancho Palos Verdes California. "It was how I was brought up with my coach, he showed me the way to understand the tennis more."

Johnson trailed 3-1 in the first set and 2-0 in the second set, and was talking to himself more than usual, but although he was occasionally irritated, he said he maintained his focus. 

"I wasn't out of control today at all," said Johnson, who won his first Pro Circuit title last month at an M15 in Sunrise Florida, but had his winning streak snapped in the first round of qualifying at the BNP Paribas Open early this month. "I was still very focused, maybe a little upset, maybe, I wish I would have done this or that a little bit better, but for the most part, I was completely in the match."

Johnson and Cozad played last January at the J300 in Costa Rica, with Cozad beating Johnson 6-4, 6-1 in the second round en route to the title.

"That was like my fifth ITF," said Johnson, who has since reached the Kalamazoo 16s final, the ITF J300 Pan Am Closed final and the quarterfinals of the US Open Junior Championships and the Orange Bowl. "He's also played a lot of tournaments, so I wouldn't say I have more of an advantage over him. I'll go out there and play my best tennis, talk to my coaches about it, maybe watch some matches he's played, and just have fun tomorrow."

"It'll be fun," Cozad said. "He's playing well."

While both Johnson and Cozad have played in a J300 final, Allegre and Wang will be making their debut in the final of any ITF Junior Circuit tournament above the J60 level.

Allegre once again proved too steady for her opponent, with the 16-year-old from Aliso Viejo California defeating 15-year-old Emery Combs 6-4, 6-1.

Allegre said she has been focusing on improving her first serve percentage and after making 77 percent of her first serves in her 6-0, 6-2 win over No. 2 seed Hollie Smart of Great Britain Thursday, her percentage of 70 today was one of the key to keeping Combs from dictating play.

"She has a really aggressive game," said Allegre, who dropped serve just once in the match. "I knew I had to counter her, I couldn't really miss. As long as I was consistent, she was the one missing. If her shot wasn't a winner that she would normally get, then she would go for more, and start missing. So I knew I had to get into the longer rallies."

Serving for the first set at 5-4, Combs had a break point, but could not convert.

"I knew I had to make my first serve, and I did," Allegre said. "That definitely helped."

Combs, who made only 49 percent of her first serves, lost the opening game of the second set and double faulted in on game point in the fifth game to give Allegre a cushion. Mindful of staying in the present, which Allegre said was a key to her win over Smart, she did not let up and closed out the match on yet another break of the Combs serve.

Allegre lost in the third round last week in Las Vegas, going one round farther than Wang, who has unquestionably found her form this week, posting another stress-free win in beating No. 8 seed Capucine Jauffret 6-3, 6-2.

"In the J200 in Vegas I wasn't really playing well," said the 15-year-old from San Jose California, who has yet to drop a set this week. "It was a little bit conditions, but I came here expecting nothing. Whatever happens, it can't be worse. So this week my confidence has gradually come up more."

Against Jauffret, Wang was expecting a long match, so she didn't really feel in control until she took a 3-1 lead in the second set.

"She runs really fast, so I have to be patient, was what I was thinking," said Wang, whose only ITF Junior Circuit title came at a J60 in Costa Rica in January. "Until then I didn't really want to think I was comfortable, because she could come back."

Wang said she was "a little bit" excited about her first J300 final, but more than that wouldn't be in keeping with the demeanor of her favorite professional player.

"I usually don't get super excited about stuff," Wang said. "I'd rather be calm than like excited or nervous. Mentally, I'm trying to be like (Elena) Rybakina. She doesn't really show anything on the court."

Wang and Allegre have not played before, so Wang is preparing to use the first three games to get a feel for her opponent.

"I just test everything out," said Wang. "I hit all the shots I know how to hit and see how she handles it. That's what I do for everyone."

Allegre will rely on her father Vince, a former All-American at UCLA, who is her coach.

"I'll focus on my end, and my coach will help me during the match," Allegre said. "We'll figure it out together. He'll guide me in the right direction, help me focus on the important points and keep my mind clear."

Ryan Cozad will play in his fourth final in the past eight days tomorrow after singles, with he and Gavin Goode reaching the doubles final after defeating No. 4 seeds Santhosh and Xavier Massotte 7-5, 6-2 this afternoon. Cozad, who won the Las Vegas doubles title with Ford McCollum last week, and Goode, the top seeds, have won two previous J300 titles as a team. They will face No. 6 seeds Jerrid Gaines Jr. and Australia's Cooper Kose, who beat No. 2 seeds Tanishk Konduri and Marcel Latak 6-4, 3-6, 10-7.

Last week in Las Vegas Hollie Smart and Olivia Traynor played doubles together; tomorrow they will play for the title against each other. Smart and Jauffret, the No. 1 seeds, defeated No. 8 seeds Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann and Karlin Schock 7-6(5), 6-0 in Friday afternoon's semifinal. Smart and Jauffret will play No. 6 seeds Traynor and Combs, who beat unseeded Kaya Baker and Armira Kockinis 6-3, 6-1.

The boys singles final is scheduled for 9 a.m. Mountain Standard Time, with the doubles final after suitable rest. The girls singles and doubles finals are set to begin at 10 a.m.

Live scoring via iOnCourt is here.

At the ITF J300 in Porto Alegre Brazil, No. 4 seed Welles Newman has advanced to Saturday's semifinals. Newman defeated unseeded Alyssa James of Jamaica 6-1, 6-2 and will play top seed Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi of Argentina.  Kori Montoya, who had beaten No. 2 seed Sofie Hettlerova of Czechia in the first round, lost in the quarterfinals today to doubles partner Tea Kovacevic of Bosnia.

The qualifying draws are out for next week's ITF J300 North American Regional Championships, with play beginning Saturday at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego.

The qualifying draws did not fill, so both the first and second rounds will be played Saturday, with just one round Sunday to determine the six qualifiers.  Sebastian Godoy is the top seed in the boys qualifying, with Tanvi Pandey the No. 1 seed in girls qualifying.