Thinking Less and Winning More, Pushkareva Claims Wimbledon Girls Championship; Kovackova Makes Junior Tennis History with Doubles Title; Sesko and Miguel Earn Boys Crown; Manchala Reaches 14U Final; Patten Claims Second Men's Doubles Title

©Colette Lewis 2026--

Wimbledon--

Anna Pushkareva has learned that thinking on court doesn't help her play her best tennis, so on one of the biggest stages of the sport Saturday afternoon, the 17-year-old from Moscow cleared her mind and raised her level to defeat top seed and World Tennis No. 1 Xinran Sun 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 to capture the Wimbledon girls title.

"My biggest secret is actually that I just try to not think," said Pushkareva, seeded 14th in her Wimbledon junior debut. "I just tried every time, because when I don't think it's easy for me to explain. Just go to court, just do your job, and that's all. Just not thinking so much."

On of the thoughts she wanted to avoid was her losses in her only two previous meetings with Sun. And despite that history, it was Pushkareva who had the more confident start on the sun-baked grass of Court One of the All England Lawn Tennis Club. 

 

For most of the first set, Pushkareva was holding serve comfortably, while every Sun service game went to deuce, until Pushkareva finally converted her seventh break point in the eighth game. But serving for the set at 5-3, Pushkareva faltered, with Sun saving a set point in a long backhand rally, and four games later Pushkareva had lost a set she controlled.

Down 2-0 in the second set, Pushkareva might have considered her opportunity gone, but that would have required thinking, not reacting. Instead of dwelling on her situation, she rededicated herself to her power game, stepping into the court and putting a usually aggressive Sun on defense to reel off five straight games, then holding to even the match.

The crowd began to fill the 12,000 plus Court One seats as the third set began, with those arriving for the women's final on Centre Court encouraging both the underdog and the top seed in their quest for the girls title.  As the champaign corks popped, and the frequently entertaining points applauded, there was no clear favorite until at 3-all, Sun dropped serve, then took a medical timeout for an arm injury. Looking to consolidate the break, Pushkareva fell behind 15-30 serving at 4-3, but kept blasting her forehand, closing out a deuce game with a forehand winner, a good second serve and another forehand winner.

Pushkareva had her first match point with Sun serving at 30-40, but the 15-year-old from China saved it with a great serve, and went on to hold the four-deuce game to force Pushkareva to serve it out.

Up 40-0, Pushkareva seemed well on her way to victory, but three more match points came and went, with a double fault at 40-30 drawing audible groans from the near-capacity crowd. 

"So many pressure," said the effervescent Pushkareva in the Wimbledon Media Theatre press conference after the match. "I'm just not breathing. I'm not breathing really. Okay, I need to serve. I do the double-fault on championship point. Like, okay. I just tried to not think so much. Actually so many pressure, so many nervous."

Just doing her job, rather than considering the implications of a deflating double fault on match point, Pushkareva closed the net and hit crisp backhand volley winner to earn her fifth match point. She then survived a long, tense rally by forcing Sun into a backhand error, ending the two-hour and 22-minute match, a record for a girls final since duration times began being recorded in 2001.

Collapsing on the baseline, Pushkareva spent a moment on her knees to consider her accomplishment before embracing Sun at the net, then climbing up to the player's box to celebrate with her coach and father Nikolai Pushkarev.

An hour later, Pushkareva was still trying to process her emotions.

"I just need the time to realize the fact that I'm a Wimbledon champion," said Pushkareva, who is expecting to play the US Open Junior Championships in September. "Like, it sounds crazy really. For me, I just can't realize for now. I just need the time."

It was a second disappointment in a junior slam final for Sun, who lost to Alisa Oktiabreva in the Roland Garros championship match last month.

"I was up 2-0, but she still fights, she plays really good, she doesn't give up. I think this is her best level," said Sun, who could not match Pushkareva's 39 winners. "She's an amazing player and it's unbelievable to do on the Wimbledon final. At this important time, she plays better, that's unbelievable."

Sun, who turns 16 later this month, is also planning to compete at the US Open in September.

Until today, no junior girl has ever won all four junior slams, but Jana Kovackova of Czechia now holds that distinction, with the 16-year-old claiming the only doubles title she had lacked today on show court 18. Partnering with Katerina Zajcikova, the No. 5 seeds defeated top seeds Victoria Barros and Nana Leme Da Silva of Brazil 7-6(7), 6-7(5), 10-6 to complete the Paris-London doubles double.

After winning last year's US Open and this year's Australian Open with her older sister Alena, Kovackova had to find a new partner for Roland Garros this year. When her best friend Zajcikova qualified, Kovackova, who had considered skipping doubles in Paris, signed up, and they took the title over the American team of Welles Newman and Jordyn Hazelitt, setting Kovackova up for history this week at Wimbledon.

"We had played together in Milan two weeks before Roland Garros and it was bad," said Zajcikova, also 16. "We won one match, but it was no good."

That was the last match they lost, taking the Roland Garros title and last week's J300 title in Roehampton, but they are still not sure why the partnership has worked so well.

"We know each other really good," Zajcikova said. "We're best friends," added Kovackova, who is the confident volleyer of the two. "I'm a little scared of the net," Zajcikova said.

Although they had not been forced into a match tiebreaker in lieu of a third set this week, they did have close matches, which prepared them for the stress of the three tiebreakers in today's final. 

But despite all her positive experience in major finals, Kovackova admitted to nerves, with the tension rising after they failed to convert three match points in the second set on the Brazilians' serve. Even as they slowly built a lead in the second half of the match tiebreaker, the jitters continued.

"We were shaking so much," said Kovackova, who was not aware of the history she was attempting to write in today's final, which perhaps explained the muted celebration after Kovackova closed out her career slam with a backhand volley winner.

"It's amazing, but it would be better in singles," Kovackova said.

While the No. 1 seeds in girls doubles fell at the final hurdle, the boys doubles champions were on the precipice of defeat in the second round, with Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil and Ziga Sesko of Slovenia saving four match points in their epic 18-16 third set tiebreaker against Kunanan Pantaratorn of Thailand and Arnav Paparkar of India.

"We got a bit lucky there, I need to say," said the 17-year-old Sesko, who won the Australian Open boys singles title this year. "But the energy was definitely going up, match by match. For sure, today was the best match we played this week."

Facing No. 2 seeds Michael Antonius and Andy Johnson of the United States, Sesko and Miguel took a 3-1 lead in the first and stayed committed to assertive tennis throughout their 6-1, 6-4 victory.

"That was for sure the plan," said the 17-year-old Miguel, who won the Roland Garros boys singles title last month. "Me and Ziga we played more aggressive tennis. As much as we pressure the opponents is better for us, and today we had an amazing day. Everything was really good. But it's the energy we have had not only today but the whole week together; we have played a year already and are connected in doubles and that's really important."

Sixteen-year-olds Antonius and Johnson were back on their heels for most of the first set.

"They came out with guns firing," said Johnson, from Southern California. "And I'd say we were ready for it, but they played some unbelievable points. But hats off to them, they served ridiculous, served really well."

"They served well, they got to the net well," said Antonius, who often trains at the USTA National Campus with Johnson. "They were hitting deep on the grass court, and deep, flat balls, you can't do much when they're closing in. I don't know what changes really we could have made."

Both teams are unsure of their plans for the last major on the junior calendar, but Antonius and Johnson are planning to partner in Kalamazoo next month.

The last match of the Wimbledon Junior Championships will be Sunday's boys final between qualifier Jordan Lee of the United States and Australia's Cruz Hewitt. That match is also on Court One, not before 1 p.m.

While just one match remains in the Junior Championships, the 14-and-under event continues with the finals and additional consolation matches.

Isha Manchala was the first American girl to reach the semifinals in the tournament's five-year history, and the 13-year-old from South Carolina is now the first girls finalist, after her 6-1, 6-0 victory over Lyubov Pronenko of Russia. Manchala will face Mariia Kocherzhenko of Ukraine in Sunday's 11 a.m. final, with Kocherzhenko defeating Eduarda Gomes of Brazil 6-3, 7-5.

The boys final, to follow the girls championship match on show court 12, will feature Lyoma Hotelier of Japan and Jonas Waelti of Switzerland. Hotelier, the reigning Les Petits As champion, defeated Noah Honsberger of Switzerland 7-6(3), 3-6, 11-9, while Waelti got by Novak Palombo of Australia 6-4, 1-6, 10-7.

In consolation play, David Bender of the United States defeated Martin Adamca of Slovakia 6-3, 3-6 10-8; Beata Maresova of Czechia defeated Anna Kapanadze of the United States 6-4, 6-3.

Great Britain's Henry Patten, the former All-American at University of North Carolina-Asheville, delivered a second Wimbledon title for his home country today. Patten and Harri Heliovaara of Finland, the 2024 Wimbledon champions, defeated No. 6 seeds Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia 7-6(4), 7-6(3) in the men's doubles final this afternoon. For more on that final, see this article from the Wimbledon website.

Qualifier Lee Faces Hewitt for Boys Wimbledon Title; Top Seed Sun Reaches Second Straight Slam Final; Antonius and Johnson Advance to Boys Doubles Championship; Manchala Moves On in 14U Event

©Colette Lewis 2026--

Wimbledon--

Experience on grass may be an advantage, but two Wimbledon debutants will play for the junior singles championships this weekend at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Qualifier Jordan Lee, playing not only in his first Wimbledon this week, but in his first junior slam, breezed past unseeded Vincent Reisach of Germany 6-3, 6-2 today on show court 12 and will play unseeded Cruz Hewitt of Australia in Sunday's boys final.

Hewitt, the son of 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt, defeated No. 11 seed Thijs Boogaard of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-4 to continue his straight-sets run through the field this week.

Lee defused the power of the big-serving Reisach, who didn't help his cause by making fewer than 50% of his first serves in the opening set. With Lee serving for the first set at 5-4, he double faulted for 30-all, but unfazed, hit a tough overhead winner to earn a set point, then converted it with a good first serve.

"I played him in doubles last week and got destroyed, but every day is different," said the 16-year-old from Orlando, the youngest player in the boys draw. "So either he wasn't hitting his spots as well or I was returning well, could read it."

Lee has faced only one seed this week, taking out No. 5 seed Yannick Alexandrescou of France 6-0, 6-2 in the opening round, but he knows that Cruz, whose ATP ranking of 606 is second best in the field, will be a formidable opponent on Sunday.

"Obviously, he's a good player, he's in the final," said Lee, who recalled their only meeting being a doubles match four years ago at the Eddie Herr in Bradenton Florida. "Beat him then, but that doesn't matter. I really don't know much about him. The guy's good. I saw a couple of points against Thijs this morning, looked like both were playing well."

Hewitt trailed 3-1 in the second set, but fought back to earn a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Boogaard, who has the best ATP ranking of the boys field at 525.

"I think I played a loose game to get broken," Hewitt said of the fourth game of the second set. "But I was very happy to switch straight back on in my mind and break straight back. I think that was big; I didn't let him get the momentum, kept it pretty well, and from there on was able to keep holding, and then put pressure on his service games from there."

Boogaard double faulted six times and had twice as many unforced errors as winners, unable to summon the level he had displayed in the quarterfinals against British wild card Oliver Page Thursday. Hewitt looked comfortable on the grass, with a semifinal and a final on the surface in M15s in Australia this spring, and he fed off the support of Wayne Arthurs and his father throughout the match.

"My main coach is Wayne Arthurs, but my dad does help me a lot," said the 17-year-old, who is playing his first junior tournament this year. "He's in my corner, he's coaching a little bit, but he's just there to support. Every time I look over at him, he's showing positivity, so that gets me up and about as well  and I use that. He gives me positive things, nothing too specific."

Hewitt, who last competed in a junior event at the US Open in September, has already outdone his father by making a junior slam final. Lleyton Hewitt, who won his first ATP title at age 16, had his best finish in a junior slam by reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open boys singles in 1997.

When top seed Xinran Sun of China heard the girls final would be played on Court One Saturday, she had to confirm that she had not misunderstood.

"There? me? really?," said the 15-year-old World Tennis junior No. 1. "I thought you talk about the other one. I don't what to say."

Playing on show court 12 today, Sun looked as if she would have performed just fine on that court in the women's draw last week, displaying powerful groundstrokes and deft drop shots in her 6-1, 6-3 win over unseeded Janae Preston.

Sun jumped out to a 4-0 lead, and, for the second consecutive day, won the opening set in 21 minutes. Roehampton champion Preston had won ten matches in a row on grass, with her four previous Wimbledon victories in straight sets, but she couldn't locate any facet of Sun's game to attack.

Preston did break Sun to get on the board at 4-1, but was immediately broken back with Sun crushing a first serve return winner for a 5-1 lead, then holding at love for the set.

Preston dug in to open the second set with a service hold, which elicited an encouraging cheer from the crowd, and when Preston broke back after dropping her serve in the third game, the possibility of a comeback surfaced. But Sun brought out the devastating counter to her powerful groundstrokes and high percentage of first serves made: her dropshot.

"That's my favorite shot, I think, even on grass," said Sun, who knew Preston's speed would require nearly perfect execution of that shot. "I think that helped me a lot."

Preston kept pace after that, and had a glimpse of a break at 15-30 with Sun serving at 4-3, but Sun raised her level as needed and took advantage of Preston's two untimely double faults, including one on game point, to become the first Chinese junior to reach a Wimbledon singles final.

Preston credited Sun for playing well, but was not as generous with herself.

"I don't know why my confidence wasn't there today, because I've just won my last ten matches," said the 15-year-old from Nevada. "It wasn't that I didn't have any, but I didn't have enough. I knew it was going to be a tough match, I wasn't scared of it, but I played not to lose, rather than to win, and that's not the mindset to go into the match with. I'm still happy with the great two weeks I had, and I learned a lot. I'm not happy I lost this match, but I'm happy I learned some things about myself, and things I need to work on."

Sun, who lost in the final at Roland Garros last month, feels she has an advantage over her opponent, Anna Pushkareva of Russia, who defeated Polina Skliar of Ukraine 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in the other semifinal.

"When you're going to the first grand slam final it's always hard," said Sun, who trains in Belgrade Serbia. "You are nervous, it's hard for everybody. But now, second time, I think I have more experience than the others, so I think that's good."

In addition to the experience advantage over Pushkareva, who is playing her first Wimbledon, Sun also has beaten the 17-year-old from Moscow twice in the past ten months: once in the final of an W15 in last November in Egypt, and in the third round of the J500 in Milan in May. 

But the 14th-seeded Pushkareva has been on a revenge tour this week, beating Melije Clarke in the third round after losing to her in the first round of Roehampton, and today avenging a loss last year to Skliar, a trend she hopes will continue Saturday.

Pushkareva is adamant that hard courts are her best surface, and with little practice on grass after that first round loss last week, she is surprised by her success this week.

"I just feel so mixed on this surface," said Pushkareva, who trains in Moscow with her father Nikolai Pushkarev. "I just can't understand it. But for now, I think I start to understand it, and I do like it more than clay courts."

Pushkareva is also not interested in talking tactics or strategy, which often disrupt her performance.

"I'm not really about tactics," Pushkareva said. "I just do what I do in a situation. I just prefer not thinking so much; it's difficult for me when I think so much, it's just pressure for me."

And although she has reservations about the surface, she has none about the tournament.

"I'm so excited," Pushkareva said of the prospect of playing on Court One. "This atmosphere is really amazing, it's really good experience to play here, the most historic slam. I can't explain the atmosphere here, it's just so great. To have this tournament in the juniors, it's a good situation for us, to see the pro players here and you say, yeah, I need work more for this level."

The girls final is scheduled for not before 1 p.m., following the men's wheelchair doubles final. 

The boys doubles final will also be on Court One again this year, with the top two seeds squaring off for the title. 

No. 1 seeds Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil and Ziga Sesko of Slovenia will face No. 2 seeds Michael Antonius and Andy Johnson following the girls final. 

Miguel and Sesko defeated unseeded Oluwaseun Ogunsakin of Nigeria and Ntungamili Raguin of Botswana 6-3, 6-7(6), 10-6 on court 12 Friday, while Antonius and Johnson beat unseeded Raffaele Ciurnelli of Italy and Leon Sloboda of Slovakia 7-6(4), 7-5 on court 18.

The girls doubles final will be on court 18 Saturday, not before 12:30 p.m., with top seeds Victoria Barros and Nana Leme Da Silva of Brazil playing the fifth-seeded Czech team of Jana Kovackova and Katerina Zajickova. Barros and Leme Da Silva defeated unseeded Polina Berezina of Russia and Anastasija Cvetkovic of Serbia 4-6, 6-2, 10-1 in the semifinals today. Roland Garros champion Kovackova and Zajickova, who beat No. 8 seed Ida Wobker of Germany and Denisa Zoldakova of Czechia 6-4, 6-1 today, are not only going for the rare Paris-London double, but Kovackova is bidding to become the first girl to win all four junior slams, having claimed the 2025 US Open and 2026 Australian Open titles with her older sister Alena.

Former Stanford All-American Arthur Fery's magical Wimbledon run came to end today, with the wild card from Great Britain losing to Roland Garros champion Alexander Zverev of Germany 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals. Fery has gone from outside the Top 100 to 36 in the ATP live rankings after his inspiring run during the fortnight.

Former Pepperdine All-American Luisa Stefani of Brazil will play in her first women's doubles final at a major Sunday, after she and partner Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada, the No. 2 seeds, defeated No. 13 seeds Shuko Aoyama of Japan and En-Shuo Liang of Taiwan 7-5, 6-3 in the semifinals today. They will play No. 10 seeds Hanyu Guo of China and Kristina Mladenovic of France, who beat unseeded Xinyu Jiang and Yifan Xu of China 7-6(5), 6-4. 

The semifinals are set for the Wimbledon 14-and-under event, with Isha Manchala of the United States advancing to the semifinals with a perfect 3-0 record in her group. Manchala is the first American girl to reach the semifinals in the tournament's five-year history. 

Results of Americans in 14-and-under group play Friday:

Oskar Laskowski(GBR) d. David Bender 7-6(4), 6-2

Lyoma Hotelier(JPN) d. David Bender 6-2, 6-2

Isha Manchala d. Ayaka Iwasa(JPN) 6-2, 6-2

Shristi Kiran(IND) d. Anna Kapanadze 7-6(4), 6-4

The 14-and under semifinals Saturday:

Girls:

Isha Manchala(USA) v Lyubov Pronenko(RUS)

Eduarda Gomes(BRA) v Mariia Kocherzhenko UKR)

Boys:

Novak Palombo(AUS) v Jonas Waelti(SUI)

Noah Honsberger(SUI) v Lyoma Hotelier(JPN)

Results of the girls group play are here; the boys results are here.

Lee and Preston Reach Wimbledon Junior Championships Singles Semifinals; Antonius and Johnson Advance to Boys Doubles Semis; Manchala Earns Two Wins to Start 14U Tournament; Gauff Falls in Third Set Tiebreaker; Arevalo Claims Wimbledon Mixed Title

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Wimbledon--

Sixteen-year-old Jordan Lee is making his junior slam debut a memorable one, while 15-year-old Janae Preston has fashioned a ten-match winning streak on grass, after the American pair posted straight-sets Wimbledon Junior Championships quarterfinal victories on another blistering day at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Lee took to show court 18 first, after the Men's Invitational doubles match, which featured Lleyton Hewitt, the father of Lee's potential opponent in the boys final, Cruz Hewitt. 

If Lleyton Hewitt stuck around to do some scouting, he would have witnessed Lee's third win in the last two months over unseeded Arnav Paparkar of India, this time by a score of 6-2, 7-5.

Lee was in control throughout the first set, with Paparkar struggling to stay in the rallies when he didn't get his first serve in. 

The second was much tighter, with Paparkar, who had lost to Lee on clay at the J300 Belgium in May and last week in Roehampton, taking a 3-1 lead before Lee broke back for 3-all and held to take a 6-5 lead. Down 0-30 serving to stay in the match, the 18-year-old Paparkar hit a 128 mph ace to relieve some of the pressure, but Lee's superior depth on his groundstrokes forced an error to set up two match points. Paparkar saved the first by controlling the rally from corner to corner before Lee made and error, and got a gift from Lee to save the second when Lee couldn't get a second serve return back in play. But an ill-advised drop shot attempt that didn't clear the net gave Lee a third opportunity, which he converted when Paparkar made an unforced error on the backhand.

Lee has now played six singles matches in the past seven days, with each day warmer than the previous one, but the Orlando resident said he's experiencing no repercussions from that.

"I feel fine," said Lee, who was out with a wrist injury for most of 2025, but says that issue is now resolved. "And I'm hungry for more. I'm ready for whatever comes my way and I'll deal with it as best as possible."

Lee says he is not surprised by his run this week.

"No, I've put in a lot of work to this point," said Lee, who works with USTA national coaches Felipe Mantilla and Sylvain Guichard in Orlando. "And with the injuries. it was not easy at all, but this is where I belong. I feel confident in my game and I feel I can never get enough."

An unseeded boys finalist is guaranteed, when Lee takes on Vincent Reisach of Germany Friday, after Reisach defeated Jack Secord 6-3, 6-3 on show court 12.

Reisach lost in the first round at Roehampton last week, which was his first tournament on grass, but the 17-year-old from Bavaria is averaging 124 mph on his first serve and using his flat backhand to maximum effect as the courts get faster with the 90 degree temperatures.

"It's a little bit slower here, I think, but my serve is pretty good here," said Reisach, who has struck 137 mph first serve sin each of his last two matches. "I like the serve plus one, come to the net, and I have that flat backhand and I think that's a good game for grass."

Unlike Lee, Reisach admits this is an unexpected result for him.

"At the beginning of the tournament, I just wanted to have fun here, find out where I am in the juniors, get the experience." said Reisach, who won the Roland Garros boys doubles title with Jamie Mackenzie last month. "So yes, it surprises me, of course."

Reisach and Lee met in the doubles semifinals last week in Roehampton, with Reisach and Mackenzie winning 6-1, 6-2, but that is the only time they have played.

"I know he's (birth year) 2010, he plays amazing for 2010," Reisach said. "And now he's in semis. We haven't played in singles yet, but I'm looking forward to it."

The semifinal in the bottom half will feature No. 11 seed Thijs Boogaard of the Netherlands and Hewitt, with both posting routine victories. Boogaard ended the run of British wild card Oliver Page 6-3, 6-1, who had, of course, the majority of the support on show court 12, but fell short of producing the junior version of Arthur Fery.

"I watched his match after mine yesterday," said 18-year-old from Wales, who will start his collegiate career next month at Wichita State. "Obviously yesterday when I won I was in the quarters and I was watching him play the quarters. He definitely gave me inspiration that I could win today, but it didn't go that way. But still an incredible run here, being a wild card."

Page, who beat No. 4 seed and Australian Open champion Ziga Sesko in the second round and No. 15 seed Kuan-Shou Chen of Taiwan in the third round, saw a different level from Boogaard today.

"From point one, you could tell he is ready to play, and has got the ability to play, men's tennis," said Page, who lost the winners battle 20 to 4. "Playing against him is like a different level from the juniors. You can tell he's adapting to the men's game and is ready to play men's tennis."

Boogaard and Cruz will be meeting for the first time in Friday's semifinal.

Preston followed Lee on Court 18, but she didn't spend much time there, beating unseeded Emily Eigelsbach of Germany 6-3, 6-1 in 64 minutes.

As the temperature continued to rise, Preston detected a weakness she could exploit and did not shy away from doing so.

"I didn't play my best, but I think I played smart today," said the 15-year-old from Nevada, who had 22 winner and 13 unforced errors. "I build the points pretty well; I don't know if the heat was getting to her, but whenever we had longer points I managed to get them, so I was trying to move her a little more."

Preston will aim for her eleventh consecutive win on grass when she plays top seed and World Tennis junior No. 1 Xinran Sun of China, who overwhelmed Austrian qualifier Anna Pircher 6-0, 6-3 in 53 minutes.

"I know she's super solid," said the Roehampton champion, who has not played against Sun, the Roland Garros finalist. "She gets every ball back, but she's also super aggressive. She definitely knows her game and she trusts it; I would say that's a big thing."

Although she's a long way from her home town of Henderson Nevada, Preston said she's feeling the support from the Las Vegas suburb.

"People at home, they're going crazy," said Preston, who wouldn't be surprised if her grandparents organized a watch party. "I try not to read too much into it, but they're really happy for me and excited."

The other girls semifinal will feature 15-year-old Polina Skliar of Ukraine, the No. 15 seed, against No. 14 seed Anna Pushkareva of Russia. Skliar won the day's longest junior match, beating No. 7 seed Mariia Marakova of Russia 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-4, while Pushkareva, 17, defeated unseeded Yihan Qu 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

The doubles semifinals are also set for Friday, with one US team remaining. No. 2 seeds Michael Antonius and Andy Johnson will face unseeded Raffaele Ciurnelli of Italy and Leon Sloboda of Slovakia in the bottom half semifinal; top seeds Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil and Ziga Sesko of Slovenia will face unseeded Oluwaseun Ogunsakin of Nigeria and Ntungamili Raguin of Botswana.

Top seeds Victoria Barros and Nana Leme Da Silva of Brazil will face the unseeded team of Polina Berezina of Russia and Anastasija Cvetkovic of Serbia in the top half of the girls doubles draw. No. 8 seeds Ida Wobker of Germany and Denisa Zoldakova of Czechia will face No. 5 seeds Jana Kovackova and Katerina Zajickova of Czechia. Kovackova currently holds all three junior girls doubles titles and will make history as the only girl to win all four if she takes the title here on Saturday.

Doubles quarterfinal results of Americans:

Victoria Barros and Nana Leme Da Silva(BRA)[1] d. Thea Frodin 

and Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi(IND)[7] 3-6, 6-4, 10-6

Polina Berezina(RUS) and Anastasija Cvetkovic(SRB) d. Jordyn Hazelitt and Welles Newman 6-2, 6-2

Michael Antonius and Andy Johnson[2] d. Hyu Kawanishi and Kanta Watanabe(JPN) 6-4, 6-2

The 14 and under tournament began today, with Isha Manchala picking up two wins in Group A and David Bender getting a victory in Group B.  Anna Kapanadze lost both of her matches in Group D. Bender will play twice tomorrow, with Manchala and Kapanadze playing once, after which the group winners will be determined, and move into Saturday's semifinals.

Group play results of Americans in 14U tournament:

Isha Manchala d. Ke-Chieh Hsu(TPE) 6-1, 6-2

Isha Manchala d. Isabella Rebel(GBR) 7-5, 6-2

Nishta Kesavan(GBR) d. Anna Kapanadze 7-6(2), 6-4

Lyubov Pronenko(RUS) d. Anna Kapanadze 6-3, 6-7(5), 10-4

David Bender d. Mathias Gonzalez Osorio(COL) 6-2, 6-2

The boys draw is here; the girls draw is here.

Friday's order of play is here.

Coco Gauff's bid for a third major final was agonizingly close Thursday, but she couldn't convert her match point in the third set tiebreaker, falling to Karolina Muchova of Czechia 6-2, 1-6 7-6(10). For more on that semifinal, see this article from the BBC. 

Former Tulsa standout Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador won his third major doubles title tonight on Wimbledon's Centre Court. No. 2 seeds Arevalo and partner Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia defeated the unseeded Australian team of Marc Polmans and Storm Hunter 4-6, 7-5, 6-2 in the mixed doubles championship match. Arevalo, who won the 2022 and 2024 Roland Garros men's doubles title, will play for the men's doubles title Saturday with partner Mate Pavic of Croatia. They will face top seeds Harri Heliovaara of Finland and Henry Patten(UNC-Asheville) of Great Britain in final Saturday.

Qualifier Lee, Unseeded Secord Reach Wimbledon Boys Quarterfinals, Roehampton Champion Preston Advances to Girls Final Eight; Fery Breezes Past Cobolli, Faces Zverev in Men's Semifinals; 14-and Under Event Begins Thursday

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Wimbledon--

The hot and dry conditions continued for the third round of the Wimbledon Junior Championships Wednesday, with three of the six Americans in action advancing to Thursday's quarterfinals at the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

Unseeded Janae Preston, who won the title last week at the J300 in Roehampton, said the cumulative effect of her nine singles matches on the grass made the heat more noticeable today.

Preston, who came from 4-2 down in the second set to close out No. 10 seed Charo Esquiva Banuls of Spain 6-2, 6-4, has yet to drop a set this week in her Wimbledon debut.

The cloudless skies, 90 degree temperatures and little breeze made for difficult conditions, but Preston took the words of her coach to heart and finished it out in 82 minutes.

"I was hot, and I've been playing two weeks straight," said the 15-year-old from Henderson Nevada. "I'm not really tired, but the heat caught up to me today; I need to stay a little more hydrated."

Preston was happy with her form in the first set, but deviated from her game plan in the first half of the second set.

"My coach told me, 'you're making five unforced errors every game' and that really got to me," Preston said. "Honestly I didn't change anything, just stayed more solid. I think I got a little too erratic in the second set, was hitting balls wherever and wasn't really thinking. I had to lock in a little bit more in the second set."

Part of her success in flipping that switch comes from the results Preston has posted in the first six months of 2026, with four ITF J300 titles and now her first junior slam quarterfinal.

"I'm confident that when I don't play well I know I can figure it out," Preston said. "Honestly, I don't think I've played more than one match where I played my best, so I think I'm figuring out when I'm not playing well, not striking the ball how I want to strike it, but still managing to get the win."

Preston faces Emily Eigelsbach of Germany, who came from 6-4, 4-2 down to beat No. 3 seed Jana Kovackova of Czechia 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-4. 

In the top quarter, No. 1 seed Xinran Sun of China defeated Thea Frodin 6-3, 6-4 and will face qualifier Anna Pircher of Austria next. Pircher eliminated the last British girl in the draw, National 16s and 18s champion Daniella Britton, 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-1.

The only girls quarterfinal featuring two seeds is between No. 7 Mariia Makarova of Russi and No. 15 seed Polina Skliar of Ukraine. Makarova defeated Yushan Shao of China 6-2, 6-0 and Skliar took out her doubles partner and doppelganger Maia Burcescu of Romania 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-2.

In the bottom quarter, unseeded Yihan Qu of China defeated No. 9 seed Mariella Thamm of Germany 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 and will play No. 14 seed Anna Pushkareva of Russia, who beat Melije Clarke 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, to avenge her loss to Clarke last week at Roehampton.

Only two seeds remain in the boys draw, with both No. 11 Thijs Boogaard of the Netherlands and No. 9 Dimitar Kisimov of Bulgaria in the bottom half.

Boogaard defeated British wild card Rhys Lawler 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, while Kisimov avenged his two losses to doubles partner Connor Doig of South Africa, one of which was in Wimbledon qualifying last year, by coming back for a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(5) win Wednesday.

Boogaard will play another British wild card in Oliver Page, who eliminated a seed again today, beating No. 15 Kuan-Shou Chen of Taiwan 6-3, 6-4. Page, an 18-year-old from Wales ranked 323, will begin his collegiate career this fall at Wichita State.

Kisimov will face unseeded Australian Cruz Hewitt, the 17-year-old son of Lleyton Hewitt, who defeated No. 2 seed Jamie Mackenzie of Germany, a TCU rising freshman, 6-3, 6-4.

Hewitt, who is playing his first junior tournament of the year this week but used his ATP ranking of 606 for entry, won the junior invitational at Hurlingham two weeks ago, his only preparation for this event.

With the benefit of warming up with his father, who won Wimbledon in 2002, Hewitt believes his is a contender for the title. 

"Obviously, every tournament you come in, you hope to win it," Hewitt said. "Three matches so far and I've enjoyed playing every one. I think I played a pretty good match;  I think I handle the big moments pretty well. I always believe in myself, if I'm down, if I'm up, same attitude, same mentality."

The two American boys remaining are in the top half, with qualifier Jordan Lee, who at 16 is the youngest boy in the draw, defeating unseeded Tanishk Konduri 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3.

Lee, who is playing in his first junior slam due to an injury-riddled 2025, lost the only break point he faced in the two-hour and 10-minute match, but grabbed an early 4-0 lead in the third set to take control.

"I thought Tanishk served very well, which made it difficult for me to break," said Lee, who went viral on social media recently for his resemblance to teenaged Spanish football star Lamine Yamal." But I did a pretty good job at the end of holding my serves."

Lee, who said he hopes eventually to be compared to Yamal for his athletic accomplishments, not his appearance, faces Arnav Paparkar of India in the quarterfinals. Lee, who has defeated Parparkar twice in straight sets in the past two months, is not taking Parparkar lightly.

"I think I go into every match the same, expecting it to be a battle, how it was today," Lee said. "Going into the match knowing I've beaten him twice in the last month and a half gives me a bit of confidence, but I know that every match is different, every day is different."

Jack Secord, who defeated No. 16 seed Dante Pagani of Argentina 6-4, 7-6(11) today, can confirm that. A day after beating World No. 1 and Roland Garros champion Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil 5-7, 6-1, 6-4, Secord was up against Pagani, whom he had beaten 6-2, 6-4 in the first round at Roehampton last week. 

"I was expecting a better match, just because the conditions suit him more than last week, because the ball comes up more how he likes it," said the 17-year-old left-hander from Chicago. "But he played really well. I didn't play as well, I was just a little flat compared to yesterday."

Secord was relieved to finish out the match in the tiebreaker, with Pagani having four set points and Secord needing three match points before he was clear of a third set. 

"I was a little slow with my feet, and on grass, once you're not behind the ball, you're kind of toast," Secord said. "I still played really well, but I didn't have the edge I did yesterday."

Secord, who will play unseeded Vincent Reisbach of Germany, a 6-4, 7-6(3) winner over No. 8 seed Zangar Nurlanuly of Kazkhstan, had an opportunity to follow the last set of former Stanford All-American Arthur Fery's 6-4, 7-6(4), 6-0 quarterfinal win over No. 9 seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy between his singles and doubles matches.

"I thought he played really well, and the crowd's behind him as well, which really helps him even more," said Secord, who will join Paul Goldstein's program in the fall of 2027. "He plays Zverev, so it will definitely be a challenge, but I don't have any doubt anymore."

Goldstein, who flew in this morning and was in Fery's box for the match, told me today that Fery came to Stanford with that same composure and poise, but no one could  anticipate the performances Fery has put on this week.

"What he did Monday, to execute under that kind of pressure, play with that kind of composure, first time on Centre Court, grew up a mile away, tens of thousands of people in the crowd, millions more watching on TV, for him to be able to execute under that level of pressure. We use superlatives all the time, extraordinary, exceptional, but it is so true with what he did, absolutely incredibly impressive."

"That's how I would have described him before Wimbledon started, as someone who has a tremendous amount of composure and poise. But there's no way to prepare for THAT, to predict that. But If anyone would've been able to do it, it's Arthur. He was always more mature than his years, his approach to being the best player he could be, very professional, very innovative, a very independent thinker. What he did was still so amazing, but if anyone would be able to do it, it's him."

Wednesday's third round singles matches featuring Americans:

Xinran Sun[1](CHN) d. Thea Frodin 6-3, 6-4

Anna Pushkareva[14](RUS) d. Melije Clarke 3-6, 7-5, 6-1 

Janae Preston d. Charo Esquiva Banuls[10(ESP) 6-2, 6-4

Jack Secord d. Dante Pagani[16](ARG) 6-4, 7-6(11)

Jordan Lee[Q] d. Tanishk Konduri 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-3 

Wednesday's second round doubles results of Americans:

Yannick Alexandrescou(FRA) and Ryo Tabata(JPN[6] d. Rhys Lawlor(GBR) and Jordan Lee, walkover

Michael Antonius and Andy Johnson[2] d. Dan Brand(ISR) and Pedro Henrique Chabalgoity(BRA) 7-6(4), 6-2

Mathys Domenc(FRA) and Daniel Jade(FRA)[8] d. Valentin Gonzalez-Galino(ESP) and Tanishk Konduri 6-3, 6-0

Rihards Neimanis(LAT) and Matei Todoran(ROU) d. Damir Zhalgasbay(KAZ) and Jack Secord 6-4, 4-6, 10-8

Oluwaseun Ogunsakin(NGR) and Ntungamili Raguin(BOT) d. Safir Azam and Vihaan Reddy 6-1, 4-6, 10-1

Raffaele Ciurnelli(ITA) and Leon Sloboda(SVK) d. Ryan Cozad and Gavin Goode 7-6(3), 7-6(5)

Ida Wobker(GER) and Denisa Zoldakova(CZE)[8] d. Lani Chang and Maggie Sohns 6-1, 6-2

Jordyn Hazelitt and Welles Newman d. Daniella Britton(GBR) and Edie Griffiths(GBR)[WC] 6-7(3), 6-2, 10-2

Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas(RUS) and Anna Pushkareva(RUS)[3] d. Melije Clarke and Olivia Traynor 6-7(7), 6-4, 10-5

Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi(IND) and Thea Frodin[7] d. Ilary Pistola(ITA) and Giulia Safina Popa(ROU) 5-7, 7-5, 10-3

Victoria Barros(BRA) and Nana Leme Da Silva(BRA)[1] d. Maria Valentina Pop(ROU) and Anita Tu 6-4, 2-6, 10-4

 

Thursday's doubles quarterfinals featuring Americans:

Victoria Barros and Nana Leme Da Silva(BRA)[1] v Thea Frodin 

and Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi(IND)

Jordyn Hazelitt and Welles Newman v Polina Berezina(RUS) and Anastasija Cvetkovic(SRB)

Michael Antonius and Andy Johnson[2] v Hyu Kawanishi and Kanta Watanabe(JPN)

The fifth annual Wimbledon 14-and-under event will begin Thursday with two rounds of group play for the girls and one round for the boys. On Friday, the boys will play twice and the girls once, with the group winners advancing to the semifinals Saturday.

Three Americans are in the 16-player fields for boys and girls: Isha Manchala, Anna Kapanadze and David Bender.

The girls draw is here; the boys draw is here.

Secord Keeps Cool on Hot Day at Wimbledon to Upset Junior World No.1 Miguel, Unseeded Konduri and Qualifier Lee Join Secord in Wednesday's Round of 16; Gauff Reaches First Wimbledon Semifinal

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Wimbledon--

Jack Secord doesn't know their names, but the 17-year-old from Chicago appreciated the support two anonymous fans provided late in the third set of Secord's second round Wimbledon Junior Championships match with World Junior No. 1 Luis Guto Miguel. 

As the reliably impassioned Brazilian fans surrounded Court 6 at the All England Lawn Tennis Club erupted in "let's go Guto" chants when the 17-year-old Roland Garros champion broke Secord at 2-all in the third set, Secord was grateful to hear his name.

"The Brazilian crowd is always there for sure," said Secord, who survived the 90-degree heat and the partisan crowd to seal a 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 victory. "But there were a couple of guys, I don't know who it was, but near the end there was someone screaming 'let's go Jack', so that was good."

The 2-all game was full of drama, going to deuce seven times and lasting 17 minutes, which included a lengthy discussion with the tournament supervisor after Secord was awarded a point for Miguel's second time violation.

"I was waiting on my serve a couple of points, and he'd gotten a time violation on his serve earlier," Secord said. "I was waiting on my serve for a while and that's why he got it."

Miguel argued with the chair umpire, who did not budge, with Miguel then requesting the supervisor. When the supervisor arrived on court, he backed the umpire, and a furious Miguel won the next three points, finally converting his fifth break point in the game.

"He started playing better, because he started getting really mad," Secord said. "So that game he played unbelievable to break me, but I broke him right back at 3-2."

Secord saved a break point to take a 4-3 lead, and when Miguel netted a backhand to fall behind 15-40, the opportunity to serve for the match was there for Secord. But Miguel came up with a service winner and an ace to brush those break points aside, holding for 4-4.

Secord, who had a two-break lead in the first set, said losing that set and the eighth game in the third actually kept him committed to his strategy.

"I was up two breaks, missed a backhand by this much on set point, and he started playing better and I started playing too tight," said Secord, who hit some brave volleys and made few unforced errors in the last four games of the set. "Once I start playing tight against him, he's just too good, you can't win anymore. So that almost gave me better clarity on what I needed to do in the third. If I get nervous, I'm going to lose."

After holding easily to go up 5-4, Secord put the pressure back on Miguel, who took a 40-15 lead in the game. But the unforced error count began to creep up, and three points later Secord had a match point. Secord made a rare unforced error himself on that first match point, but Miguel couldn't convert two more game points and three points and three unforced errors later, Secord secured the massive upset.

"I was pretty clear what I needed to do coming in, which was just rip the ball," said Secord, who also returned well, giving Miguel no free points on serve. "I knew if I was going to let him be aggressive I'd lose. Having a clear mindset definitely helped me today."

Secord was not the only future Stanford Cardinal to post an impressive win today, with unseeded Tanishk Konduri defeating Roehampton J300 finalist Svit Suljic of Slovenia 6-2, 7-6(4).

That match also featured an unusual game, with medical attention needed for both players at 4-4 in the second set. Siljic had a nosebleed before a point was played in his service game, then on the fourth point of the game, Konduri won the 30-15 point but slipped on the baseline, injuring his hip, and needed a medical timeout of his own. Konduri lost the game, and saved a set point on serve in the next game, but the drama wasn't over, with Siljic getting two more set points at 5-6 thanks to Konduri's consecutive double faults.

"I went down 15-40, but I served my way out of it, service winner, ace," said the 17-year-old from Cupertino California. "I played a good game there, got my momentum back."

Konduri, who was disappointed in his results at the previous two junior slams, picking up his first win at that level just two days ago over No. 9 seed Yannik Alvarez, changed his mindset for this tournament.

"I've been doing a good job of not thinking too much, but thinking just enough," said Konduri, who saved four match points against Alvarez. "I've been unburdened by any thoughts, playing without fear, with discipline and really brave. In the tiebreak, I just trusted, played brave when it mattered, especially in the important moments."

Konduri doesn't know former Stanford All-American Arthur Fery, who takes Centre Court for the men's quarterfinals tomorrow, but he feels there is a connection.

"I've never met him, but the idea that he was also a Cardinal, it gives me, not necessarily hope, but it gives me motivation to do well here as well," Konduri said. "I was playing doubles, but I saw the end of the match and a few highlights."

Konduri will face qualifier Jordan Lee, who defeated Tito Chavez of Spain 6-3, 6-3, guaranteeing an American will reached the quarterfinals on the boys side.  Secord's opponent will be No. 16 seed Dante Pagani of Argentina, who lost to Secord in the first round last week at Roehampton, after winning their quarterfinal in three sets at the J500 Banana Bowl on clay earlier this year.

The two seeded American boys were beaten in today's second round, with No. 12 Andy Johnson losing to Vincent Reisbach of Germany 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 7-6(5) and No. 3 Keaton Hance falling to Arnav Paparkar of India 6-2, 6-3.

No. 4 seed and Australian Open champion Ziga Sesko of Slovenia lost to British wild card Oliver Page 6-4, 6-4, so a first-time boys slam champion will be crowned on Sunday.

One of the five seeds remaining in the boys third round is No. 11 Thijs Boogaard of the Netherlands, who defeated Daniel Jade of France 7-6(1), 6-2, coming from a break down in first set to take control of the match.

Boogaard, who turned 18 on Sunday, didn't play Roland Garros in order to prepare for the ATP 250 last month on grass in his home country. He earned his first ATP win there, over Wu Yibing of China, and had a match point in his second round contest with Daniil Medvedev before falling in a third-set tiebreaker. He then claimed his first Pro Circuit singles title at an M25 in Portugal on hard courts, but wanted to play at the All England Club one final time as a junior.

"Just one more time," said Boogaard, who reached the quarterfinals here last year. "It's the last junior tournament for me. It's one of the best tournaments, the grass is so special."

Boogaard will experience another highlight tomorrow, when he plays against British wild card Rhys Lawlor on show court 18.

"He's a great player on the grass," said Boogaard, who beat Lawlor 6-0, 6-1 in the first round of an M15 in Greece this spring. "I watched a bit of his match against (Michael) Antonius and it was a great win for him. I've also played against him one time this year already, so I know a bit about him. I expect it to be a good match, and we'll both give our best."

The remainder of the first round of girls doubles matches were played this afternoon, with two of the top four seeds eliminated. Unseeded Roland Garros finalists Jordyn Hazelitt and Welles Newman beat No. 4 seeds Xinran Sun and Ruien Zhang 6-7(10), 6-3, 13-11, saving two match points in the tiebreaker to advance.

No. 2 seeds Charo Esquiva Banuls and Paola Pinera Celorio of Spain lost to Mailuodi Lei and Yu Jun Lin of China 2-6, 6-4, 10-8.

The third round singles matches in both draws and second round doubles matches in both draws are on Wednesday's schedule.

Tuesday's second round singles results of Americans:

Vincent Reisach(GER) d. Andy Johnson[12] 7-6(3), 6-7(4), 7-6(5)

Arnav Paparkar(IND) d. Keaton Hance[3] 6-2, 6-3

Jack Secord d. Luis Guto Miguel[1](BRA) 5-7, 6-1, 6-4

Tanish Konduri d. Svit Suljic[SE](SLO) 6-2, 7-6(4)

Jordan Lee[Q] d. Tito Chavez(ESP) 6-3, 6-3

Wednesday's third round singles matches featuring Americans:

Thea Frodin v Xinran Sun[1](CHN)

Melije Clarke v Anna Pushkareva[14](RUS)

Janae Preston v Charo Esquiva Banuls[10(ESP)

Jack Secord v Dante Pagani[16](ARG)

Tanishk Konduri v Jordan Lee[Q]

Wednesday's second round doubles matches featuring Americans:

Rhys Lawlor(GBR) and Jordan Lee v Yannick Alexandrescou(FRA) and Ryo Tabata(JPN[6]

Michael Antonius and Andy Johnson[2] v Dan Brand(ISR) and Pedro Henrique Chabalgoity(BRA)

Valentin Gonzalez-Galino(ESP) and Tanishk Konduri v Mathys Domenc(FRA) and Daniel Jade(FRA)[8]

Damir Zhalgasbay(KAZ) and Jack Secord v Rihards Neimanis(LAT) and Matei Todoran(ROU)

Safir Azam and Vihaan Reddy v Oluwaseun Ogunsakin(NGR) and Ntungamili Raguin(BOT)

Ryan Cozad and Gavin Goode v Raffaele Ciurnelli(ITA) and Leon Sloboda(SVK)

Lani Chang and Maggie Sohns v Ida Wobker(GER) and Denisa Zoldakova(CZE)[8]

Jordyn Hazelitt and Welles Newman v Daniella Britton(GBR) and Edie Griffiths(GBR)

Melije Clarke and Olivia Traynor v Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas(RUS) and Anna Pushkareva(RUS)[3]

Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi(IND) and Thea Frodin[7] v Ilary Pistola(ITA) and Giulia Safina Popa(ROU)

Maria Valentina Pop(ROU) and Anita Tu v Victoria Barros(BRA) and Nana Leme Da Silva(BRA)[1]

Coco Gauff won her fourth consecutive three-set match today at Wimbledon, with the No. 7 seed beating No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to reach her first Wimbledon semifinal. Gauff will play No. 10 seed Karolina Muchova of Czechia, the No. 10 seed Thursday. Muchova defeated Naomi Osaka of Japan 7-6(4), 6-4. For more on Gauff's win today, see this article from the Wimbledon website.

Clarke Topples No. 2 Seed and Australian Open Champion Efremova, Preston's Grass Surge Continues at Wimbledon Junior Championships; Fritz Advances to Quarterfinals, Fery's Dream Run Not Over Yet

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Wimbledon--

Melije Clarke's first competitive matches on grass were last week at the J300 in Roehampton, but few juniors have benefitted from the wisdom of coaches with pedigree that hers have. With the help of Wimbledon women's singles semifinalist Lori McNeil and women's singles finalist Zina Garrison, the 16-year-old from Houston put all their guidance on display Monday in a 6-4, 6-1 second round Wimbledon Junior Championships victory over No. 2 seed and Australian Open girls champion Ksenia Efremova of France.

Clarke's Wimbledon debut Sunday certainly built her confidence, dropping just two games in her win over Veronika Sekerkova of Czechia, who had reached a J200 final on clay in her home country and therefore couldn't play Roehampton, due to a date overlap.

But Clarke knew she was likely to face a more prepared competitor in the second round, with Efremova reaching the semifinals last week in Roehampton.

"I knew Ksenia was the type of person to get a lot of balls back," said Clarke, who had McNeil as a coach at Roehampton before her mentor left for vacation, leaving Clarke's mother Obi as the main voice in her player's box. "I feel like I was really dominant in my first match, but I had to lengthen out the points a bit with her. I had to come into the match confident, because I know she has a lot of confidence, being super highly ranked. I had to stand my ground a little bit and I think I executed that pretty well."

After Clarke got the only break in the first set with Efremova serving at 4-5, 30-40, she kept the momentum going, taking a 3-0 lead in the second set, but the 2025 J300 Pan American Closed champion knew closing it out would not be simple.

"I tried to focus on one point at a time and not think, oh my gosh, I'm up a set and 3-0 and I may win the match," Clarke said. "I've had a lot of matches when I thought it was over and I ended up losing, so I was trying to stay calm, focus on little things, take it step by step."

Blasting winners from close to the baseline and keeping Efremova off balance led to a second break and a 5-1 lead, but the final game was a tense one, with Efremova saving two match points and Clarke fighting off two break points.

Rather than go big on serve break point down, Clarke, at her mother's suggestion, added some variety instead.

"She was telling me to mix it up a lot," Clarke said. "When I went spin-y and then one flat, she probably didn't know what to expect." 

The match point was a lengthy rally with depth and pace from both players before Clarke sent a sizzling forehand winner down the line to claim her spot in the third round against No. 14 seed Anna Pushkareva of Russia, who she defeated in a third-set tiebreaker in th first round of Roehampton last week.

"I knew I could do it, in a non-cocky way," Clarke said. "But I was just relieved, because the game was so long and I didn't want to receive again. I wasn't breaking her enough, so I said I really want to hold my serve now. I let go of all my emotions building up throughout the match."

When Clarke first walked onto the grounds of the All England Lawn Tennis Club Saturday, she took some time to soak in the atmosphere.

"Wimbledon has always been my favorite slam," said Clarke, who played both of her singles matches on Court 8. "It's actually more beautiful in person than on TV. Sometimes on Court 8, which has such a nice a view, I think 'I'm here, it's so nice,' and I'm trying to enjoy every moment."

Roehampton champion Janae Preston stretched her grass court winning steak to eight matches with a 6-1, 7-5 win over qualifier Olivia Traynor, also from the United States.

Preston and Traynor had split matches in back-to-back weeks last year at J100s in Guatemala.

"I was happy to get this win," said the 15-year-old from Nevada. "It was a tough match, especially the second set, was a battle. But I thought I competed really well and managed to pull through."

Preston is obviously comfortable on grass now after six wins at Roehampton, but her opponents might not want to hear that she likes the Wimbledon courts even better.

"The atmosphere is obviously greater," said Preston, who has won four J300s now and is up to a career-high of 14 in the World Tennis junior rankings. "And I feel like the courts are a little bit slower here, so that was a bit of adjustment. But it's obviously great for me, to have more time to hit through the ball, so it works out for me."

As for her first impressions of Wimbledon, Preston said the scope of the tournament doesn't come through on TV.

"It's a lot bigger than I thought," said Preston, who plays No. 10 seed Charo Esquiva Banuls of Spain in the third round Wednesday after Esquiva Banuls beat qualifier Carrie-Anne Hoo 6-2, 6-3. "I thought it would be smaller. But yes, this place is beautiful, the flowers, it's so nice: the grounds, the people, everyone is so nice. I was obviously a little bit nervous my first round, excited to play, but I'm happy to get both wins."

Nine of the 16 girls seeds have been eliminated in the first round, with No. 12 seed Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain falling to Anna Pircher of Austria 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 and Thea Frodin beating No. 13 seed Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas of Russia 7-6(2), 7-5. 

No. 4 seed Victoria Barros of Brazil was also eliminated today, with Maia Burcescu coming back from 6-3, 4-1 down to earn a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(4) victory, but almost let the match slip away.

 said the 16-year-old from Romania. 

"I was up in the third set 5-3," said Burcescu, who did not have a match point serving for it at 5-4, and was two points from a loss at 5-6 deuce. "But I guess I was the underdog in the match, so I just tried to take my chance, play my best tennis and just enjoy my time on court here at Wimbledon."

Burcescu will face her doubles partner, No. 15 seed Polina Skliar of Ukraine, who defeated Alyssa James of Jamaica 6-3, 6-2. The two bear a striking resemblance to each other, with the same hairstyle, visor, adidas while Wimbledon apparel and body type, with Burcescu claiming her own mother can't tell them apart.

"We were in the transportation, sitting next to each other and my mom looks at us and said, 'I cannot tell the difference,'" Burcescu said. "It's pretty funny, people actually do think we're sisters."

Top seed Xinran Sun of China struggled in the first set against Denisa Zoldakova of Czechia before the 15-year-old Roland Garros finalist pulled away for a 7-5, 6-1 win.

Most of the afternoon and evening was devoted to the first round of boys doubles, with all 16 matches completed. 

Ryan Cozad and Gavin Goode pulled off the biggest upset, defeating Roland Garros and Roehampton champions Vincent Reisach and Jamie Mackenzie of Germany 6-7(6), 7-6(5), 13-11, saving two match points in the deciding tiebreaker. No. 3 seeds Thilo Behrmann of Austria and Flynn Thomas of Switzerland lost to Oluwaseun Ogunsakin of Nigeria and Ntungamili Raguin of Botswana 6-3, 7-6(1) and Jack Secord and Damir Zhalgasbay of Kazakhstan defeated No. 5 seed Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico and Leonardo Storck Franca of Brazil 7-6(8), 7-6(6).

Only five girls doubles matches were scheduled for today, with all three seeded teams in action winning their matches.

The boys second round of singles is scheduled for Tuesday, with the remainder of the first round of girls doubles.

Monday's second round junior results of Americans:

Thea Frodin d. Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas[13](RUS) 7-6(2), 7-5

Janae Preston d. Olivia Traynor[Q] 6-1, 7-5

Melije Clarke d. Ksenia Efremova[2](FRA) 6-4, 6-1

Charo Esquiva Banuls[10](ESP) d. Carrie-Anne Hoo[Q] 6-2, 6-3

Tuesday's second round singles matches featuring Americans:

Andy Johnson[12] v Vincent Reisach(GER)

Keaton Hance[3] v Arnav Paparkar(IND)

Jack Secord v Luis Guto Miguel[1](BRA)

Tanish Konduri v Svit Suljic[SE](SLO)

Jordan Lee[Q] v Tito Chavez(ESP)

The talk of London this morning was Great Britain's 3-2 win over Mexico in the World Cup; the talk of London this evening was Arthur Fery, the 23-year-old former Stanford All-American, who defeated fellow wild card Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 7-5, 3-6, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(7) to reach the quarterfinals. Fery, who grew up a short walk from Wimbledon, never once looked rattled or tentative playing in front of an obviously partisan crowd and Roger Federer on Centre Court. 

For more on Fery's remarkable run to the quarterfinals, see this article from the Wimbledon website.

No. 6 seed Taylor Fritz reached his third consecutive Wimbledon quarterfinal with a 7-6(1), 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 10 seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan and will play either No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany or Jiri Lehecka of Czechia. Their match was suspended by the 11 pm Wimbledon curfew, with Zverev leading 6-4, 7-5, 3-3.

Madison Keys[26] lost to Linda Noskova of Czechia 6-4, 7-6(2) in her bid to reach the quarterfinals.

In the women's quarterfinals Tuesday, No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula will play No. 7 seed Coco Gauff.