The US juniors boys have been posting impressive results all year on the USTA Pro Circuit and the World Tennis Junior Circuit, yet the three first round US Open men's qualifying wins by Michael Antonius, Jordan Lee and Andy Johnson really had the tennis world taking notice. I asked many of the American boys I interviewed at the US Open Juniors what those wins meant to them, with this article for Tennis Recruiting Network the result.
The US junior girls have also had a good year, and one of the breakout stars of the first six months of 2026, Janae Preston, has continued to post impressive results. After reaching the Wimbledon girls semifinals and the final of the USTA National 18s in San Diego, Preston made the quarterfinals of the US Open Junior Championships, and is now into the semifinals of the W50 in Berkeley California as a qualifier.
Preston, who just turned 16 in August, defeated No. 5 seed Hanna Chang 6-2, 6-4 in today's quarterfinals and will play ITA preseason No. 1 Lucciana Perez of Peru for a spot in the final. The 21-year-old Perez, a senior at Texas A&M who finished her junior year 28-0, defeated Auburn transfer Emma Kamper of Denmark, a qualifier, 6-4, 6-1. Perez isn't the only current collegian in the Berkeley semifinals, with unseeded LSU junior Ella McDonald of Great Britain beating No. 3 seed Madison Brengle 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. McDonald will play top seed Kayla Day, who beat No. 7 seed Anna Rogers(NC State) 6-1, 6-0 today.
At the M15 in Columbia South Carolina, two wild cards from the University of South Carolina's team have advanced to the semifinals. Junior Gabe Avram advanced when teammate Antonin Witz of France, a qualifier, retired trailing 6-0. Senior Sean Daryabeigi defeated Oklahoma freshman Tito Chavez of Spain 6-4, 7-6(3) to set up a meeting with unseeded Will Jansen(UNC, Ohio State, Georgia) of Great Britain. Jansen defeated No. 6 seed Evan Bynoe(Cornell) 6-3, 6-3. Avram's opponent in the semifinals is TCU sophomore Oliver Bonding of Great Britain. The eighth-seeded Bonding beat a third Gamecock wild card, sophomore Charlie Swaine of Great Britain, 6-4, 6-0 today. Swaine had defeated top seed John Hallquist Lithen(Ole Miss) of Sweden in the second round.
Daryabeigi is also in the doubles semifinals, with teammate Max Stenzer of Germany. Ryan Cozad and Gavin Goode are also through to the doubles semifinals.
The first eight collegians have earned their spots in the NCAA singles championships this November in Athens Georgia after the round of 16 determined those qualifiers today at the
women's and
men's ITA All-American Championships.
In Cary North Carolina, Duke earned three spots with victories in the round of 16, with freshman Mimi Xu justifying her wild card and then some with two more big wins today. Xu took out qualifier Nicole Khirin, the UNC transfer who was an All-American at Texas A&M, 6-4, 5-7, 7-5 in the round of 16. And while teammates Irina Balus and Aspen Schuman retired from their quarterfinal matches, Xu played hers, defeating No. 7 seed Amelie Van Impe of SMU 7-6(3), 6-2 to advance to Saturday's semifinal against Nao Nishino of Ohio State.
Women's A-A round of 16 results:
Mimi Xu[WC], Duke d. Nicole Khirin[Q], North Carolina 6-4, 5-7, 7-5
Amelie Van Impe[7], SMU d. Stephanie Yakoff, Harvard 6-1, 6-0
Irina Balus[4], Duke, d. Kaitlyn Carnicella, South Carolina 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(5)
Nao Nishino, Ohio State d. Mia Slama[5], NC State 7-5, 6-4
Aspen Schuman, Duke d. Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev, Ohio State 6-4, 6-4
Rose Marie Nijkamp[16], Texas d. Zuzanna Kubacha, Baylor 7-5, 6-2
Ekaterina Ivanova, Wisconsin d. Rinon Okuwaki, Tennessee 7-5, 6-1
Luciana Perry[2], Ohio State d. Emma Dong[WC], Georgia 6-3, 6-1
Women's A-A quarterfinal results:
Mimi Xu[WC], Duke d. Amelia Van Impe[7], SMU 7-6(3), 6-2
Nao Nishino, Ohio State d. Irinia Balus[4], Duke 2-0, ret.
Rose Marie Nijkamp[16], Texas d. Aspen Schuman, Duke 3-0 ret.
Luciana Perry[2], Ohio State d. Ekaterina Ivanova, Wisconsin 7-5, 6-2
Perry and Nijkamp are also through to the doubles semifinals, meaning they have qualified for both draws at the NCAAs.
Women's A-A doubles semifinals:
Maddy Zampardo and Susanna Maltby[6], North Carolina v Rose Marie Nijkamp and Carmen Herea, Texas
Salakthip Ounmang and Zoie Epps, Oklahoma v Luciana Perry and Flora Johnson[3], Ohio State
The men's semifinals are night matches, but all the quarterfinalists have booked their spots in the singles draw in Athens. Max Exsted, a sophomore at USC, took out 2025 finalist Aidan Kim of Ohio State 6-4, 6-4.
Men's A-A round of 16 results:
Viktor Markov[16], Clemson d. Sam Landau, Indiana 6-4, 7-6(1)
Nicolas Arseneault, Kentucky d. Rodrigo Fernandes[11], Cornell 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4
Theo Papamalamis[4], Texas A&M d. Tomasz Berkieta[Q], Texas 4-6, 6-2, 6-2
Roger Pascual, TCU d. Sasha Rozin, Arizona 6-2, 6-2
Dominick Mosejczuk[Q], Wake Forest d. Nikita Volonski[Q], Tulsa 7-6(4), 6-1
Maxwell Exsted, USC d. Aidan Kim[3], Ohio State 6-4, 6-4
Nikita Filin, Ohio State d. Amirkhamza Nasridinov[10], Texas A&M 6-3, 6-4
Keegan Rice[2], Virginia d. Bryan Hernandez Cortes, Mississippi State 6-0, 6-1
Nicolas Arseneault, Kentucky d. Viktor Markov[16], Clemson 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-3
Roger Pascual, TCU d, Theo Papamalamis[4], Texas A&M 6-3, 6-1
Dominick Mosejczuk[Q], Wake Forest d. Maxwell Exsted, USC 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Keegan Rice[2], Virginia d. Nikita Filin, Ohio State 6-3, 6-0
Men's A-A doubles semifinals:
Nikita Filin and Brandon Carpico[1], Ohio State v Mortiz Kudernatsch and Pietro Pampanin, Ole Miss
Aidan Kim and Bryce Nakashima, Ohio State v Noa Vukadin and Viktor Markov, Clemson
Qualifying begins Saturday at the
J300 Pan Am Closed in Spring Texas. There are 29 girls and 36 boys in the 48-player draws. Chase Bowden and Aleksandra Jerkunica are the top qualifying seeds. I'll be on site covering the event beginning Monday.