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Thursday, June 4, 2026

Antonius and Hance Meet Friday For Spot in Roland Garros Boys Final; Oktiabreva and 2, 3 and 4 Seeds Advance to Girls Semifinals; Three US Pairs Reach RG Junior Doubles Semifinals

Keaton Hance won a nail-biter of a quarterfinal to reach his second junior slam semifinal at Roland Garros, while 16-year-old Michael Antonius breezed past the Australian Open boys champion to earn a shot at his first junior slam final in just his second appearance in one.


Hance, the No. 6 seed, had to survive several distractions in his 6-3, 5-7, 7-6(6) win over No. 3 seed Jamie Mackenzie of Germany.  After starting out with a nearly flawless first, Hance didn't face a break point until 5-all in the second set, but Mackenzie finally got his chances in that game and converted his third break point opportunity, then held to even the match. 

Hance fell behind in the third set, after getting broken at 1-all, but he broke back in a ten-minute four deuce game on his fourth break point. With Hance serving at 15-all in the next game, Mackenzie sat down in a chair in the corner after winning the point, although on the replay there was no indication of what might have led to that abrupt call for the trainer. The trainer looked at his right ankle, but no treatment ensured, and after six minutes the game resumed, with Hance holding for a 3-2 lead.

Mackenzie then left the court for treatment at the changeover and four minutes later, with Hance shadow serving while his opponent was gone, Mackenzie returned. He then began to press on his left shoulder and even tried an underhand serve in that game, but managed to hold serve without incident, as did Hance, for a deciding tiebreaker. Mackenzie continued to indicate he was having problems with his shoulder, but got it to 6-all in the tiebreaker before Hance locked down, winning the final four points to earn his spot in the semifinals.


In contrast, No. 13 seed Antonius kept the drama to a minimum, getting 75% of his first serves in, converting half of his 10 break points and never looking threatened in a rally.  After defeating No. 2 seed Yannick Alexandrescou of France yesterday and the reigning Australian Open champion today, in straightforward fashion, Antonius will now play Hance, who is two years older and much more experienced given his run to the Australian Open final in January, but his current form will be a challenge for anyone to overcome.

The USTA's Inside American Tennis has comments from both Hance and Antonius about their matches today and facing each other in the semifinals. 

The third US boys in the quarterfinals, Jack Kennedy, had a disappointing 18th birthday, falling to wild card Leonardo Storck Franca of Brazil 6-3, 7-6(1). The 17-year-old Storck Franca, who has a one-handed backhand, was down a break twice in the first set, but Kennedy immediately gave those breaks back and then lost serve for the third straight time to give Storck Franca the chance to serve out the set, which he did.

The second set featured eight service holds to start, with Kennedy the first one broken at 4-all, but Storck Franca could not serve out the match. Despite that inability to close out a big win over a top seed, Storck Franca didn't fade, holding to force a tiebreaker, and then playing much better than Kennedy, who couldn't find any way to put pressure on his opponent.

Storck Franca will face top seed Luis Guto Miguel in the all-Brazil semifinal, after Miguel defeated No. 7 seed Thilo Behrmann of Austria 6-4, 1-6, 6-3. Although both are 17, Storck Franca has been in Guto Miguel's shadow for many years, but he is proving this week that he deserves time in the spotlight as well. That semifinal is the subject of this ITF Junior website article.

The girls quarterfinal featured just one three-setter, with No. 3 seed Victoria Barros of Brazil beating unseeded Ha Eum Lee of Korea 2-6, 6-1, 6-4. Barros will face No. 2 seed Xinran Sun of China, who cruised past No. 6 seed Anastasija Cvetkovic of Serbia 6-0, 6-2 in less than an hour. Sun and Barros met in the semifinals of the Orange Bowl last December, with Sun winning 6-2, 6-3. 

No. 12 seed Alisa Oktiabreva ended the run of 14-year-old qualifier Ekaterina Dotsenko in the all-Russian quarterfinals, earning a 6-3, 6-4 victory and her second trip to the Roland Garros semifinals, with her first in 2023. 

She will play No. 4 seed Jana Kovackova of Czechia, who zipped past No. 9 seed Charo Esquiva Banuls of Spain 6-0, 6-2.

The doubles semifinals are scheduled for Friday, with both top seeds ousted today. No. 8 seeds Jordyn Hazelitt and Welles Newman, who won a W35 doubles title last month, beat No. 1 seeds Barros and Paola Pinera Celorio of Spain 4-6, 7-6(4), 10-8, saving a match point on a deciding point at 5-6 in the second set.

They will play No. 4 seeds Sun and Ruien Zhang of China in the semifinals.

The other girls doubles semifinal will be between two unseeded teams, with Kovackova and Katerina Zajickova of Czechia facing Lee and Luna Cinalli of Argentina. Kovackova and Zajickova beat No. 3 seeds Cvetkovic and Thea Frodin 6-3, 6-1.

Although technically Yannick Alvarez represents Puerto Rico, which has a separate federation from the USTA, he lives in the United States and has competed in USTA events for many years, including winning the Kalamazoo 16s doubles title in 2024. He and Jack Secord have been playing together regularly for the past year, making the Wimbledon quarterfinals and US Open semifinals, where they lost to eventual champions Hance and Kennedy.

Today Alvarez and Secord came back to defeat top seeds Miguel and Sesko 2-6, 6-2, 10-6 and will face No. 8 seeds Mackenzie and Vincent Reisach of Germany in the semifinals.

Second seeds Hance and Kennedy, who won a M25 doubles title last month in Spain, defeated No. 5 seeds Nicolas Baena of Peru and Tito Chavez of Spain 6-3, 6-4 in an evening quarterfinal match; they will play unseeded Mathys Domenc and Daniel Jade of France, who beat Safir Azam and Dan Brand of Israel 3-6, 6-2, 10-7.

Friday's order of play is here.

In today's mixed doubles final, Evan King(Michigan) and Gabriela Dabrowski of Canada, playing together for the first time, fell to defending champions and top seeds Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori of Italy 4-6, 6-3, 10-4. For more on the final, see this article from the Roland Garros website.

One American and three former collegians remain in the men's and women's doubles draws, with top seeds Taylor Townsend and Czechia's Katerina Siniakova playing No. 4 seeds Dabrowski and Luisa Stefani(Pepperdine) of Brazil in tomorrow semifinals. In the bottom half, No. 2 seed Aleksandra Krunic of Serbia and Anna Danilina(Florida) of Kazakhstan will play unseeded Shuko Aoyama of Japan and En-Shuo Liang of Taiwan.

No. 2 seeds Henry Patten(UNC-Asheville) of Great Britain and Harri Heliovaara of Finland reached the final today and will play the winner of tomorrow's semifinal between top seeds Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina and No. 5 seeds Vavassori and Simone Bolleli of Italy.

Wednesday, June 3, 2026

May Aces; Hance, Kennedy and Antonius Reach Roland Garros Junior Quarterfinals; Liutova Extends W100 Winning Streak; Top Seeds Arseneault and Vagramov Ousted in Lakewood; D-III Final Rankings, All-Americans Named

My monthly column highlighting the top performances of juniors, collegians and former collegians is up today at the Tennis Recruiting Network, and, as has been the case in the past several years, it's impossible to feature everyone that claimed a pro circuit title in May. With the increase in the number of W15 and M15 tournaments on the ITF World Tennis Tour, and the surge of juniors and collegians who participate in them, there simply isn't room for all those champions, particularly when former collegians are having so much success on the ATP and WTA tours.

Three US boys are through to the quarterfinals of the Roland Garros Junior Championships, with Jack Kennedy, Keaton Hance and Michael Antonius all posting straight-sets wins today in Paris.

Sixteen-year-old Antonius, who is playing just his second junior slam tournament, defeated No. 2 seed Yannick Alexandrescou of France 6-2, 6-4, a score that doesn't indicate how tricky that second set was. Antonius, the No. 13 seed, was down 3-1 in the set before winning four straight games, but was broken serving for the match at 5-3, after failing to convert three match points. Alexandrescou, who has committed to Duke for this fall, had a vocal group of young fans supporting him throughout, but Antonius didn't show any signs of frustration after dropping the 5-3 game and broke at love to end it, avenging his 6-0, 6-2 loss to Alexandrescou in the final of the ITF J300 in College Park last August.

Antonius will face No. 5 seed and Australian Open champion Ziga Sesko of Slovenia, who defeated unseeded Connor Doig of South Africa 6-3, 6-2 today. Antonius and Sesko met last May in the J300 in Belgium, with Sesko winning the second round encounter 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. 

No. 4 seed Jack Kennedy defeated unseeded Arnav Paparkar of India 7-5, 6-2, following a similar pattern to his first two victories this week: winning a tight first set and pulling away in the second. Kennedy, who turns 18 tomorrow, will play unseeded wild card Leonardo Storck Franca of Brazil, who beat No. 8 seed Zangar Nurlanuly of Kazakhstan 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-5. Kennedy's only previous quarterfinal in a junior slam came in the 2025 Australian Open. The ITF Junior website spoke with Kennedy after his second round win over Daniel Jade of France yesterday for this article.

2026 Australian Open boys finalist Keaton Hance needed just 63 minutes to get past qualifier Kaan Isik Kosaner of Turkey 6-1, 6-1. He will face No. 3 seed Jamie Mackenzie of Germany, who won ten straight games from unseeded Flynn Thomas of Switzerland after dropping the first set and went on to post a 4-6, 6-0, 6-2 victory. 

The only boys quarterfinal not featuring an American is top seed Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil's contest with No. 7 seed Thilo Behrmann of Austria. Miguel defeated No. 16 seed Nicolas Baena of Peru 6-4, 6-4, while Behrmann beat unseeded Mathys Domenc of France 6-0, 7-6(2).

The girls draw lost three Top 8 seeds today, with No. 8 seed Mariia Makarova of Russia losing to unseeded Ha Eum Lee of Korea 6-3, 7-6(8). Lee will face No. 3 seed Victoria Barros of Brazil, who beat unseeded Denisa Zoldakova of Czechia 6-3 ,0-6, 6-3.

No. 9 seed Charo Esquiva Banuls of Spain defeated her doubles partner, No. 5 seed Nauhany Leme Da Silva of Brazil, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 and No. 7 seed Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi of Argentina lost to No. 12 seed Alisa Oktiabreva of Russia, who reached the semifinals of the Roland Garros Junior Championships the last time she played it, in 2023. Oktiabreva will face unseeded qualifier Ekaterina Dotsenko of Russia, who won a two-hour and 16-minute battle with No. 13 seed Mariella Thamm of Germany 7-6(6), 6-4. Banuls will play No. 4 seed Jana Kovackova, a 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 winner over No. 14 seed Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas of Russia.

No. 2 seed Xinran Sun of China, who needed three hours and 17 minutes to get past unseeded Maia Burcescu of Romania, will face No. 6 seed Anastasija Cvetkovic of Serbia next. They are the only girls who have played before on the ITF Junior Circuit, with Cvetkovic 2-2 against Sun in four previous meetings, but Sun won the most recent encounter last month in the final of the J300 in Bulgaria. Cvetkovic is the subject of today's ITF Junior Circuit article on the Roland Garros championships.

Seven US juniors are through to Thursday's quarterfinals in doubles, with those matchups listed below.

Wednesday's Roland Garros third round junior results of Americans:

Michael Antonius[13] d. Yannick Alexandrescou[2](FRA) 6-2, 6-4
Keaton Hance[6] d. Kaan Isik Kosaner[Q](TUR) 6-1, 6-1
Jack Kennedy[4] d. Arnav Paparkar(IND) 7-5, 6-2

Thursday's Roland Garros quarterfinals featuring Americans:

Singles:
Jack Kennedy[4] v Leonardo Storck France(BRA)
Michael Antonius[13] v Ziga Sesko[5](SLO)
Keaton Hance[6] v Jamie Mackenzie[3](GER)

Doubles:
Jordyn Hazelitt and Welles Newman[8] v Victoria Barros(BRA) and Paola Pinera Celorio(ESP)[1]
Thea Frodin and Anastasija Cvetkovic(SRB) v Jana Kovackova and Katerina Zajickova(CZE)

Jack Secord and Yannik Alvarez(PUR)[6] v Luis Guto Miguel(BRA) and Ziga Sesko(SLO)[1]
Safir Azam and Dan Brand(ISR) v Mathys Domenc and Daniel Jade(FRA)
Keaton Hance and Jack Kennedy[2] v Nicolas Baena(PER) and Tito Chavez(ESP)[5]

All matches are streamed on HBO/Max.

At the W100 in Sumter South Carolina, 16-year-old Kristina Liutova(see the May Aces) extended her winning streak at that level to six matches with a 6-1, 6-1 win over Clervie Ngounoue. Liutova will play No. 7 seed Carolyn Ansari(Auburn) in the second round Thursday.

Reese Brantmeier(UNC) also extended a winning streak, with last week's W35 champion(see the May Aces) defeating Madison Sieg(USC) 6-1, 6-3. She will play No. 5 seed Katrina Scott(Tennessee), which could be a preview of a USTA American Collegiate US Open Wild Card Playoff match in two weeks. 

Top seed Nicolas Arseneault(Kentucky) of Canada lost in the first round of the M15 SoCal Pro Series in Lakewood today, with TCU rising sophomore Oliver Bonding posting a 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 victory. Noah Johnston, a rising sophomore at Georgia, defeated last week's M15 Lakewood champion Kaylan Bigun(UCLA), the No. 3 seed this week, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Johnston beat Bigun in the round of 32 at Kalamazoo in 2024, when Bigun was the reigning Roland Garros boys champion, 7-6(5), 7-6(5).

The women's draw in Lakewood also lost its top seed today, with last week's champion Tatum Evans(UNC) beating Alexandra Vagramov(UCLA) of Canada 6-4, 6-2. Evans, who received a special exempt after reaching the final last week as a qualifier, will play 17-year-old qualifier Thara Gowda in the next round.

The final Division III rankings for 2025-2026 were published today, with the team and singles Top 10s and the doubles Top 5 below. The All-Americans were also designated, with the women's list here and the men's list here.  Click on the headers to see the full listings.

Men's D-III final rankings June 3, 2026

Team Top 10:
1. Chicago
2. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
3. Tufts
4. Denison
5. Case Western Reserve
6. Bowdoin
7. Swarthmore
8. Johns Hopkins
9. Carnegie Mellon
10. Emory

Singles Top 10:
1. Advik Mareedu, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
2. Michael Melnikova, Swarthmore
3. Mark Kneiss, Bowdoin
4. Ruilin Feng, Emory
5. Dael Shalin Shah, Denison
6. Alex Feies, Carnegie Mellon
7. Andreas Sillaste, Amherst
8. Shrikeshav Murugesan, Chicago
9. Emil Grancharov, Chicago
10. Alex Ganchev, Tufts

Doubles Top 5
1. Advik Mareedu and Caleb Settles, CMS
2. Ajay Kartik and Ruilin Feng, Emory
3. Ethan Green and Kael Shalin Shah, Denison
4. Sacha Maes and Alex Ganchev, Tufts
5. Trey Lambright and Bryce Ware, Case Western

Women's D-III final rankings, June 3, 2026

Team Top 10:
1. Wesleyan
2. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
3. Chicago
4. Washington-St. Louis
5. Babson
6. Emory
7. Johns Hopkins
8. Bowdoin
9. Carnegie Mellon
10. MIT

Singles Top 10:
1. Matia Cristiani, Babson
2. Sarena Biria, Chicago
3. Rebecca Kong, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps
4. Tina She, Amherst
5. Ananya Sriniketh, CMS
6. Eliana Hanna, Washington-St. Louis
7. Elsie Van Wieren, Middlebury
8. Alessandra Sikharulidze, Babson
9. Lindsay Eisenman, CMS
10. Emily Kantrovitz, Emory

Doubles Top 5:
1. Lindsay Eisenman and Rebecca Kong, CMS
2. Matia Cristiana and Alessandra Sikharulidze, Babson
3. Eleanor Archer and Caitlin Bui, Washington-St. Louis
4. Iris Berman and Emily Kantrovitz, Emory
5. Kamila Wong and Ava Li, Johns Hopkins

Tuesday, June 2, 2026

Hance and Kennedy Survive Rain Delays to Join Antonius in Roland Garros Junior Championships Round of 16; Bowers and Collins Qualify at Sumter W100; Tyler Challenger Qualifying Still Not Complete; SoCal Pro Series Week Two Begins

After no rain the first nine days of action in Paris, those playing second round junior singles matches Tuesday at Roland Garros contended with several delays, and the last first round doubles match didn't finish until 10:30 p.m. local time in Paris. 

The top eight seeds in the boys draw have all advanced to Wednesday's round of 16, while the only Top Eight seed missing from the girls draw is No. 1 Ksenia Efremova of France, who lost in the first round Sunday.

Fourteen-year-old qualifier Ekaterina Dotsenko of Russia, who beat Efremova, reached the round of 16 with a 7-6(2), 6-3 win over Giulia Popa of Romania. Three other unseeded girls have advanced to the third round: Ha Eum Lee of Korea, Maia Burcescu of Romania and Denisa Zoldakova of Czechia. Zoldakova beat No. 15 seed Janae Preston, the only US girl to reach the second round, 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in just short of three hours. Zoldakova served for the match at 5-3 and had three match points that Preston saved, but Preston was broken at love to put an end to the drama.

No. 6 seed Keaton Hance managed to complete his 6-4, 6-2 victory over Pedro Henrique Chabalgoity of Brazil before a second rain delay and will play qualifier Kaan Isik Kosaner of Turkey, who beat No. 10 seed and 2025 Roland Garros boys semifinalist Ryo Tabata of Japan 6-0, 2-6, 6-4 today.

No. 4 seed Jack Kennedy's 6-4, 6-3 win over Daniel Jade was disrupted several times by rain, the first delay coming with Kennedy down a break 3-4 in the first set. But he got the break back, saved a break point at 4-all and broke Jade again to take the first set. The 17-year-old New Yorker led throughout the second set, with Jade's confidence, which was high coming into the match after his M25 title last week, began to wane as Kennedy's level rose. Kennedy will face unseeded Arnav Paparkar of India in Wednesday's third round.

Paparkar and Kosaner are two of the six unseeded boys in the final 16:  Baylor signee Connor Doig of South Africa, Flynn Thomas of Switzerland, Mathys Domenc of France and wild card Leonardo Storck Franca of Brazil. Storck Franca defeated No. 12 seed Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(6) after Alvarez served for the match at 5-4 in the third.

Top seed Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil defeated Ryan Cozad 6-3, 7-6(4).

The first round of doubles was completed today, with Andy Johnson and Tanishk Konduri defeating No. 3 seeds Tabata and Yannick Alexandrescou of France 3-6, 6-4, 10-2. No. 7 seeds Zangar Nurlanuly of Kazakhstan and Savva Rybkin of Russia lost to the Australian team of Daniel Jovanovski and Mustafa Ege Sik 6-4, 6-3 Monday.

In the girls doubles, the only seeds to fall in the first round were No. 7 Popa and Adelina Lacinova of Latvia, who lost today to Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi of Argentina and 2025 Roland Garros girls doubles champion Sonja Zhenikova of Germany 7-5, 6-2.

Tuesday's Roland Garros second round junior results of Americans:

Jack Kennedy[4] d. Daniel Jade(FRA) 6-4, 6-3
Keaton Hance[6] d. Pedro Henrique Chabalgoity(BRA) 6-4, 6-2
Luis Guto Miguel[1](BRA) d. Ryan Cozad 6-3, 7-6(4)

Denisa Zoldakova(CZE) d. Janae Preston[15] 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4

Wednesday's Roland Garros third round junior matches featuring Americans:

Michael Antonius[13] v Yannick Alexandrescou[2](FRA)
Keaton Hance[6] v Kaan Isik Kosaner[Q](TUR)
Jack Kennedy[4] v Arnav Paparkar(IND)

There are four events on the USTA Pro Circuit this week, the biggest of which is the W100 in Sumter South Carolina. Qualifying concluded today, with two Americans, wild card Ashton Bowers(Texas, Auburn) and Kylie Collins(Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State) advancing to the main draw. Bowers defeated No. 6 seed Dasha Ivanova in the first round of qualifying and No. 11 seed Salma Ewing(USC, Texas A&M) today, both in straight sets. The 20-year-old rising Auburn junior will face wild card Bella Payne in the first round. Collins, who was the No. 5 seed in qualifying, will play Sofia Shapateva of Georgia in the first round Wednesday.

Wild cards were given to Payne, Reese Brantmeier(UNC) and Malaika Rapolu(Texas). Whitney Osuigwe is the top seed, with Cadence Brace(LSU) of Canada the No. 2 seed.

An intriguing first round match features 16-year-old Kristina Liutova, who won the W100 in Indian Harbour Beach Florida last month, and Clervie Ngounoue, who retired from her quarterfinal match last week with Reese Brantmeier at the W35 in Wichita Kansas. 

At the ATP Challenger 75 in Tyler Texas, the qualifying should have finished Monday, but rain the past two days has caused significant delays, with the last qualifying match on the schedule for tomorrow morning.

So far, four Americans have qualifed: Braden Shick(NC State), Aidan Kim(Ohio State), Andrew Fenty(Michigan) and Daniel Milavsky(Harvard). Karl Poling(Princeton, UNC) could join them if he wins his match tomorrow with Olaf Pieczkowski(LSU) of Poland.

One main draw match was played today, with wild card Landon Ardila, a rising senior at Princeton, beating Tyler Zink(Georgia, Oklahoma State) 6-4, 6-4. Adam Walton(Tennessee) is the top seed, with another Australian, Dane Sweeney, the No. 2 seed. Trevor Svajda(SMU) and Sebastian Gorzny(TCU, Texas) are the other two wild cards.

The SoCal Pro Series continues this week with the M15 and W15 tournaments again in Lakewood California.

Americans qualifying for the main draw with wins today are Kaitlyn Carnicella(Auburn, South Carolina), Patsy Daughters(Oregon), Olivia Center(UCLA), 17-year-olds Maria Aytoyan and Thara Gowda, 16-year-old Sophie Suh and 15-year-old Abigail Haile. 2023 US Open girls champion Katherine Hui(Stanford) received entry as a lucky loser and will play Daughters, who beat her in the final round of qualifying today 10-5 in a match tiebreaker.

Wild cards were awarded to 17-year-olds Tia Messerli and Ta'leighah Saulter and future Columbia teammates Amy Lee and Kenzie Nguyen. 

Alexandra Vagramov(UCLA) of Canada is the top seed, with UCLA freshman Mayu Crossley the No. 2 seed. Vagramov has drawn Tatum Evans, who received a special exempt into the main draw after winning last week's W15 in Lakewood.

Sixteen-year-old former ITF Junior No. 1 Kristina Penickova, who hasn't played this year due to an injury suffered last November, is in the draw as the No. 8 seed. 

Just two Americans advanced to the main draw from qualifying today, Kelly Giese(Lubbock Christian, Nebraska) and Marko Mesarovic(Clemson). Nathan Cox(Vanderbilt) reached the main draw as a lucky loser.

Wild cards were given to Avery Tallakson(New Mexico, Boise State), Alexander Petrov(Illinois), 16-year-old Tyler Lee and Jean Baptiste Badon(Arkansas, Utah State).  

Junior reserved spots went to Jack Satterfield(Vanderbilt), Oliver Bonding(TCU) of Great Britain, Noah Johnston(Georgia) and Marcel Latak. Latak lost 6-1, 6-1 today to No. 2 seed Kenta Miyoshi(Illinois) of Japan. Kentucky rising sophomore Nicolas Arseneault of Canada is the top seed.

Monday, June 1, 2026

Antonius Reaches Round of 16 at Roland Garros Junior Championships; Chervenkov and Frisbie Win First ITF Junior Circuit Titles in Chicago; Texas A&M Tops TRN's Spring Recruiting Class Rankings; Judge Questions Brantmeier Settlement


Michael Antonius is the first US junior to reach the round of 16 of the Roland Garros Junior Championships after a quick 6-3, 6-0 victory in the second round today over Kanta Watanabe of Japan. Next up for Antonius, on Wednesday, is No. 2 seed Yannick Alexandrescou of France, in a rematch of last August's ITF J300 College Park final, which Alexandrescou won 6-0, 6-2.  Alexandrescou had a much tougher second round match today, beating Nikita Belozertsev of Uzbekistan 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

No. 15 seed Janae Preston played her first round match today, and it was one of the longest of the 32 junior matches on the schedule, with the 15-year-old from Nevada defeating French wild card Cindy Langlais 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and 39 minutes. Preston is the only US girl remaining in the singles draw; No. 4 seed Jack Kennedy, No. 6 seed Keaton Hance and Ryan Cozad will play their second round matches Tuesday, hoping to join Antonius in the third round. Kennedy will be playing the red hot Daniel Jade of France, who won a round in men's qualifying two weeks ago at Roland Garros and won his first ITF men's title at an M25 last week in France.

In doubles, No. 2 seeds Kennedy and Hance, the reigning US Open champions, were on the brink in their first round match with Simone Massellani of Itay and Valentin Gonzalez-Galino of Spain, trailing 6-3, 4-2 before winning a tiebreaker to get to the match tiebreaker, where they trailed 6-4 before claiming six of the final seven points for a 3-6, 7-6(2), 10-7 victory.

Other Americans advancing to the second round of doubles are No. 8 seeds Jordyn Hazelitt and Welles Newman and Melije Clarke and Olivia Traynor. Traynor, who lost in the final round of qualifying, was able to get into the doubles draw for her junior slam debut.

Monday's Roland Garros first round junior results of Americans:

Daphnee Mpetshi Perricard[WC](FRA) d. Carrie-Anne Hoo[Q] 6-1, 6-2
Janae Preston[15] d. Cindy Langlais[WC](FRA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 

Jack Kennedy[4] d. Emilio Camacho(ECU) 7-6(4), 6-2

Monday's Roland Garros second round junior results of Americans:

Michael Antonius[13] d. Kanta Watanabe(JPN) 6-3, 6-0
Zangar Nurlanuly[8](KAZ) d. Agassi Rusher[Q] 6-2, 6-1

Tuesday's Roland Garros second round junior matches featuring Americans:

Jack Kennedy[4] v Daniel Jade(FRA) 
Keaton Hance[6] v Pedro Henrique Chabalgoity(BRA)
Ryan Cozad v Luis Guto Miguel[1](BRA)

Janae Preston[15] v Denisa Zoldakova(CZE)

There are no Americans left in the Roland Garros men's or women's singles after the three playing in the fourth round today lost. Frances Tiafoe led Matteo Arnaldi by two sets to one and was serving at 4-1 in the fourth before losing 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 in a match that went five hours and 26 minutes and finished after 1 a.m. Tuesday morning in Paris.

Monday's fourth round Roland Garros matches featuring Americans:

Flavio Cobolli[10](ITA) d. Zachary Svajda 6-2, 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(5)
Matteo Arnaldi(ITA) d. Frances Tiafoe[19] 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 

Diana Shnaider[25](RUS) d. Madison Keys[19] 6-3, 3-6, 6-0

I covered the ITF J300 in Belgium last week, with unseeded US juniors Anita Tu and Jordan Lee reaching the finals and getting a big boost in their ITF junior rankings. 

Gadin Arun had his ITF Junior Circuit winning streak in Canada snapped at 16 the J100 in Calgary last week, with the No. 7 seed falling in the final to No. 3 seed Quincy Yao of Canada 4-6, 6-0, 6-1, while also dropping the doubles final. Daniel Malacek and Canada's Brayden Woo, seeded No. 2, won the doubles titles, beating Arun and Arjun Krishnan, the No. 4 seeds 6-1, 6-1 in the final.

The only titles in singles for Americans came at the J30 in Chicago, with 14-year-old Michael Chervenkov and 15-year-old Natalie Frisbie winning their first ITF Junior Circuit titles.

Chervenkov repeated his win over Ishaan Marla in the 2026 Easter Bowl 14s final, beating Marla 6-4, 6-3 to run his record this year to 30-1, with his sole loss coming in a USTA Level 3 final in the 16s.

Frisbie, who finished sixth at the Easter Bowl in the 16s, was playing in just her second ITF event, receiving entry via her World Tennis Number. She defeated Anna Bugaienko of Ukraine 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2 in the Chicago singles final.

At the J60 in El Salvador, No. 3 seeds Macksimus Malhotra and Sean Peng won the boys doubles title, beating top seeds Matias Quintero Tobon of Colombia and Gianluca Galasso 6-4, 6-7(4), 10-6.

This week's stop of the ITF Junior Circuit Midwest swing is a J60 Champaign Illinois, which, like Chicago, will be conducted in the new round robin/knockout format introduced this year by the ITF. Chervenkov is entered in the boys draw, but Frisbie is not playing Champaign this week.

Tennis Recruiting Network's  Division I women's spring recruiting class rankings were revealed today with NCAA champions Texas A&M voted No. 1. Coincidentally, men's NCAA champions Virginia also landed in the top spot when the men's spring rankings were published last week. As a voter, I can tell you that the top four classes were extremely difficult to rank in any order, with No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Virginia and No. 4 North Carolina all attracting a wealth of talent for 2026. The rest of the Top 10 is Tennessee, Auburn, UCF, Florida, Florida State and Yale. This is hardly the last word on who will be joining the top teams come fall (or next spring for that matter) but it is a clue as to who might have all the recruits they need for next season.

The settlement announced in late April between Reese Brantmeier and the NCAA is apparently not settled, with the judge who certified the class action suit not satisfied that all the interests of other class members are being addressed. For more on the judge's questions, see this article from the Carolina Journal.

Sunday, May 31, 2026

Top Seed Efremova Ousted on Opening Day of Roland Garros Juniors; UNC's Brantmeier and Evans Claim Pro Circuit Titles; Smith Captures Little Rock Challenger; Bigun Wins First Pro Title in Lakewood

It's only May, but we know that will be no girls junior calendar slam champion in 2026, after Australian Open winner Ksenia Efremova of France lost in the first round of the Roland Garros Junior Championships today to 14-year-old qualifier Ekaterina Dotsenko of Russia.  Efremova, the top seed, had not played any junior events since her Australian Open girls title, and had just one qualifying win in her five tournaments at the WTA tour level this spring. Dotsenko, the 2025 Les Petits As champion, earned two good wins in qualifying but she had not won more than one match in the three ITF junior events she's played on clay this year.

It was a discouraging opening day for Americans, with all six girls in action losing, and only four of the nine boys advancing.

Qualifier Agassi Rusher was one of the bright spots, with the 17-year-old from Florida earning his first win at a junior slam with a 6-4 7-5 decision over Motoharu Abe of Japan. Abe, the runner-up in last fall's Japanese wild card playoff, received entry into the tournament after the winner, Kenta Watanabe, got in on his own ranking. Rusher will play his second round match Monday, as will Michael Antonius. Keaton Hance[6] and Ryan Cozad, the other two US boys advancing to the second round, will play their matches Tuesday.

The other boys qualifier, Safir Azam, led No. 3 seed Jamie Mackenzie of Germany 6-1, 4-4, but Mackenzie saved a break point in that game and went on to post a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory.

Welles Newman had eight set points late in the first set against No. 11 seed Paola Pinera Celorio of Spain, but Pinera Celorio saved them all mostly with winners or forced errors, then converted her first set point at 11-10 in the tiebreaker and went on to a 7-6(10), 6-2 victory.

The doubles draws are out, with US Open boys doubles champions Kennedy and Hance the No. 2 seeds and on Monday's schedule. Jack Secord and Puerto Rico's Yannik Alvarez are the No. 6 seeds, with Luis Miguel of Brazil and Ziga Sesko of Slovenia the top seeds.

Pinera Celorio and Victoria Barros of Brazil are the top seeds in girls doubles; Welles Newman and Jordyn Hazelitt, who won a W35 earlier this month in Florida, are the No. 8 seeds. Thea Frodin and her partner Anastasija Cvetkovic of Serbia are the No. 3 seeds.

Sunday's first round Roland Garros junior results of Americans:

Flynn Thomas(SUI) d. Jack Secord 1-6, 6-3, 6-1
Michael Antonius[13] d. Kirill Filaretov(RUS) 7-5, 6-0
Jamie Mackenzie[3](GER) d. Safir Azam[Q] 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
Agassi Rusher[Q] d. Motoharu Abe[WC](JPN) 6-4, 7-5
Keaton Hance[6] d. Marat Salbiev[Q](RUS) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Connor Doig(RSA) d. Gavin Goode 6-1, 2-0 ret.
Ryan Cozad d. Savva Rybkin(RUS) 6-2, 6-2
Raffaele Ciurnelli(ITA) d. Andy Johnson[11] 6-2, 6-4
Oliver Majdandzic([Q]GER) d. Tanishk Konduri 6-2, 6-4

Alisa Oktiabreva[12](RUS) d. Melije Clarke 6-1, 6-3
Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas[14](RUS) d. Lani Chang 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3)
Giulia Popa(ROU) d. Sarah Ye[Q] 6-1, 6-1
Paola Pinera Celorio[11](ESP) d. Welles Newman 7-6(10), 6-2
Mariia Markarova[8](RUS) d. Jordyn Hazelitt 6-1, 7-5
Maia Burcescu(ROU) d. Thea Frodin 6-1, 6-3

Monday's Roland Garros first round junior matches featuring Americans:

Carrie-Anne Hoo[Q] v Daphnee Mpetshi Perricard[WC](FRA)
Janae Preston[15] v Cindy Langlais[WC](FRA)

Jack Kennedy[4] v Emilio Camacho(ECU)

Monday's Roland Garros second round junior matches featuring Americans:

Michael Antonius[13] v Kanta Watanabe(JPN)
Agassi Rusher[Q] v Zangar Nurlanuly[8](KAZ)

The 2023 and 2024 US Open boys champions have advanced to the men's quarterfinals at Roland Garros with Joao Fonseca of Brazil(2023) beating Casper Rudd of Norway 7-5, 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-2 and Rafael Jodar(2024) of Spain coming from two sets down to defeat compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

Monday's fourth round Roland Garros matches featuring Americans:

Zachary Svajda v Flavio Cobolli[10](ITA)
Frances Tiafoe[19] v Matteo Arnaldi(ITA)

Madison Keys[19] v Diana Shnaider[25](RUS)

Just two weeks removed from their NCAA quarterfinal loss in Athens, two North Carolina stars claimed USTA Pro Circuit events today. 

2025 NCAA singles champion and recent UNC graduate Reese Brantmeier swept the singles and doubles titles at the W35 in Wichita Kansas, beating No. 4 seed Sahaja Yamalapalli(Sam Houston) of India 6-4, 6-0 for her second ITF women's World Tennis Tour singles title, with her first the W15 in Lakewood in 2023. She and partner Maria Sholokova, the recent Wisconsin graduate, then played the doubles final, which had been pushed back to Sunday due to persistent rain delays during the week. In a battle between unseeded teams Brantmeier and Sholokova beat Maya Iyengar and Ekaterina Khayrutdinova(Auburn) 6-3, 6-1 in the final. 


Evans, a rising senior at UNC, showed no signs of fatigue in her seventh match since Monday, defeating No. 5 seed Anne Christine Lutkemeyer, a UCLA senior graduating this month, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the W15 in Lakewood California. It's the first pro title for the 20-year-old from Virginia.

Another 20-year-old, Kaylan Bigun, also captured his first pro title, with the former UCLA Bruin replicating Evans' comeback with one of his own in the M15 in Lakewood. The top seed, who played for UCLA in the 2025 dual match season, defeated No. 4 seed Amit Vales of Israel 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

For a full recap, with comments from all four finalists, see this article from SoCal Pro Series media contact Steve Pratt.


Colton Smith won his third Challenger title today at the ATP 75 in Little Rock Arkansas, with the former Arizona All-American getting through a difficult week with frequent rain delays and a late night Saturday in order to finish the semifinals. Smith, the No. 3 seed, defeated No. 5 seed Michael Mmoh 6-2, 6-4 for his the first Challenger title outside of Cleveland, taking all five of his matches in straight sets.

Smith is the No. 5 seed in next week's ATP Challenger 75 in Tyler Texas, with wild cards given to Trevor Svajda(SMU), Sebastian Gorzny(TCU, Texas) and Landon Ardila(Princeton). Adam Walton(Tennessee) of Australia is the top seed.

Saturday, May 30, 2026

Fifteen of 18 Americans Begin Play Sunday at Roland Garros Junior Championships; Svajda, Tiafoe and Keys Reach RG Round of 16; Brantmeier Advances to Wichita W35 Final; SoCal Pro Series Week One Concludes Sunday

The Roland Garros Junior Championships begin Sunday, with both Australian Open champions in the draw, four seeded US boys and one seeded US girl. In total ten US boys and eight US girls will be playing main draw matches this year and 15 of those 18 will play tomorrow. In total 24 of the 32 matches in each draw are scheduled for Sunday, with the only Americans not in action are qualifier Carrie-Anne Hoo, No. 15 seed Janae Preston and No. 4 seed Jack Kennedy.

Roland Garros Junior Championship seeds:

Girls:
1.Ksenia Efremova(FRA)
2. Xinran Sun(CHN)
3. Victoria Barros(BRA)
4. Jana Kovackova(CZE)
5. Nauhany Leme Da Silva(BRA)
6. Anastasija Cvetkovic(SRB)
7. Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi(ARG)
8. Mariia Makarova(RUS)
9. Charo Esquiva Banulds(ESP)
10. Ida Wobker(GER)
11. Paola Pinera Celorio(ESP)
12. Alisa Oktiabreva(RUS)
13. Mariella Thamm(GER)
14. Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas(RUS)
15. Janae Preston(USA)
16. Anna Pushkareva(RUS)


Boys:
1. Luis Guto Miguel(BRA)
2. Yannick Alexandrescou(FRA)
3. Jamie Mackenzie(GER)
4. Jack Kennedy(USA)
5. Ziga Sesko(SLO)
6. Keaton Hance(USA)
7. Thilo Behrmann(AUT)
8. Zangar Nurlanuly(KAZ)
9. Dimitar Kisimov(BUL)
10. Ryo Tabata(JPN)
11. Andrew Johnson(USA)
12. Yannick Alvarez(PUR)
13. Michael Antonius(USA)
14. Dante Pagani(ARG)
15. Kuan-Shou Chen(TPE)
16. Nicolas Baena(PER)

Jack Kennedy is currently 11 in the ITF junior rankings, but his ATP ranking of 426 moves him to the No. 4 spot thanks to the ITF's formula to compare ATP rankings with ITF junior rankings. (That chart can be found here). Girls No. 12 seed Alisa Oktiabreva is seeded due to her WTA ranking of 309.

A couple of junior slam finalists are in the draw but unseeded, with 2025 US Open runner-up Lea Nilsson of Sweden returning to junior competition for the first time since then, having reached the semifinals of two W35s this month. This year's Australian Open finalist Ekaterina Tupitsyna of Russia has won two W15s this month on hard courts, but went 2-2 in April's ITF Cairo events on clay.

The ITF's media preview is here(Pareja withdrew a week ago, not sure why she's mentioned). The ITF Junior Circuit's website preview is here.

Sunday's first round RG Junior matches featuring Americans:

Jack Secord v Flynn Thomas(SUI)
Michael Antonius[13] v Kirill Filaretov(RUS)
Safir Azam[Q] v Jamie Mackenzie[3](GER)
Agassi Rusher[Q] v Motoharu Abe[JGSE](JPN)
Keaton Hance[6] v Marat Salbiev[Q](RUS)
Gavin Goode v Connor Doig(RSA)
Ryan Cozad v Savva Rybkin(RUS)
Andy Johnson[11] v Raffaele Ciurnelli(ITA)
Tanishk Konduri v Oliver Majdandzic([Q]GER)

Melije Clarke v. Alisa Oktiabreva[12](RUS)
Lani Chang v Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas[14](RUS)
Sarah Ye[Q] v Giulia Popa(ROU)
Welles Newman v Paola Pinera Celorio[11](ESP)
Jordyn Hazelitt[Q] v Mariia Markarova[8](RUS)
Thea Frodin v Maia Burcescu(ROU)

After a day off Friday, the singles finals of the ITF J300 Astrid Bowl in Belgium were played today, with both unseeded Americans falling. No. 6 seed Dan Brand of Israel defeated Jordan Lee 6-3, 6-2 and Mariella Thamm of Germany beat Anita Tu 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. Brand and Thamm are in the main draw at Roland Garros, Lee and Tu are not.

Just three Americans have advanced to the second week of Roland Garros: Zachary Svajda, Frances Tiafoe and Madison Keys.  Svajda is the big surprise, as he had never been past the second round of a major, but he defeated No. 25 seed Francisco Cerundolo(South Carolina) in five sets today. As if that wasn't emotional enough, this career-best win came on the birthday of his late father Tom, a fixture of the tennis coaching scene in San Diego, who died of cancer last fall.

Saturday's third round Roland Garros results of Americans:

Zachary Svajda d. Francisco Cerundolo[25](ARG) 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3
Flavio Cobolli[10](ITA) d. Learner Tien[18] 6-2, 6-2, 6-3
Frances Tiafoe[19] d. Jaime Faria[Q](POR) 4-6, 6-7(2), 7-6(4), 6-1, 6-2
Felix Auger-Aliassime[4](CAN) d. Brandon Nakashima[31] 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(4), 7-6(1)

Naomi Osaka[16](JPN) d. Iva Jovic[18] 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4
Madison Keys[19] d. Victoria Mboko[9](CAN) 6-3, 5-7, 7-5
Anastasia Potapova[28](AUT) d. Coco Gauff[4] 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-4
Diane Parry(FRA) d. Amanda Anisimova[6] 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(3)

No Americans are on the singles schedule for Sunday in Paris.

Rain has continued to be a problem at the W35 in Wichita Kansas but Sunday's finalists have been determined after a long day of tennis and rain delays. No. 4 seed Sahaja Yamalapalli(Sam Houston) won two matches today, the second a nearly three-hour 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Yekaterina Dmitrichenko(Texas Tech).  Yamalapalli will face wild card Reese Brantmeier(North Carolina), who trailed No. 2 seed Clervie Ngounoue in their quarterfinal match when Ngounoue retired, but went on to defeat unseeded Dana Guzman(Oklahoma) of Peru 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals.

The ATP Challenger 75 in Little Rock Arkansas has also had rain delays, with three Americans in tonight's semifinals. No. 3 seed Colton Smith(Arizona) is facing Andre Ilagan(Hawaii) and No. 5 seed Michael Mmoh is playing Canadian qualfier Justin Boulais(Ohio State) for the other spot in Sunday's final.

The finals are set at the SoCal Pro Series tournaments in Lakewood.

Qualifier Tatum Evans(North Carolina) defeated top seed Mayu Crossley(UCLA) of Japan 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the W15 semifinals and will play another UCLA Bruin for the title: Anne Christine Lutkemeyer. Lutkemeyer, the No. 5 seed, ended the run of 15-year-old qualifier Allison Wang 6-4, 7-5.

Unseeded Washington State teammates Eva Alvarez Sande of Spain and Maxine Murphy won the doubles title, beating top seed Jaedan Brown(Michigan) and Kailey Evans(Texas Tech, San Diego) 6-2, 3-6, 10-6 in today's final.

Top seed Kaylan Bigun(UCLA) defeated qualifier Lucas Marionneau  (Texas) of France 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first Pro Circuit final at the M15 in Lakewood. The 2024 Roland Garros boys champion will face No. 4 seed Amit Vales of Israel, who defeated Spencer Johnson(UCLA) 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-2 in the other semifinal.

The men's doubles title was won by Texas teammates Marionneau and Sebastian Gorzny, who were partners during the season, playing No. 2 doubles for the Longhorns. The unseeded pair defeated No. 3 seeds Reece Falck(UNC Wilmington) and Matthew Shearer(Nebraska) of New Zealand 7-6(5), 7-6(4). It's the second Pro Circuit doubles title for Gorzny and the first for Marionneau.