Third Day of Round Robin Play on Tap Friday at ITF WTT Junior Tennis Finals; Multiple Current Collegians Advance to Pro Circuit Quarterfinals; Eight Americans Earn 2025 Les Petits As Berths at USA Playoffs

The second day of round robin play at the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu China, didn't produce much separation among the 16 players. Spain's Rafael Jodar, the US Open boys champion, and Wimbledon finalist Mees Rottgering both won today, securing their spots in the semifinals. They will play each other Friday for the top spot in Group A.

All four boys in Group B are 1-1, so tomorrow's matches will determine which two advance from that group.

Top seed Emerson Jones of Australia is the only girl undefeated after two matches; she will face Wakana Sonobe of Japan in the third and final round robin match in Group A, and will advance if she wins that match. If Jones loses to Sonobe and Vandromme beats Vergara, who is the only girl yet to win a match, all three will be 2-1, so the semifinalists will be decided by sets and games won.

As with the boys, all girls in Group B are 1-1, so the winners tomorrow will reach the semifinals.

Boys results, Thursday October 17

Group A

Rafael Jodar[1](ESP) d. Hayden Jones[7](AUS) 6-4, 7-6(4)

Mees Rottgering[3](NED) d. Jan Kumstat[5](CZE) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

Group B

Maxim Mrva[4](CZE) d. Luca Preda[2](ROU) 6-3, 7-6(8)

Charlie Robertson[6](GBR) d. Jangjun Kim[8](KOR) 6-3, 7-6(5)

Girls results, Thursday October 17

Group A

Emerson Jones[1](AUS) d. Antonia Vergara Rivera[8](CHI) 6-2, 6-3

Jeline Vandromme[6](BEL) d. Wakana Sonobe[4](JPN) 7-6(5), 6-1

Group B

Tyra Grant[2](USA) d. Kristina Penickova[7](USA) 6-4, 6-2

Laura Samson[3](CZE) d. Mika Stojsavljevic[7](GBR) 6-4, 6-2

The order of play for Friday is below. Links to live streaming on the ITF YouTube Channel and live scoring can be found here.

The quarterfinals are set at the three USTA Pro Circuit and two ITF World Tennis Tour events in North America, with current collegians advancing in all five.

At the W100 in Macon Georgia, Georgia senior Dasha Vidmanova continues her impressive play the past four months, reaching the quarterfinals as a qualifier, as she did last week at the W75 in Edmond Oklahoma. The 21-year-old from the Czech Republic defeated No. 8 seed Anastasia Tikhonova of Russia 6-0, 7-5, and will face No. 2 seed and WTA Top 100 player Anna Blinkova of Russia in Friday's quarterfinals.

Former Georgia All-American Lea Ma, a wild card this week, is also having a good run this fall. The 23-year-old beat yet another Georgia alum, No. 3 seed and WTA No. 87 Maria Carle of Argentina 6-3, 6-1 for her first WTA Top 100 victory.

There are two ITF WTT events in Calgary Canada this week: the ATP Challenger 75 and a W75+H for women.

At the Challenger, Arizona State senior Murphy Cassone, who is taking the fall off, qualified and advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-2, 6-4 win over No. 2 seed Patrick Kypson(Texas A&M) on Wednesday. Cassone, who saved five match points in his 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(11) second round win over Ryan Seggerman(Princeton, UNC), will play No. 6 seed Alexis Galarneau(NC State) of Canada in Friday's quarterfinals. Another American qualifier, Govind Nanda(UCLA), has also advanced to the quarterfinals, beating No. 8 seed James Trotter(Ohio State) of Japan 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. He will face top seed Maks Kasnikowski of Poland in the quarterfinals.

The other two Americans in the Macon quarterfinals are Ann Li[3] and wild card Lauren Davis.

At the women's tournament in Calgary, LSU freshman Cadence Brace, who received a wild card, defeated Julie Belgraver of France 7-5, 6-2 to reach the quarterfinals, where she'll play fellow 19-year-old Canadian Kayla Cross. Two American qualifiers, Anna Rogers(NC State) and Fiona Crawley(UNC), have also reached the quarterfinals. Rogers faces Stacy Fung(Washington) of Canada; Crawley plays top seed Tatjana Maria of Germany. 

At the men's $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit tournament in Harlingen Texas, three current collegians and four former collegians are through to the quarterfinals. 

Ohio State sophomore Aidan Kim, a wild card entry, defeated Texas A&M senior Giulio Perego 6-4, 6-3 to advance to the quarterfinals, where he'll play top seed Toby Kodat, the only non-collegian remaining.

In the bottom quarterfinal, two current collegians will face off. Stefan Dostanic, who will be competing for Wake Forest next year after 4/5 years at USC, will face Texas senior Pierre-Yves Bailly. Dostanic defeated No. 2 seed Aidan McHugh of Great Britain 7-6(5), 6-4 and Bailly beat No. 6 seed Jacob Brumm 7-5, 6-3.

Pan Am J300 champion Jack Kennedy earned his first ATP point yesterday with a win over fellow wild card Ethan Silva(Texas A&M), but he lost to Tadeus Paroulek(TCU, Baylor) 6-4, 6-2 today.

Garrett Johns[3] and Keshav Chopra(Georgia Tech) are the third and fourth American quarterfinalists.

Unsurprisingly, two current Demon Deacons are through to the quarterfinals at the men's $15,000 USTA Pro Circuit tournament in Winston-Salem, along with one alum. After the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds were beaten Wednesday, with lucky loser Daniel Milavsky, a senior at Harvard, taking out Will Grant(Florida) and qualifier Connor Bruce(Dayton) eliminating Tristan McCormick(Notre Dame, Georgia), only one seed has advanced to the quarterfinals: No. 3 seed Victor Lilov. Lilov, the only non-collegian in the quarterfinals, defeated Cooper Woestendick 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 and will face another Cooper in the quarterfinals, Duke sophomore Williams. Williams is joined by teammate Pedro Rodenas, who will play wild card Matthew Thomas, a recent Wake Forest graduate. Wake Forest sophomore Luca Pow, a wild card is through, as is Wake junior DK Suresh. Suresh faces Milavsky in the quarterfinals.

The Les Petits As USA Playoffs will conclude Friday in Miami, but after today's quarterfinals, the four boys and four girls who will represent the United States at the tournament in January 2025 have been determined. 

The girls semifinalists are Allison Wang, Emery Combs, Tanvi Pandey and Daniela Del Mastro. 

The boys semifinalists are Smyan Thuta, Anthony Kirchner, Tristan Ascenzo and Daniel Gardality. 

I haven't been able to find any draws or results, but scores were provided for today's quarterfinals via tweets. The boys results tweet is here and the girls results tweet is here.

Three Upsets in Opening Round Robin Matches at ITF WTT Junior Finals in Chengdu; Close Race in USTA's Australian Open Wild Card Challenge with Two Weeks Remaining; Regional Results Add to List of NCAA Individual Qualifiers; ITA Cup Crowns D-II, D-III, NAIA and JUCO Champions

The first day of round robin play at the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu China was disrupted by rain, but all matches were completed, although I was unable to find most of them on the ITF YouTube streams this morning. There were three upsets according to the seedings, which were determined by the ITF Junior rankings: 15-year-old Kristina Penickova avenged her 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 semifinal loss to Czech Laura Samson at Roland Garros; Janjun Kim of Korea, who was an alternate before the withdrawal of Theo Papamalamis of France, defeated Maxim Mrva of the Czech Republic and Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain took out Tyra Grant.

Boys results, Wednesday October 16:

Group A
Meese Rottgering[3](NED) d. Hayden Jones(AUS)[7] 6-7(3), 6-2, 7-6(4)
Rafael Jodar[1](ESP) d. Jan Kumstat[5](CZE) 7-6(2), 6-3

Group B
Luca Preda[2](ROU) d. Charlie Robertson[6](GBR) 6-3, 4-6, 6-3
Jangjun Kim[8](KOR) d. Maxim Mrva[4](CZE) 4-6, 6-3, 6-3

Girls results, Wednesday October 16:

Group A
Emerson Jones[1](AUS) d. Jeline Vandromme[6](BEL) 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(4)
Wakana Sonobe[4](JPN) d. Antonia Vergara Rivera[8](CHI) 6-4, 6-2

Group B
Mika Stojsavljevic[5](GBR) d. Tyra Grant[2](USA) 6-4, 6-4
Kristina Penickova[7](USA) d. Laura Samson[3](CZE) 6-2, 6-0

Wednesday's winners will play Wednesday's losers on Thursday, which means Grant and Penickova will face off. Friday's round robin matches will determine the semifinalists, although some could be decided tomorrow depending on results. The top two in each group advance.

Live scoring is available here.

The USTA's Australian Open Wild Card Challenge for women is at its halfway point, with Hailey Baptiste taking a huge lead after all her success in Asia the past two weeks. The 22-year-old, who defeated Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic 6-3, 7-5 in the second round of the WTA 1000 in Wuhan, has accumulated 230 points, but as is often the case, the success for those initially eligible for the Challenge results in enough points to assure entry without needing the wild card. Baptiste is now up to 80 in the WTA rankings, and Bernarda Pera, who also qualified for Wuhan and won a round, has improved her ranking to 79, meaning she also is unlikely to need the wild card. That leaves Mary Stoiana(Texas A&M) and 16-year-old Iva Jovic neck-and-neck, with both having won W75s on the USTA Pro Circuit the past two weeks. Today's release from the USTA:

 

Australian Open Wild Card Challenge Standings Update

 

ORLANDO, Fla., October 16, 2024 – Hailey Baptiste's performance during the WTA's Asian swing has all but secured her place in the 2025 Australian Open main draw. Her 230 points earned since the beginning of the Australian Open Wild Card Challenge far outpaces the other wild card challengers to date, but has also lifted her singles ranking to No. 80, likely good for direct entry. 

 

With Baptiste a probable direct entrant, and second-place Bernarda Pera also in line for direct entry while currently ranked No. 79, Texas A&M senior and reigning ITA National Player of the Year Mary Stoiana becomes the defacto Challenge leader, in a close race between her, Iva Jovic and Sofia Kenin. There are two weeks of competition left in the women's side of the Challenge. 

 

The current top of the women's standings (player's current ranking in parenthesis): 

 

1. Hailey Baptiste (80) -- 230

2. Bernarda Pera (79) -- 95

3. Mary Stoiana (320) -- 79

4. Iva Jovic (246) -- 76

5. Sofia Kenin (158) -- 70

 

The women's wild card will be awarded to the American with the most ranking points earned at a maximum of three tournaments during its four-week window. The women's Challenge window runs through the week of October 21. All indoor and outdoor hard-court and carpet events at the W35 level and above are included in the Challenge.

 

The USTA and Tennis Australia have a reciprocal agreement in which main draw wild cards for the 2025 Australian Open and US Open will be exchanged.

 

The men's side of the Challenge begins with events on October 21. 

 

The first of the ITA Regional Championships have concluded, with the finalist and champion of each of the 13 regions booking their spots in next month's NCAA singles championships at Baylor, while the regional doubles champions earn entry into the NCAA doubles draw.

Preseason No. 1 Ozan Baris of Michigan State, a spring 2024 NCAA singles semifinalist who did not qualify for the fall version after losing both his matches at the All-Americans, is now in the field after claiming the Midwest Regional title. 

Stanford freshman Valerie Glozman, who had already qualified for the NCAAs by reaching the ITA All-American quarterfinals last month, won the Northwest regional singles title, beating teammate Connie Ma 6-2, 7-6(2). The second NCAA singles spot from the Northwest Regional was determined by the third place match, which Stanford's Alexis Blokhina won 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-2 over Washington's Reece Carter. Ma and Glozman won the doubles title, so will be playing in both events in Waco next month. 

Longhorn freshman Ariana Pursoo won the Texas Regional, beating teammate Ashton Bowers, also a freshman, 6-4, 6-4 in the final.  Another all-teammate final in the Southern Regional featured Auburn freshman Merna Refaat defeating Auburn junior Angella Okutoyi 6-2, 6-3.

Chris Halioris of CollegeTennisRanks.com has posted public google documents tracking the men and the women who have qualified to compete in the NCAA Championships. Fourteen of the 26 regionals remain to be played, and both the Conference Masters and Sectional Championships are NCAA-qualifying tournaments, although because they are both played November 7-10, a player can compete in just one.

The ITA Cup, the annual fall small college championships, concluded this weekend, with singles and doubles champions determined in the Division II, Division III, NAIA and Junior College divisions. The complete list of champions can be found here. Note that there are no NCAA individual championships for Division II, and NAIA also doesn't hold individual championships.

Live Streaming for ITF WTT Junior Finals Begins Tuesday Night; Pan Am Champion Kennedy Makes Pro Circuit Debut at Harlingen $25K; Woestendick Advances at Wake Forest $15K; Georgia Duo Reaches Main Draw at Macon W100

The 12-hour time difference between Chengdu China and the Eastern time zone of the United States has always made it difficult to follow the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals, and this year is no exception. Wednesday's first matches begin at 11 p.m. EDT tonight, but if you get up early Thursday, you can catch Tyra Grant's match against US Open champion Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain, not before 7 a.m. EDT. Wednesday's round robin matches:

Notes from  the Finals from the ITF are available here.

Links to the YouTube streams, available for all matches, can be found here.

Rei Sakamoto of Japan, the Australian Open boys champion, qualified for the WTT Junior Finals, but has chosen to play the $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit tournament in Harlingen Texas instead. Sakamoto, who trains at the IMG Academy in Bradenton is the No. 7 seed; he could face Pan American J300 champion Jack Kennedy in the second round should both win their opening matches Wednesday.  The 16-year-old Kennedy will be making his Pro Circuit debut as a wild card. He faces fellow wild card Ethan Silva, a Texas A&M junior who is from Harlingen, in the first round. Silva is one of six Aggies in the draw, with three advancing through qualifying today: JC Roddick, Grant Lothringer and Luke Casper. Guilio Perego and Ritesh Patil face each other in the first round Wednesday.

In addition to those given to Kennedy and Silva, wild cards were awarded to Ohio State sophmore Aidan Kim and Strong Kirchheimer(Northwestern), who is the No. 4 seed. 

Along with the three A&M players, one other American advanced to the main draw via qualifying: 16-year-old James Quattro of Austin. Quattro, who won the Texas Slam in the 16s this year and reached the round of 16 at Kalamazoo, did not qualify for the Pan American last week, but he beat Texas A&M assistant Barnaby Smith of Great Britain in the final round of qualifying today 2-6, 6-4, 12-10.

Toby Kodat is the top seed, with Aidan McHugh of Great Britain the No. 2 seed. All first round matches are scheduled for Wednesday.

The other USTA Pro Circuit men's tournament this week is a $15,000 event in Winston-Salem North Carolina, where Will Grant(Florida) and Tristan McCormick(Notre Dame, Georgia) are the top seeds. 

Americans who qualified today are Spencer Gray(Auburn, UNC-Charlotte), Connor Bruce(Dayton) and William Manning(NC State), with Daniel Milavsky(Harvard) receiving entry as a lucky loser. 

All the wild cards were awarded to players with Wake Forest ties: graduate Matthew Thomson, sophomore Luca Pow, fifth year Luciano Tacchi and freshman Joaquin Guilleme. Thomson defeated Guilleme 6-2, 6-2 in today's opening round. Harry Thursfield, a UNC-Asheville graduate transfer, defeated ITF Pan Am J300 finalist Ian Mayew 6-4, 6-2 to qualify today.

Duke sophomore Cooper Williams received entry via his Top 10 finish in the ITF junior rankings in 2023; Cooper Woestendick and Miguel Tobon of Colombia received spots for their current ITF rankings. Woestendick won his fourth match on the ITF Pro Circuit today, defeating Ryan Fishback(Virginia Tech) 6-3, 6-3. 

Duke junior Pedro Rodenas, who earned his way into the NCAA men's singles field by reaching the final of the Carolina Regionals over the weekend, won his first round match, beating No. 8 seed  Maxence Bertimon(VCU) 6-4, 6-0.

The women's USTA Pro Circuit is in Macon Georgia this week for a W100 tournament. Renata Zarazua of Mexico is the top seed; she is one of three WTA Top 100 players in field, the others No. 2 seed Anna Blinkova of Russia and Maria Carle(Georgia) of Argentina.

There were just two Americans qualifying today: Elvina Kalieva and Whitney Osuigwe. University of Georgia teammates Dasha Vidmanova and Alexandra Vecic also have made the main draw.

Wild cards went to three Americans: Lea Ma(Georgia), Katrina Scott and Lauren Davis. W75 Edmond finalist Alana Smith(NC State) received a special exempt entry.

Ken Thomas of radiotennis.com is providing coverage of the tournament throughout the week. 

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.

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).

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."