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Monday, October 14, 2024

Grant and Penickova Placed in Same Group for ITF Junior Finals, Kostovic and Papamalamis Withdraw; Jana Kovackova Earns First ITF J300 Title; Recap of American Titles on ITF Junior Circuit

The draws have been revealed for the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals, which begin Wednesday in Chengdu China. The two American girls who made the eight-player field--Tyra Grant and Kristina Penickova--are both in Group B. Both can still make the semifinals, as the top two in each group advance. The other two girls in Group B are Laura Samson of the Czech Republic, who reached the final at Roland Garros, and Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain, the US Open girls champion.  Group A features Emerson Jones of Australia a two-time girls slam finalist this year; Wakana Sonobe of Japan, the US Open finalist; and Antonio Vergara Rivera of Chile. Vergara was originally the first alternate, but Teodora Kostovic of Serbia withdrew. Sonja Zhiyenbayeva of Kazakhstan is currently the girls alternate.

The boys field is missing the first three junior slam champions of 2024, but US Open boys champion Rafael Jodar of Spain is at the top of Group A, joined by Wimbledon finalist Mees Rottgering of the Netherlands; Australian Open finalist Jan Kumstat of the Czech Republic and Hayden Jones of Australia. Group B features Luca Preda of Romania; Maxim Mrva of the Czech Republic; Charlie Robertson of Great Britain; and Kim Jangjun of Korea. Kim was the original alternate, but Theo Papamalamis of France withdrew. Jiang Fumin of China is currently the boys alternate.

Last week the ITF put together a review of notable achievements by juniors this year, which can be found here.  Yannik Alvarez, who lives in Georgia but represents Puerto Rico on the ITF junior circuit, is featured as the youngest player to win 11 titles in a season. He was 15 at the time this article was published; he turned 16 two days ago.  

Jana Kovackova, the 14-year-old from the Czech Republic, is also in the spotlight, for winning 11 titles in singles and doubles this year, the youngest boy or girl ever to do that. That number is now 13, after she won the singles and doubles titles at the J300 in Casablanca last weekend. Seeded No. 6, Kovackova defeated Luna Vujovic of Serbia 6-4, 6-2 in the singles final. Vujovic, who defeated top seed and Jana's older sister Alena in the quarterfinals, was the 2023 Wimbledon 14U champion; Kovackova won that title this year. The Kovackovas won the doubles title, with the No. 2 seeds defeating No. 4 seeds Maia Burcescu of Romania and Vujovic 6-1, 5-7, 10-2 in the final.

Jana is now up to a career-high 45 in the ITF junior rankings. She is the only girl born in 2010 in the Top 100.

Because I was covering the ITF J300 Pan American Regional Championships last week, I didn't have time to highlight the Americans who won titles that previous weekend, and I don't want to slight the J200 titles by two players who came a long way to play the Pan Am in Houston.  Leena Friedman won the J200 in Taiwan, which was plagued by rain from a typhoon, which required short scoring until the final. Friedman, the top seed, defeated No. 2 seed Allegra Korpanec Davies of Great Britain 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 in the final, but due to her flight to Houston, she and Sabrina Lin were unable to play the doubles final.

Friedman lost in the third round of the Pan Am to eventual champion Maya Iyengar, while Benjamin Willwerth, who won both singles and doubles at the J200 in Japan, fell in semifinals to champion Jack Kennedy. Willwerth, the No. 4 seed in Japan, defeated No. 3 seed Moise Kouame of France 6-4, 6-2; he did not drop a set all week.  Kouame and Willwerth won the doubles title, with the No. 2 seeds beating top seeds Max Exsted and Russia's Timofei Derapasko 2-6, 7-5, 10-8 in the final.

Last weekend, 15-year-old Reagan Levine won her first ITF Junior Circuit title at the J60 in Mexico. Seeded No. 13, Levine lost only 12 games total, and none in her semifinal or final. The Southern Californian defeated No. 4 seed Natalia Varela Herrera of Mexico 6-0, 6-0 in the final.

At the J60 in the Dominican Republic, 16-year-old Agassi Rusher won his fourth ITF Junior Circuit singles title, all this year. The top-seeded Floridian defeated No. 7 seed Gustavo Albieri of Brazil 7-6(4), 6-2 in the final. Olivia Traynor made both the singles and doubles final. She and partner Ireland O'Brien, seeded No. 1, lost to No. 2 seeds Ana Avramovic and Sasha Miroshnichenko 6-1, 6-3 in the doubles championship match.

Sunday, October 13, 2024

College Seniors Stoiana and Honer Earn First Pro Circuit Titles as Wild Cards; Tien Makes History While Claiming Third Challenger Title; Monday Sweeps at Louisville $25K

Now that the 2024 ITF J300 Pan American Regional Championships have concluded and I'm back home, it's time to catch up on the four USTA Pro Circuit events that finished today.


Two college seniors won their first singles titles today, with Texas A&M's Mary Stoiana taking the championship at the W75 Edmond Open in Oklahoma and UC-Santa Barbara's Amelia Honer claiming the title at the W35 in Bakersfield California


Stoiana, who received a wild card into the main draw, defeated former North Carolina State All-American Alana Smith, a qualifier, 7-5, 6-3 in the final. The 21-year-old Stoiana, No. 1 in the ITA rankings, had avenged her loss to Sophie Chang in her only other W75 final in July, taking out the eighth-seed Chang 6-4, 6-2 in the second round. She then eliminated Georgia teammates Dasha Vidmanova and Anastasia Lopata in the quarterfinals and semifinals. Stoiana is now up to 320 in the WTA live rankings.

Smith, 24, defeated No. 6 seed Maria Mateas(Duke) in the first round and No. 4 seed Anastasia Tikhonova of Russia in the quarterfinals. She got a retirement from Victoria Mboko of Canada in the semifinals to reach her first Pro Circuit final at any level. 

Kayla Day and Australia's Jaimee Fourlis won the doubles title, beating No. 3 seeds Chang and Rasheeda McAdoo 7-5, 7-5 in Saturday's final.


Honer, who also was a wild card entry in Bakersfield and is also 21, defeated No. 7 seed Haley Giavara in the second round and No. 3 seed Sahaja Yamalapalli(Sam Houston State) in the quarterfinals, before taking on two unseeded youngsters. Honer defeated 17-year-old wild card and UCLA freshman Kate Fakih 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in the semifinals, to set up a meeting with the even younger Julieta Pareja, who is 15. Pareja, who had eliminated top seed Hanna Chang 7-6(9), 6-7(6), 6-1 in a three-hour and 15-minute semifinal, may have been suffering the effects from that match today, with Honer winning 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 50 minutes.

The doubles title was won by Eryn Cayetano(USC) and India Houghton(Stanford), with the unseeded pair defeating No. 2 seeds Mana Ayukawa of Japan and Yujia Huang of China 7-6(8), 6-2 in the final. Cayetano won last week's doubles title in the W35 in Redding California with Ayana Akli.

The only top seed to win a singles title this week was 18-year-old Learner Tien, who captured the ATP Challenger 75 in Fairfield California. The two-time Kalamazoo 18s champion, who played a semester at USC in 2023, defeated No. 7 seed Bernard Tomic of Australia 6-0, 6-1 in 39 minutes. That is the record for the shortest final in Challenger history; the previous record was 43 minutes with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeating Dudi Sela 6-1, 6-0 in a 2019 Challenger final in France.

With his third Challenger title, following his July title in Bloomfield Hills and his September title in Las Vegas, Tien is now up to 124 in the ATP rankings after starting 2024 at 453.

Ryan Seggerman and Patrick Trhac made it a sweep for No. 1 seeds in Fairfield, with the pair picking up their sixth Challenger title in 2024 and their eighth since beginning their partnership in the summer of 2023. Seggerman and Trhac defeated unseeded Adrian Boitan(Baylor) of Romania and Bruno Kuzuhara 6-2, 3-6, 10-5 in Saturday's final.

The fourth singles title on the USTA Pro Circuit went to recent Tennessee graduate Johannus Monday of Great Britain, who won the $25,000 tournament in Louisville Kentucky. The unseeded 22-year-old left-hander defeated No. 4 seed Tyler Zink(Georgia, Oklahoma State) 6-2, 6-3 in the final, after having eliminated top seed Aidan McHugh of Great Britain 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 in the semifinals. It's the second title of the year for Monday, both at the $25K level, and his fourth overall. 

Monday also claimed the doubles title in Louisville, with JJ Mercer(Kentucky). The unseeded pair defeated No. 3 seeds Evan Zhu(UCLA) and Jody Maginley(Northern Kentucky) of Antigua and Barbuda 7-5, 6-4 in Saturday's final. 

At the men's $25,000 tournament in Edmonton, former Kentucky All-American Liam Draxl of Canada won the title today, with the No. 2 seed defeating No. 4 seed Patrick Maloney(Michigan) 6-4, 6-1 for his first title of 2024, and the sixth of his career.

Maloney went from today's 11 a.m. final in Edmonton to qualifying for the Calgary Challenger 75 three hours south, with his match with Alvin Tudorica(South Florida) of Canada scheduled for not before 6 p.m. tonight. (UPDATE: Maloney won the match 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-1).

Saturday, October 12, 2024

Kennedy Comes Back to Claim ITF J300 PanAm Closed Title; Iyengar Wins Girls Singles Championship in Marathon Final

©Colette Lewis 2024--

Spring Texas--

The heat was on Saturday morning for the ITF J300 Pan American Regional Championships singles finals, and the intensity was also turned up a notch, as 16-year-old Jack Kennedy won his second ITF J300 title and 17-year-old Maya Iyengar earned her first at that level, both picking up three-set victories under the clear blue skies over the Giammalva Racquet Club.

No. 4 seed Ian Mayew completely outplayed Kennedy in the first set, but the No. 3 seed stepped up his game late in the third to post a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 win.

Kennedy and Mayew had played in the ITF J300 final in San Diego in March, and Mayew had led 5-2 in the first set there before falling 7-5, 7-5. But despite Kennedy's best intentions, he was unable to make a dent in the power game Mayew was playing today.

"He came out today with pretty much guns blazing," said Kennedy, the 2024 Kalamazoo 18s finalist. "He came out with a lot of energy, he was playing really well, really smart, and I think I came out a little too passive, giving him opportunities to attack."

Kennedy said he knew had to attack more in the second set, and after saving four break points serving at 0-1, he did that, while Mayew's effectiveness, especially his first serve, dropped. After the second set, with Mayew returning to the court with drier clothes and renewed optimism, he had two break points in the first game, but Kennedy held that game and the next service game, as did Mayew.

Kennedy then threw in his worst game of the match, getting broken at love, and Mayew consolidated, getting every first serve in to hold at 40-15 for a 4-2 lead. 

The volley Mayew missed on break point in the next game, when he was on top of the net, is a classic tennis player's nightmare.

"It's the ball I wanted, it was the right shot, and if I had to do the point over again, I'd do the exact same thing and take that volley ten out of ten times," said Mayew, a 17-year-old from Cary  North Carolina. "It just so happened I missed it, but what can you do? He capitalized on it, didn't let me have it back, so credit to him, really."

"That was just all luck," said Kennedy, of Huntington, New York. "It happens to the best, you see Roger, you see Novak doing that, it happens. He played a really good point, and after I took a big sigh of relief, I had some momentum. I told myself he's got to be a little frustrated and a little rattled after he couldn't convert the double break."

Kennedy got a bit more luck in the next game, with a net cord winner at 30-all; Mayew double faulted to give back the break, but found himself with another break point in the next game, only to net a slice backhand. Kennedy held, and serving down 4-5, Mayew led 30-0 in the next game, but couldn't take either of his game points. He double faulted at the second deuce and then missed into the net to deliver the title to Kennedy.


"From 30-all, I think maybe he got a little nervous," Kennedy said. "It's tough serving down to stay in the match. He started really well that game, but the moment got to him and it's tough."

Mayew said it was just a point here and there that decided the title.

"It could have gone either way again," said Mayew, who has committed to North Carolina for the fall of 2025. "But it just slipped away from me in that third set. We both had our chances and it's not like one of us outplayed the other. It just came down to the wire and he was a few points better."

Kennedy said he didn't expect he would have the success he enjoyed this year, with now two J300 titles and the Kalamazoo 18s final.

"It's crazy to think about; only at 16, I never thought this was going to happen," Kennedy said. "But obviously with the work I'm putting in with coach Greg(Lumpkin) in New York and coach Jose(Caballeros) from USTA, we've had a really good year and are happy with what I've achieved. But as we like to say, we're not satisfied yet."

Kennedy's next big ITF junior event will be the Junior Davis Cup in Turkey, with teammates Jack Secord, a semifinalist this week, and Keaton Hance.

The boys match lasted a little over two hours, but Iyengar's 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 win over No. 6 seed Aspen Schuman exceeded that by almost a full hour, and serving for it 5-4, Iyengar decided it was now or never.

After watching a 5-2 lead slip away in the semifinals against No. 2 seed Annika Penickova Friday and needing six match points to secure her 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory, Iyengar was again on shaky ground in that final game.

Down 15-40, Iyengar made the decision to trust her first serve, and on her second match point, she ended her drought in finals against the opponent who had beaten her twice this summer.

"I think in the third set I served great and that really helped," said the 17-year-old from Paradise Valley Arizona. "In that last game, if I'm losing here, I don't think I can make this last push, so I have to serve. And it really helped. I told myself to go for it."

Schuman got a racquet on Iyengar's do-or-die serves in the final game, but the returns didn't stay in the court.


"I recognized that I needed to serve there," said Iyengar, who is coached by Jeremy Coll and Vera Leontieva at Eurotennis Academy in Scottsdale Arizona. "And that's something I've been working on, recognizing those big games."

Iyengar was convinced she had to win the match in that last game.

"I would have lost, I'm sure, if I'd not won that game," Iyengar said. "I felt like she was starting to get back into it, and I'd missed some easy shots too, so I knew it was definitely in my control."

The first set featured seven consecutive breaks of serve from 1-0 Iyengar to 5-3 Iyengar. A ten-deuce game with Schuman serving at 3-4 resulted in that seventh break and Iyengar took her opportunity on her first set point.

Schuman went up 2-0 and 4-2 in the second set, but couldn't close until she broke Iyengar from 40-15 up in a five-deuce game at 4-5. 

Holds were the norm in the third set as the heat and humidity began to take its toll, and the 20-shot rallies that were the norm decreased in frequency. Schuman was called on to play another 10-deuce game in that third set, but she held this one for a 2-1 lead. The sole break of the set came at 3-all, with Schuman dropping serve at love, and Iyengar didn't let that lead slip away.

"Maya played great," said Schuman, who defeated Iyengar in two tiebreakers in a June J200 semifinal and 6-3, 7-5 in a J200 final the following week in Mexico. "We've played very competitive matches in the past and I think she played amazing. So credit to her, she definitely earned it today. I tried to get through it by competing, but it wasn't an on day for me."

Iyengar was on something of a revenge tour this week, beating Leena Friedman and Nadia Lagaev in the third round and quarterfinals, after losing to them in previous meetings.

"I hadn't been able to win these matches in a row," said Iyengar. "I'd lost to Nadia, lost to Leena last year. So for it to come together this week, it was really nice to see all the hard work pay off. Everyone told me it would pay off eventually, and I think it's starting to, but there's so much work that needs to be done. Which I think is a good thing also. I'm doing well, but there's so much that I can improve."

With her title here, Iyengar can look forward to competing at the Australian Open Junior Championships in January, and has the luxury of evaluating her year-end schedule.

"I might do the 35 in (Hilton Head) South Carolina, but I'm going to be in qualies, and I'm tired obviously," Iyengar said. "If not maybe the $15K at Clemson and if not, the (ITF junior circuit) clay swing. I might play all four (Mexico, IMG, Orange Bowl), but since I got a lot of points here, I may just play the 500, but I need a warmup on clay, I'm not the best on it."

Schuman was disappointed to fall short in her second ITF J300 final, but having come in without much match play due to a nagging foot injury, she is encouraged by her results this week.

"I think I'll look back on this week as a great experience," said the 17-year-old from Menlo Park California. "I'm really glad I was able to play. It gave me a lot of confidence. The three-hour matches, I've won a lot, I've also lost some, so it comes down to a few points each time. You've just got to keep trying and come back for the next one."

Tournament director Victor Pinones is looking forward to continuing to host the tournament every fall, after stepping in at the last minute last year.

"I think we got better from last year, everything was smoother, we planned better," said Pinones, who is president and owner of the Giammalva Racquet Club. "We had more time to prepare in contrast to last year. Our goal is to make this the home of the Pan American for the next 20 years, as long as I'm alive, or at least have the club. That's the goal for the future."

Friday, October 11, 2024

Kennedy and Mayew Meet Again for Another ITF J300 Title, Schuman and Iyengar Face Off in Girls Final at Pan American Championships; Weber and Gamble Win Boys Doubles Title, Chung and Hamilton Claim Girls Doubles Championship

©Colette Lewis 2024--
Spring Texas--


The last International Tennis Federation Regional Championships for American players took place back in March in San Diego California, with Jack Kennedy defeating Ian Mayew 7-5, 7-5 for his first ITF J300 title. They play again Saturday for the title at the second ITF Regional championship of the year at the Pan American Championships, after both posted straight-sets victories Friday morning at the Giammalva Racquet Club.


Mayew, seeded fourth, ended the run of No. 11 seed Jack Secord with a 6-3, 6-2 win, a result he attributed to a bit of a strategy change in his own game and the strength and stamina advantage he had over the 16-year-old from Lake Forest Illinois. 

"I'm keeping it simple, I'm not overdoing it, not overplaying," said Mayew, who turns 18 at the end of next month. "I have a tendency to go pretty big and just send balls, so I'm really locking it down this week and keeping it consistent. I'm playing with a lot more margin, more shape on the ball, really trying to mimic the men's game, try to make it physical out there."

Mayew, who has yet to drop a set in the tournament, got early breaks in both sets and felt in control throughout, although he recognized that Secord was a dangerous opponent.

"He been playing really well, beating Jagger[Leach] and Dom[Mosejczuk], top guys in the world, so clearly he was in form," said the  Cary North Carolina resident. "It makes a world difference, when you're a couple of years older. You get later in the tournament, you feel you can still dictate points, go deep in the rallies. It's a huge advantage being a couple of years older than he is, but I'm sure in a couple of years, he's not going to be playing this tournament; he'll be on to bigger and better things."


Kennedy, seeded third, also has gotten through his first four matches without dropping a set, although his 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 8 seed Benjamin Willwerth Friday had its share of tense moments.

Service holds were the norm in the first set, with Willwerth having a generally easier time with his, but Kennedy converted his second break point in Willwerth's service game to go up 5-4 and put away an overhead to secure the opening set.

Kennedy broke to open the second set, but Willwerth battled through a lengthy second game to break back and held for 2-1. Broken again to go down 3-2, Willwerth broke back for 3-3, but Kennedy got another break for a 4-3 lead and made that one hold up.

"He was playing well, especially his serve," said Kennedy, a 16-year-old from New York. "It was a really tough serve to read. As the match went on, I did get a read on it. I think his energy level dropped a little bit and his first serve percentage was lower than it was in the first set, so it was easier to break. But he's a tough player to play, doesn't give you too much rhythm, comes to the net a lot, has great hands, so it was a tough match today, and I'm glad I got through it."

Kennedy said he knows Mayew's game well, not just from the San Diego final, but also as his doubles partner at the Roland Garros and Wimbledon Junior Championships this year.

"I think we have an idea of how we both play," said Kennedy, who reached the Kalamazoo 18s final in August. "Obviously in doubles, it's a little different game style, but both of us have gotten better since San Diego. He's getting a little stronger, a little faster, all the little things. But I was 5-2 down in San Diego, so tomorrow I've got to start a little better, I think it was just the nerves then."

Mayew and Kennedy traded many a drop shot in the San Diego final, but Mayew said he has been using that shot less in the past several months.

"I've just got more confidence in my backhand and don't have to bail out with a drop shot as much anymore," Mayew said. "I've definitely been working on that a lot. I'll use the drop shot more as a last resort, and not rely on it as much as I have in the past."

Aside from that, Mayew is planning on few changes in his approach to Saturday's final.

"I had set points," Mayew said of their San Diego contest. "I was playing the right way, but at this level the margins are so small. One point here and there and he took the set. Obviously, he's going to be smacking the ball out there, and we'll see how it goes, but we'll both go out there and just battle, just like we did in San Diego."

In addition to smacking the ball, Kennedy will also resort to a fist pump and a "vamos" in tribute to his idol Rafael Nadal, who will retire this year after competing for Spain in the Davis Cup.

"He's the reason why I started playing and really got into tennis," said Kennedy, who wasn't born when Nadal won his first Roland Garros men's title in 2005. "He's a great role model to have and we're lucky to have had him on the tour for so long. I'd love to have his firepower one day, but his vocal firepower, we have that similarity, and that's something I can emulate now."


No. 6 seed Aspen Schuman lost 6-2, 7-5 in the Pan Am semifinals last year to eventual champion Maya Joint of Australia, who is now 113 in the WTA rankings. With her 6-1, 6-1 victory today over No. 8 seed Claire An, her third win over An since June, Schuman has reached her second ITF J300 final, where she'll face another familiar face in No. 5 seed Maya Iyengar.

Although she dropped only two games, Schuman still needed 90 minutes to grind through some very long rallies and multiple deuce games.

"I knew that I had to compete my best against Claire," said Schuman, a 17-year-old from Menlo Park California. "She really made me work for it; I was running quite a bit today, but it was a really good match and I thought we both played well."

Schuman reached her first J300 final in August of 2023 at College Park, and feels that will help her Saturday.

"I think since the last time [in a J300 final] I've gotten a lot of great experiences," said Schuman, who played the Australian Open this year and US Open Junior Championships twice, while also competing on the SoCal Pro Circuit during the past summer. "I think I've learned a lot, and played a lot of big tournaments since then, so yeah, I feel ready."

Schuman has also continued to add to her game.

"I've been working on trying on being more of an all-court player, getting to the net more, being more aggressive on my serve and return," Schuman said. "I've tried to be more aggressive and trust my shots, and I've definitely seen an improvement in that this week. It's a combination of being consistent and aggressive, but I've definitely been working on the aggressive side of it."


The drama of the day came in the second girls semifinal, with No. 5 seed Maya Iyengar watching a 5-2 third set lead evaporate against No. 2 seed Annika Penickova before finally securing a 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory and a spot in her first ITF J300 final.

Penickova looked to heading to a routine straight-sets victory, leading 6-3, 4-3, with Iyengar serving at 15-40. But Iyengar saved those two break points to hold a three-deuce game, then broke Penickova, who was up 40-15, in another three-deuce game to take a 5-4 lead. When Iyengar closed out the set on her first opportunity at 40-30, she felt the tenor of the match change.

"I sensed that she kind of messed up that game," Iyengar said of Penickova's failure to get the break. "And at 4-all, she was up 40-15 in that game, I think also. I was just staying in it, because I know how she plays, it's up and down. But yeah, I think that was the turning point for sure."

Iyengar wasn't happy with her own level in the first set, but understood that she would have to shrug off the succession of groundstroke winners that her 15-year-old opponent could blast past her.

"She gave me more errors in the second set, but in the first set I wasn't used to the pace and she definitely took the racquet out of my hand," said Iyengar, a 17-year-old from Arizona. "But at the end of the second set I started getting going."

Iyengar led 4-0 and 5-1 in the third set, but Penickova didn't concede, holding for 5-2, then saving three match points with Iyengar serving at 40-0, the first two with forehand winners, the third with an overrule from the chair umpire on the far sideline.

Penickova held for 5-4 and Iyengar received a code violation warning for racquet abuse after that game. She didn't get close to a match point serving for it a second time, double faulting at 15-40, but after coming all the way back, Penickova couldn't hold at 5-all, with two backhand errors and a double fault giving Iyengar a third chance to serve out the match. 

Penickova again made her earn it, saving two more match points from 40-15, but she netted a forehand to give Iyengar a sixth match point, which Iyengar won when Penickova sent a backhand wide.

"Not one error was coming off her racquet," Iyengar said of Penickova's comeback and match point saves. "I also played a little too conservative, because I wasn't sure if I should go for it or not, because she was missing earlier. She looked so tired, also, so I thought she would make some errors, but she played incredible at the end. At 5-all I think she was getting more fatigued and I recognized it, tried to hit deeper to the backhand, trying to think through my strategy, rather than thinking, oh my gosh, I just missed match points. At 5-all I was ok, I'm going to lose if I don't focus on a strategy to get her out of this unbelievable tennis."

After the two-and-a-half-hour match, Iyengar and Penickova shared a long embrace at the net.

"She's like my best friend and we're staying together this week," Iyengar said. "We were talking about it all week; we're going to have the best match, and I think was a good match."

Iyengar and Schuman played twice this past June in J200s in Mexico, with Schuman winning both times, in a semifinal 7-6(1), 7-6(2) and a final 7-5, 6-3.

"Both times I had plenty of chances," said Iyengar, whose biggest title came at a J100 last year, where she beat Schuman in the final. "She's a great player, and she'll make me work for every point, especially since I'm a little bit tired too. But I think last time, I played a little too conservative, focused too much on the result."


The doubles champions were crowned Friday afternoon, and as with the singles, all participants were from the United States. In the boys final, unseeded James Weber and Jon Gamble defeated No. 8 seeds Calvin Baierl and Joseph Oyebog Junior 7-6(2), 6-4.

Weber and Gamble had the tougher time holding serve in the first set, needing to win deciding points at 3-all and 4-all. Oyebog and Baierl were rolling along, getting the break at 5-all with Baierl serving for the first set at 30-0, when the momentum suddenly changed. Baierl had not lost a point on serve in the set at that point, but they dropped three straight points to go down 30-40. Weber missed a return for the first deciding point that Oyebog and Baierl had faced on serve, and he double faulted to send the set into a tiebreaker. 

"It was a momentum shift," said Weber, an 18-year-old from Georgia. "They made a mistake on one of the points and we were able to capitalize on that. After that, they weren't as loud, we were firing ourselves up, and they were getting quieter."

Gamble and Weber took control of the tiebreaker early going up 5-0, and closing it out without any drama.

In the second set, Weber again held on a deciding point, and they finally were able to break Oyebog at 3-all. After holds by Gamble and Baierl, Weber served for the championship, but at 40-15, they each missed a volley to send it to a deciding point. Weber hit a good first serve and Baierl blistered his return down the line, but it just missed wide according to Gamble and the chair umpire.

It's the first ITF J300 title for Gamble and Weber, although they recently won their first title together at an ITF J100 in South Africa, and had reached the semifinals of the J300 there when the tournament was abandoned due to three days of rain.

"This is just our second J300, but in the first one we got semis and it rained," said Gamble, a 17-year-old from Las Vegas. "We kind of got robbed of that one, I feel we were really synching well that week and I told him, let's go get the one in Texas."

Gamble and Weber took out No. 5 seeds Ronit Karki and Jack Satterfield in the second round, defeated the No. 3 seeds and 2023 Pan Am finalists Willwerth and Noah Johnston in the quarterfinals and saved three match points in their 7-6(5), 3-6, 13-11 win over No. 2 seeds and 2023 Pan Am champions Jagger Leach and Matisse Farzam. 

Gamble, who now has won nine ITF junior doubles titles, had one explanation for those impressive results.

"It's the power of friendship," Gamble said.

Girls doubles champions Alanis Hamilton and Kayla Chung took their second ITF J300 title Friday, adding the Pan American Championships to their title at March's Regional Championships in San Diego. The No. 6 seeds defeated No. 2 seeds An and Shannon Lam 7-6(3), 6-4, with the four friends enjoying their mix-and-match pairings.

Hamilton and An, who lost in the doubles final last year, have played together many times, but playing against An was a unusual experience for her.

"We're honestly just having fun," said Hamilton, a 17-year-old from Arkansas, who will be joining the University of North Carolina in January. "I could tell. We were both excited to meet in the finals because we'd both defended our points. I haven't played her in doubles in three years, so we both wanted to see what it was like to be on the other side, and I think it was really fun."

Chung and Hamilton, who won the bronze ball this year at the USTA National 18s in San Diego, did not lose a set all week, with their comfort at the net giving them an advantage.

"After the San Diego ITF and the Hard Courts, we knew coming in that we had a great chance of coming out on top," said the 17-year-old Chung, who now has nine ITF doubles titles. "I feel like the way we play, a lot of teams aren't used to seeing people at the net, so it gives us a huge advantage, an element of surprise," Hamilton said.

The first set of the final featured just two breaks, with Lam and An taking a 4-2 lead but surrendering the break in the next game. Chung held on a deciding point for 4-all, with the next four games service holds. The tiebreaker featured three double faults by An and Lam, giving Hamilton and Chung all the margin they needed.

Chung and Hamilton got an early break and held on to it with Chung coming from 15-40 down at 3-1 to hold. At 2-5, An saved three match points with some big serving, and Chung was broken in the next game to get the set back on serve. But with Lam serving, she and An fell behind 15-40, and although they saved a fourth match point, Chung and Hamilton converted the fifth to run their winning streak on the ITF Junior Circuit to eight matches, but it may end there.

""She's going to school," said Chung, "so I think this is our last junior ITF, I'm guessing, unless something happens at the end of the year."

The two singles finals are both scheduled for 10 a.m. Central time Saturday.

Thursday, October 10, 2024

Secord and Schuman Knock Out Top Seeds to Reach Semifinals at ITF J300 Pan Am Regional Championships; Three Current Collegians Advance at W75 in Edmond OK; Four Americans Reach Fairfield Challenger Quarterfinals; Fakih and Pareja Advance at W35 Bakersfield

©Colette Lewis 2024--
Spring Texas--


Aspen Schuman and Jack Secord had reasons to be apprehensive about their performance this week at the ITF J300 Pan American Regionals Championships in suburban Houston. Schuman was recovering from a foot injury that had hampered her since the USTA Nationals in early August, and Secord had not had the best week of practice at the USTA Lake Nona campus the week prior to this tournament.

Yet both took out the No. 1 seeds in impressive fashion Thursday morning at the Giammalva Racquet Club to advance to Friday's semifinals.


Secord, the No. 11 seed, said he had gotten "destroyed" by Dominick Mosejczuk in a practice match in Lake Nona last week, but that didn't keep him from beating the No. 7 seed 7-5, 6-4 their third round meeting Wednesday. In today's quarterfinals Secord had the advantage of having beaten No. 1 seed Jagger Leach in three sets when they met last December in the Orange Bowl, but even he was dazed by his comprehensive 6-2, 6-2 victory.

"I played well," said the 16-year-old lefthander from Lake Forest Illinois. "I took it to him. I don't know if he played his best, but I went out there and got the best of him today. I feel pretty comfortable right now."

Secord said he has been playing "bigger tennis" recently and when he is making no unforced errors while maintaining that aggressive mindset, as was the case today, he can handle anything a junior can throw at him.

"I think my game matches up with his decently well," said Secord, who won a J100 on indoor hard in Canada in mid-September. "At Orange Bowl I played more defensive, and obviously, it's clay and I can kind of get away with that. But recently I've been hitting the ball, moving faster, all that."

Secord led 6-2, 5-0, but Leach held, and Secord was serving on the sunny side, which he said contributed to a couple of rare unforced errors and less effective serving. But when they changed ends, Secord resumed his dominance, breaking Leach to move into his first J300 semifinal. 

Secord will face No. 4 seed Ian Mayew, who defeated No. 9 seed Matisse Farzam 6-4, 6-3. It's the first meeting between the two.

The other boys semifinal will feature No. 3 seed Jack Kennedy and No. 8 seed Benjamin Willwerth. Kennedy defeated No. 10 seed Max Dussault 6-4, 6-3, while Willwerth ended the run of wild card Gus Grumet by a score of 6-2, 6-3.

The girls quarterfinals were also completed in straight sets, with the exception of No. 2 seed Annika Penickova, who breezed through the first set, then found herself in a serious battle with 13-year-old Raya Kotseva before posting a 6-1, 4-6, 6-4 victory. Penickova will face No. 5 seed Maya Iyengar, who beat No. 3 seed Nadia Lagaev of Canada 6-4, 6-3, assuring that both the boys and girls champions will be from the United States.


No. 6 seed Schuman's 6-3, 6-2 win over top seed Thea Frodin gave her reason to believe that the foot injury she tried to play through this summer was in the past.

"I think I just have a lot more confidence because I'm moving better this week," said the 17-year-old from Menlo Park California. "My foot's feeling a lot better; the last two months I had a foot injury, at Hard Courts and the US Open, but now I feel a lot more confident in my movement and that's really helping my play in the matches."

Schuman's two victories over Frodin last year gave her an idea of what to expect.

"I'm a little bit familiar with her game, so I kind of new what I had to do going in and what to expect," Schuman said. "She's an amazing player, a really tough opponent and I think her serve is definitely one of her strengths.  So I just knew I had to be extra ready in my return games and really focus on my serve games, to make sure I was keeping up with her, or trying to at least. So it was helpful to know to be ready for that, but there's nothing you can do if she's serving really big and hitting lines."

Schuman, who reached the semifinals here last year, will face No. 8 seed Claire An, who defeated No. 4 seed and doubles partner Shannon Lam 7-6(3), 6-1. The first set, which was still going when Schuman wrapped up her victory over Frodin, was a war of attrition, but An took control in the second set to reach her second J300 semifinal.

Earlier this year Schuman beat An in the round of 32 at the Nationals in San Diego 7-6(4), 6-4, and in the final of the J200 in Mexico in June 6-1, 7-5.

The doubles finals, which were played on Saturday last year, will take place on Friday this year, with some familiar faces and some new ones.

No. 6 seeds Kayla Chung and Alanis Hamilton will face No. 2 seeds An and Lam, with one of them guaranteed to earn the title that eluded them last year when An and Hamilton lost to Ariana Pursoo and Maya Joint 6-7(3), 7-5, 10-7 in the final.

Chung and Hamilton advanced with a 7-5, 6-2 win over unseeded Kaia Giribalan and Thara Gowda; An and Lam survived against the unseeded team of Kotseva and Jordyn Hazelitt 6-1, 3-6, 10-8.

Defending boys champions Matisse Farzam and Leach, the No. 2 seeds, lost to unseeded Jon Gamble and James Weber 7-6(5), 3-6, 13-11. Trailing 9-7 in the match tiebreaker, Gamble saved both match points, hitting a backhand volley winner on the first and smashing a short ball at the feet of Leach on the second. On their third match point, at 10-9, Leach netted a forehand, but Gamble and Weber couldn't convert their match point at 11-10, with Farzam putting away a volley. But Farzam missed a volley on the next point and Gamble had a second match point, this time on serve, and he made it count, with a great first serve ending the run of Farzam and Leach.

Gamble and Weber will play No. 8 seeds Calvin Baierl and Joseph Oyeboy Junior, who defeated No. 6 seeds Secord and Jacob Olar 7-6(3), 7-6(4). 

Both boys semifinals and the An-Schuman match will be played  at 9 a.m. Central time, with the Iyengar and Penickova semifinal not before 11 a.m. The boys doubles final will also be at 11 a.m., with the girls doubles final not before 1 p.m.

On the USTA Pro Circuit, three current collegians have advanced to the quarterfinals of the W75 in Edmond Oklahoma: Texas A&M's Mary Stoiana and Georgia teammates Anastasiya Lopata and Dasha Vidmanova. 

Stoiana, a wild card, defeated No. 8 seed Sophie Chang 6-4, 6-2 to advance to a meeting with Vidmanova, who defeated qualifer Jiangxue Han of China 6-1, 7-5. Stoiana defeated Vidmanova 6-1, 7-6(4) in the NCAA team championship match in May in Stillwater.

In the other quarterfinal in the top half, 2024 NCAA singles finalist Lopata will face No. 7 seed Valeriya Strakhova of Ukraine, after defeating No. 3 Lanlana Tararudee of Thailand 6-2, 6-2.

Former NC State All-American Alana Smith, a qualifier, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 7-6(2) win over Viktoria Hruncakova and will face No. 4 seed Anastasia Tikhonova of Russia Friday. Elli Mandlik, the No. 5 seed, will play unseeded 18-year-old Victoria Mboko of Canada, who beat No. 2 seed Kayla Day 6-4, 6-2.

Alex Gruskin is providing commentary beginning with tomorrow's quarterfinals at the Cracked Racquets YouTube Channel and spoke with all the winners today. Those conversations are available at the Cracked Interviews podcast.

The quarterfinals are now set at the ATP Challenger 75 in Fairfield California, with four Americans advancing. Top seed Learner Tien(USC) will face No. 5 seed Patrick Kypson(Texas A&M); No. 6 seed Brandon Holt(USC) will play No. 4 seed Dmitry Popko of Kazakhstan and No. 8 seed Ethan Quinn(Georgia) will face No. 2 seed Tristan Schoolkate of Australia. Quinn ended the run of qualifier Rudy Quan, a UCLA freshman, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2. The only quarterfinal without an American has Alexis Galarneau of Canada facing No. 7 seed Bernard Tomic of Australia. 

At the W35 in Bakersfield California, 15-year-old Julieta Pareja defeated ITA All-American champion Maria Sholokova of Wisconsin, a qualifier, 7-5, 6-2 in the first round and reached the quarterfinals with a three-hour 6-3, 5-7, 6-3 win over former USC All-American Eryn Cayetano. Seventeen-year-old wild card Kate Fakih, a freshman at UCLA, defeated No. 2 seed Carson Branstine(Texas A&M) of Canada 6-2, 5-2, retired, to advance to her second W35 quarterfinal. Fakih's win over WTA No. 275 Branstine is the best win by ranking in her limited appearances on the USTA Pro Circuit.

Other Americans to reach the quarterfinals in Bakersfield are top seed Hanna Chang, wild card Amelia Honer, a senior at UC-Santa Barbara, and qualifier Solymar Colling(San Diego). No. 5 seed Whitney Osuigwe is still playing her second round match tonight.

Qualifier Aidan Kim, a sophomore at Ohio State, has advanced to the quarterfinals of the $25,000 men's tournament in Louisville Kentucky, where he'll play recent Oklahoma State graduate Tyler Zink, the No. 4 seed. No. 7 seed Alex Rybakov(TCU) will face off against No. 2 seed Garrett Johns(Duke), and qualifier Keshav Chopra(Georgia Tech) will play former Tennessee All-American Johannus Monday of Great Britain.

Wednesday, October 9, 2024

Thirteen-year-old Kotseva Reaches Quarterfinals, Secord Tops No. 7 Seed Mosejczuk, Farzam Saves Match Point in Three-Tiebreaker Win at ITF J300 Pan American; Mboko Avenges Recent Loss to Jovic at W75 in Edmond

©Colette Lewis 2024--
Spring Texas--


The third round at the ITF J300 Pan American Regional Championships is when seeds begin playing seeds, and that was the case for the majority of the contests, with only six unseeded players, three boys and three girls, making it to the round of 16. When another warm and sunny day at the Giammalva Racquet Club had ended, only two unseeded players had advanced to Thursday's quarterfinals: 13-year-old Raya Kotseva and wild card Gus Grumet.


Kotseva had played the J60 last week in Corpus Christi, losing to her doubles partner Jordyn Hazelitt in the quarterfinals, so her expectations for this week's event, her first J300 tournament, weren't high. But a routine 6-3, 6-1 win over qualifier Sarah Shumate Wednesday, after her 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 win over No. 7 seed Capucine Jauffret in yesterday's second round, put Kotseva in the quarterfinals with the other seven Top Eight seeds.

"I wasn't really expecting this big of a result, because it's my first J300, and I'm playing basically players Top 100 in the world," said Kotseva, a Las Vegas resident, who turns 14 next month. "But I just came out here to give it my all, and whatever happens happens. I'm just trying to learn from each match, keep being positive, make the best of it and have fun."

Next for Kotseva is No. 2 seed Annika Penickova, who defeated No. 15 seed Kayla Chung 6-3, 6-2.

Only two of the eight girls matches went to a third set, with No. 6 seed Aspen Schuman defeating No. 10 seed Monika Ekstrand 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 and No. 4 seed Shannon Lam getting by unseeded Isabelle DeLuccia 6-3, 4-6, 6-4. 

Lam and DeLuccia, both from New Jersey, battled through long rallies and deuce games, with both playing offense and defense equally effectively. Lam got the final break, with DeLuccia, the 2024 Easter Bowl 16s finalist, serving at 4-5 in the third. They shared a long hug at the net, both appearing physically and emotionally exhausted from their efforts. Lam will face No. 8 seed Claire An in the quarterfinals, after An defeated No. 12 seed Ava Rodriguez 6-3, 7-5; Schuman will take on top seed Thea Frodin, who defeated USTA 16s champion and No. 16 seed Ishika Ashar 6-4, 6-2 in a match that was much longer and closer than the score indicates.

The fourth quarterfinal, in the bottom half, will feature No. 5 seed Maya Iyengar, a 6-4, 6-4 winner over No. 9 seed Leena Friedman, and No. 3 seed Nadia Lagaev of Canada, who beat No. 13 seed Anita Tu 6-4, 6-1. Lagaev is the only non-American in the quarterfinals.


Top seed Jagger Leach took out the last non-American in the boys draw, beating No. 13 seed Rafael Botran Neutze of Guatemala 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. Leach will face No. 11 seed Jack Secord, who took out No. 7 seed Dominick Mosejczuk 7-5, 6-4, after trailing 4-1 in the second set.

"He was a little off his game at the start, and I think that helped a bit," said the 16-year-old left-hander from Lake Forest Illinois. "In the first set, I played pretty clutch tennis. In the second set, I lost a long game at 0-1 on my serve, and got down 3-0, but I waited for my chance to get the break back and I got it."

Secord broke Mosejczuk to take a 5-4 lead, but expressed relief that he was able to serve it out. 

"I was pretty nervous, I didn't play the best game," Secord said. "I could have been a little looser, looking back, but I'm glad I got it."

Secord missed converting his first two match points, but a couple of first serves and well-struck backhands got him out of trouble and he converted on this third attempt.

Secord has his mother traveling with him this week, the former Linda Harvey Wild, who was a Top 25 WTA player and a 1996 US Open quarterfinalist. Although Secord is primarily coached by his grandfather Steve Wild, his mother's stepfather, and usually travels to tournaments with his father, he is enjoying having her on the road with him this week.

"She obviously know a lot, and she's kind of feisty, because she used to play," Secord said. "My dad's more laid back. As for my grandpa, he's a better coach, I would say. But mom's a mix of dad and grandpa."

Secord and Leach, who is also being accompanied this week by his mother former WTA No. 1 Lindsay Davenport, played last year at the Orange Bowl, with Secord winning 6-3, 2-6, 6-3.

"I pulled it out," Secord said. "It will be a tough match; I think he's a little better on hard courts, but I'll go out and play my best."

The only unseeded boy remaining is 2024 Kalamazoo 16s champion Grumet, who came back to defeat No. 14 seed and 2023 Kalamazoo 16s finalist Lachlan Gaskell 4-6, 6-2, 6-4. Grumet, playing in his first ITF J300, will take on No. 8 seed Benjamin Willwerth, who defeated No. 12 seed Ronit Karki 6-3, 6-3. The other quarterfinal in the bottom half will feature No. 3 seed Jack Kennedy, the 2024 Kalamazoo 18s finalist, against No. 10 seed Max Dussault. Kennedy defeated unseeded Ryan Cozad 6-4, 6-4 and Dussault beat unseeded Joseph Oyebog Junior by the same score.

The most dramatic and contentious match of the day was also the longest, with No. 9 seed Matisse Farzam defeating No. 6 seed Kase Schinnerer 6-7(5), 7-6(7), 7-6(5) in over three and a half hours.  Up 6-4 in the second set tiebreaker, Farzam lost the next three points, but saved the match point he faced at 6-7 with an ace. 

The many arguments over line calls, which had been surfacing regularly in the first two sets, went to another a level in the third set, with a roving umpire stationed on the court from early in the third set, when a lengthy argument about who called what ball out when brought the match to a halt.  

Whether it was emotional or physical fatigue or the presence of the umpire, the remainder of the third set was more subdued. In the seemingly inevitable third tiebreaker, Farzam led 5-0 and 6-2, but Schinnerer saved the first match point with a backhand passing shot winner. Farzam called Schinnerer's second serve out at 3-6, but was overruled by the umpire, and Schinnerer saved his third match point with a volley winner to make it 6-5. But as he had done in the second set tiebreaker, Farzam came up with an ace at the most important point of the match to secure the victory.

Farzam will face No. 4 seed Ian Mayew in the quarterfinals, after Mayew defeated No. 15 seed Calvin Baierl 7-5, 6-1.

Both Farzam and Schinnerer were short on energy for their doubles matches 90 minutes later. Schinnerer and Mayew, the top seeds, lost to No. 8 seeds Oyebog and Baierl 6-1, 6-4. Defending champions Farzam and Leach, the No. 2 seeds, defeated No. 7 seeds Cozad and Simon Caldwell 6-3, 2-6, 10-4.  

Oyebog and Bairel will play Secord and Jacob Olar, the No. 6 seeds, in the semifinals Thursday. Secord and Olar defeated No. 4 seeds Mosejczuk and Dussault 6-4, 7-6(9). Farzam and Leach will face unseeded Jon Gamble and James Weber, who took out No. 3 seeds and 2023 finalists Noah Johnston and Willwerth 6-4, 4-6, 10-7.

The girls doubles draw also lost its top seeds today, with No. 6 seeds Alanis Hamilton and Chung defeating Iyengar and Schuman 6-3, 6-4. Hamilton and Chung will play Kaia Giribalan and Thara Gowda, who defeated Bella Payne and Shumate 7-5, 6-4.

Kotseva and Hazelitt, the 12s and 14s Easter Bowl doubles champions, are playing their first ITF tournament as a team and they advanced to the semifinals with a  6-3, 2-6, 10-7 win over Frodin and Lyla Middleton. No. 2 seeds An and Lam defeated No. 7 seeds Kayla Moore and Kenzie Nguyen 6-2, 6-4 and will play Kotseva and Hazelitt.

All eight singles quarterfinals are scheduled for 9 a.m. Central on Thursday, with the doubles semifinals to follow.

Iva Jovic's USTA Pro Circuit winning streak came to an end today in the first round of the W75 in Edmond Oklahoma. Jovic lost to Victoria Mboko of Canada, whom she had beaten in three sets in the Berkeley final two weeks ago, 5-7, 6-2, 7-6(3) in two hours and 55 minutes. Georgia teammates Anastasiya Lopata and Dasha Vidmanova both picked up first round victories today, with ITF Accelerator entrant Lopata beating Madison Sieg(USC) 6-2, 6-1 and qualifier Vidmanova taking out top seed Lucrezia Stefanini of Italy 6-1, 6-3.