Fearnley and Michelsen Reach Bloomfield Hills Challenger 125 Final; Pareja Earns Washington WTA 500 Qualifying Win; Dolehide, Bynoe, Inoue and Rapolu In Pro Circuit Finals; Two Pairs of Teenaged Sisters Claim Doubles Titles

Top seed Alex Michelsen will have an opportunity to avenge his recent Wimbledon first round loss and end Jake Fearnley's Challenger winning streak Sunday in the final of the Cranbrook Tennis Classic.

Great Britain's Fearnley, who received a wild card after his ranking had fallen outside the Top 100, came from two sets down to beat Michelsen 3-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 last month. Both played the Newport Challenger 125 earlier this month, with Michelsen falling to Adam Walton in the semifinals, while Fearnley beat Walton in the final with another huge comeback, saving six match points after trailing the Australian 7-5, 5-1, eventually earning a 5-7, 7-6(8), 6-4 victory.

Fearnley, the eighth seed this week at the Challenger 125 in Bloomfield Hills, didn't need a comeback today, beating No. 6 seed Michael Zheng 6-3, 6-4 with little drama. Michelsen, on the other hand, needed three sets to get by lucky loser DK Suresh(Wake Forest) of India, but eventually secured a 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-2 win to make his first final since he claimed the title at last April's Challenger 175 in Estoril Portugal.

Top seeds Trey Hilderbrand(UCF, Texas A&M) and JJ Tracy(Ohio State) won the doubles title today in their first tournament as a team, beating No. 3 seeds Pruchya Isaro of Thailand and Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha of Indian 6-3, 7-6(2).

At the ATP/WTA 500 Mubadala DC Open in Washington, wild card Julieta Pareja reached Sunday's final round of women's qualifying with a 6-4, 6-2 win over No. 6 seed Polina Iatcenko of Russia. She will play Heather Watson, who at 34 is exactly twice Pareja's age, for a place in the main draw. Wild card Clervie Ngounoue lost to No. 7 seed Varvara Lepchenko 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Alana Smith(NC State), who got in as an alternate when Katie Swan of Great Britain withdrew, beat Lea Ma(Georgia) 6-4, 7-6(5) to set up a meeting with No. 2 seed Daria Kasatkina of Australia.  Former Syracuse All-American Gabriela Knutson of Czechia defeated top seed Shuai Zhang of China 6-4, 1-6, 6-1.

In men's qualifying, two wild cards advanced, with Wimbledon boys finalist Cruz Hewitt of Australia moving on when No. 8 seed Dusan Lajovic of Serbia retired trailing 5-2. He will face top seed Zachary Svajda, who beat Stefan Kozlov 7-5, 6-1. Svajda's younger brother Trevor(SMU) was the other wild card to post a victory, beating No. 12 seed Elias Ymer of Sweden 6-0, 7-6(5). He will play No. 6 seed Mackenzie McDonald(UCLA) for a spot in the main draw.

Wimbledon boys champion Jordan Lee lost to No. 7 seed Moez Echargui(Nevada) of Tunisia 7-5, 6-1. Echargui will play Andres Martin, who made it to DC from Bloomfield Hills, where he played yesterday afternoon, and didn't skip a beat, defeating No. 5 seed Christopher O'Connell of Australian 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.  Wake Forest sophomore Aryan Shah of India, the fourth wild card, lost to No. 2 seed Marcos Giron(UCLA) 7-5, 6-4.

Other Americans in the final round of men's qualifying are Andre Ilagan(Hawaii) and No. 4 seed Martin Damm.

While Kozlov and Lee lost in singles, the wild cards did win their first doubles qualifying match, beating No. 2 seeds Ariel Behar of Uruguay and Anirudh Chandrasekar of India 6-3, 6-2. They will play the veteran team of JP Smith(Tennessee) of Australia and Fernando Romboli of Brazil for a spot in the men's doubles draw.

Caroline Dolehide has reached her first tournament final since October 2024 at the W100 in Evansville Indiana. The unseeded 27-year-old from Illinois, who has played only eight tournaments this year, defeated top seed Renata Zarazua of Mexico 7-5, 6-4 in today's semifinal and will face Yeonwoo Ku of Korea, also unseeded, for the title. Ku beat No. 2 seed Dasha Vidmanova(Georgia) and No. 6 seed Mary Stoiana(Texas A&M) in back-to-back three-setters, then defeated unseeded Lucrezia Stefanini of Italy 6-4, 6-2 in today's semifinals.

The doubles title went to top seeds I-Hsuan Cho and Yi Tsen Cho of Taiwan, who beat No. 2 seeds Kayla Cross(LSU) of Canada and Anna Rogers(NC State) 6-2, 6-3 in today's final.

At the M25 in Champaign Illinois, unseeded Evan Bynoe(Cornell) has advanced to his first Pro Circuit final at the age of 27. The previous best result for Bynoe at an M25 came last year, when he reached the Edwardsville quarterfinals.  Bynoe, currently 965 in the ATP rankings, defeated qualifier Mitchell Sheldon(Michigan State) 7-6(4), 7-6(4) and will face 20-year-old Naoya Honda of Japan, the fifth seed, in the final. Honda, a former Top 10 World Tennis junior, defeated Will Jansen(UNC, Ohio State, Georgia) 7-6(4), 7-6(5) in today's semifinals.

Unseeded Nikita Filin(Ohio State) and Tyler Bowers(Illinois, Auburb) won the doubles title, beating unseeded Vignesh Gogineni(Yale) and Billy Suarez(Tulane) 4-6, 6-3, 10-7 in this evening's final. It's the second Pro Circuit doubles title for Filin and the first for Bowers.

The only all-USA final Sunday on the USTA Pro Circuit will be at the W35 in Santa Fe New Mexico, with top seed Hina Inoue facing No. 5 seed Malaika Rapolu(Texas). Inoue defeated unseeded Dana Guzman (Oklahoma) of Peru 6-1, 6-4, while Rapolu beat No. 2 seed Angelina Voloshchuk of Portugal 6-2, 6-4 in today's semifinals. 

The Penickovas twins with the March 2025 San Diego J300 doubles trophies

Twin sisters Annika and Kristina Penickova won their first W35 doubles title together and their third Pro Circuit doubles title as a team today in Santa Fe, with the unseeded 16-year-olds beating unseeded Carolina Gomez(Arkansas) of Spain and Celine Simunyu(Arkansas) of Ireland 6-3, 6-3 in the final. Annika won a W35 title in May with Capucine Jauffret; Kristina won a W15 title this summer with Jauffret during the SoCal Pro Series.

And at the W15 in Huamantla Mexico, 18-year-old Olivia Allegre(UC San Diego) and 16-year-old sister Camille won their first Pro Circuit title, with the unseeded pair defeating unseeded Jayna Clemens(Mississippi State, San Diego State) and Kallista Liu(Maryland) of Hong Kong 6-3, 6-3 in today's final. 

My Recap of Manchala's Title at Wimbledon 14U Tournament; Eight Questions with Bloomfield Hills Challenger Semifinalist Michael Zheng; Pareja Receives Qualifying Wild Card for WTA 500 in Washington DC

The European 14s championships are underway in Most Czechia this week, and after covering the Wimbledon 14-and-under event two weeks ago, I recognize quite a few of the names. Three of the four boys semifinalists competed at Wimbledon and are making a quick surface change back to clay, including champion Jonas Waelti of Switzerland.

The Wimbledon 14-and-under girls finalist Mariia Kocherzhenko of Ukraine is the No. 1 seed in Most, and she has advanced to the semifinals. For links to draws, live scoring and live streaming, see the Tennis Europe live blog page.

My coverage of the Wimbledon tournament, which focuses on Isha Manchala capturing the first title for an American in the event's five-year history, can be found today at the Tennis Recruiting Network.

In my post Monday, I covered Michael Zheng's first round win and provided his comments on the grass court season and his Wimbledon third round appearance. Below is the rest of my interview with Columbia's two-time NCAA singles champion.

 Today at the Cranbrook Tennis Classic in Bloomfield Hills, the sixth-seeded Zheng advanced to his seventh semifinal at the Challenger level with a 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 win over No. 2 seed Adam Walton(Tennessee) of Australia. Zheng has advanced to the final five of the six times he has appeared in a Challenger semifinal. He will face No. 8 seed Jake Fearnley(TCU) of Great Britain, who beat JJ Wolf(Ohio State) 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3.  In the top half, No. 1 seed Alex Michelsen defeated defending champion Mark Lajal 6-3, 6-4 and will face lucky loser DK Suresh(Wake Forest) of India, who beat 2025 CTC finalist Andres Martin(Georgia Tech) 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(6). Martin didn't face a break point in the match, yet still lost; Suresh saved two of the three break points he faced, and used some expert volleying in the second and third sets to eke out a win.

Eight Questions with Michael Zheng:

Colette Lewis: Did being in the final of the Wimbledon Junior Championships help you in your men's main draw debut this year?

Michael Zheng: Not a lot of players have had that experience, playing on grass, so even though it's my first real season playing on grass, I had in juniors, had the success in the juniors. So that's always in the back of your mind that you know you can play well on grass, so it definitely helped. Playing on grass, feeling the courts, knowing that I played really well there, really helped.

CL: What was behind your decision to skip this year's USTA American Collegiate US Open Wild Card Playoff?

MZ: I think the scheduling was just a little bit tough. It was between staying a little longer on the hard, and prepare for that, or go to Europe and try to give myself the best possible chance to do well at Wimbledon. I think it does take a couple of tournaments to get used to the grass, the movement is a little bit different, so we just decided, with the way it was scheduled, it would be tough. If I was in England, going back and forth and trying to make it back in time for Wimbledon(qualifying), it probably wouldn't give me the best chance to do well in qualies.

CL: Did the fact that you had qualified for the Australian Open and Roland Garros play into that scheduling decision?

MZ: Yes, I think that was definitely a factor, just the confidence against these guys at that level. My dad has always told me that grass suits my game, and I hadn't done that well on clay, hadn't played on it in two years, and am already qualifying in Paris, so on grass, a surface where I feel more comfortable, why not give myself that chance to qualify there?

CL: Do you have an agent?

MZ: I just signed with GSE a couple of days ago. They're not announcing it yet, but soon. 

CL: How do you look back on your final college season? I think a lot of people were surprised that you lost six matches. Were you surprised by that?

MZ: A little bit. I was expected to do well, I had just won NCAAs and I had a good run in Australia. I think the timing with everything was a little bit unfortunate. I went to Australia, did better than expected, but missed our (ITA) Kickoff(Weekend) match and when I got back from Australia I was hurt, so I was out for a couple of weeks actually, on the sidelines coaching. 

I think I was, I don't want to say de-motivated, because I wanted to win, but it was tough, with the injury, and guys were also playing really well against me. But I think I definitely underperformed a little bit during the season. I think I started playing better toward the end, and then we were a little bit unlucky that we drew UVA in the second round at NCAAs. I lost a tough match to (Dylan) Dietrich, who is playing really well, on their home courts. It was definitely a tough season, but you learn a lot.

CL: Were you able to attend your Columbia graduation?

MZ: I missed it unfortunately. I was in France. I think if I'd have lost in second round of qualies I could have made it. I ended up bringing my cap and gown there and took some pictures, but unfortunately I missed the walk.

CL: What are your thoughts about the Electronic Line Calling at ATP Challengers this year?

MZ: I think it's better, just in general. You aren't arguing calls with line judges; with Electronic Line Calling it's set. You can think that maybe it's wrong, but you can't really do anything about it and it saves a lot of time with the arguments and all that. It gives you peace of mind and it's probably more accurate than whatever you see. I think it's better.

CL: What's your schedule for the rest of the summer?

MZ: From here I'm going to Los Cabos (ATP 250), instead of DC. I think I'm eight out of qualifying for Montreal (ATP 1000), so if I can sneak in, I'll play there. I'm also signed for Lexington(ATP Challenger 75) so if I can't get in to Montreal, I'll play Lexington. I just signed for Cincinnati(ATP 1000) qualies, so maybe play that.

While Zheng won't be playing the Mubadala Open in Washington DC, tomorrow's first round of qualifying matches feature many other young Americans.

Wimbledon boys champion Jordan Lee, who received a wild card, will play No. 7 seed Moez Echargui(Nevada) of Morocco in Lee's ATP-level debut. Australian Cruz Hewitt, the Wimbledon boys finalist and wild card recipient, faces No. 8 seed Dusan Lajovic of Serbia.

2025 NCAA singles finalist Trevor Svajda received a wild card for qualifying and will play No. 12 seed Elias Ymer of Sweden. His brother Zachary is the top seed in qualifying and will face Stefan Kozlov. Kozlov and Lee received a men's doubles qualifying wild card. The fourth wild card in men's singles qualifying went to Aryan Shah of India, who joined Wake Forest in January.

Andres Martin, who lost in Bloomfield Hills late this afternoon, is on Saturday's schedule not before 3 p.m. in a first round qualifying match No. 5 seed Christopher O'Connell of Australia. The winner of that match plays the winner of the Lee-Echargui match for a spot in the main draw.

The men's qualifying draw is here.

There are only four qualifiers who receive entry into the women's main draw, versus six qualifiers on the men's side, so only two qualifying wild cards are awarded.  Seventeen-year-old Julieta Pareja received one of the and she will face No. 6 seed Polina Iatcenko of Russia in the first round tomorrow. The other wild card was given to 20-year-old Clervie Ngounoue, who is originally from the DC area; she will play No. 7 seed Varvara Lepchenko of the United States. The other Americans in qualifying are Carolyn Ansari(Auburn) and Lea Ma(Georgia).

The women's qualifying draw is here.

Wimbledon Boys Champion Lee, Finalist Hewitt Receive Qualifying Wild Cards for ATP 500 in Washington DC; Baris and Chang Lead US Open Wild Card Race after Week 1; Quarterfinals Friday at Bloomfield Hills Challenger, W100 Evansville, W35 Santa Fe and M25 Champaign

The Mubadala DC Open, a joint WTA/ATP 500, announced yesterday that both boys who appeared in the Wimbledon boys final ten days ago have received wild cards into the ATP 500 Washington DC qualifying draws.  Champion Jordan Lee, who has never competed above the M15 level and has an ATP ranking of 1769, will be making his ATP-level debut; finalist Cruz Hewitt of Australia has played Australian Open qualifying the past two years and in 10 Challengers, most in Australia; his ATP ranking is currently 615.

The future is here 🔥

2026 Wimbledon boys’ singles champion Jordan Lee and finalist Cruz Hewitt have received qualifying wild cards and will both play their first match on Saturday!#MubadalaDCOpen pic.twitter.com/7uMWSk7iJq

— Mubadala DC Open (@mubadaladcopen) July 22, 2026

 

The USTA also distributed the first update on the US Open Wild Card Challenge, with Hanna Chang, who won the title at the W35 in Dallas last week, and Ozan Baris, who won the title at the M25 in Louisville last week, the leaders.

US Open Wild Card Challenge Standings Update

 

Hanna Chang, Ozan Baris Lead After Week 1

 

ORLANDO, Fla., July 22, 2026 – Twenty-eight-year old Hanna Chang and 22-year old Ozan Baris are the leaders of the USTA's US Open Wild Card Challenge after its first of four weeks for the women and five weeks for the men.

 

Chang, who has won three USTA Pro Circuit W35 singles titles already this year, leads the women’s standings after winning the W35 in Dallas on Sunday. Second-place Elizabeth Mandlik made the semifinals of the W75 in Granby, Canada.

 

Baris won his second USTA Pro Circuit M25 title of the year in Louisville, Ky., after winning the M25 Wichita event in June. He is just three points ahead of Murphy Cassone, who reached the semifinal at the Granby Challenger in Canada, and Spencer Johnson, who also reached a Challenger semifinal in Lincoln, Neb.

 

The top of the standings after Week 1:

 

Women's Standings

(Player's current ranking in parentheses)

 

1. Hanna Chang (326) -- 35

2. Elizabeth Mandlik (169) -- 29
3. Lea Ma (274) -- 16

 

 

Men's Standings

(Player's current ranking in parentheses)

 

1. Ozan Baris (586) -- 25
T2. Murphy Cassone (269) -- 22
T2. Spencer Johnson (524) -- 22

 

 

The men's wild card will go to the American with the highest cumulative total of ATP singles ranking points earned from their best four results over five weeks. The Men's Challenge counts outdoor and indoor hard-court events at the M25-level and above around the world.

 

The women's wild card will go to the American with the highest cumulative total of WTA singles ranking points earned from their best three results over four weeks. The Women's Challenge counts outdoor and indoor hard-court events at the W35-level and above around the world.

The quarterfinals are set at all four of the USTA Pro Circuit events this week.  At the Bloomfield Hills Challenger 125, lucky loser DK Suresh(Wake Forest) of India is through to the quarterfinals after defeating another Wake Forest alum, Borna Gojo of Croatia, 6-2, 6-4 today. Suresh will face 2025 finalist Andres Martin(Georgia Tech), who beat qualifier Roger Pascual(TCU) of Spain 6-3, 1-6, 6-3. 

Top seed Alex Michelsen will play 2025 champion Mark Lajal in the other quarterfinal in the top half.

In the bottom half, No. 6 seed Michael Zheng(Columbia) will play No. 2 seed Adam Walton(Tennessee) of Australia, and No. 8 seed Jake Fearnley(TCU) will face J.J. Wolf(Ohio State), who is into his first Challenger quarterfinal since his long injury layoff in 2025. Wolf defeated No. 3 seed Coleman Wong of Hong Kong 6-3, 7-5 today.

At the M25 in Champaign Illinois, three wild cards and a qualifier are through to the quarterfinals, with only two seeds remaining.

Top seed Karim Bennani of Morocco will face Will Jansen(UNC, Ohio State, Georgia); wild card Nikita Filin(Ohio State) will play No. 5 seed Naoya Honda of Japan; wild card William Mroz(Illinois) will face qualifier Mitchell Sheldon(Michigan State) and wild card Eli Stephenson(Kentucky) will play Evan Bynoe. Bynoe defeated No. 2 seed Yassine Dlimi(UCF) of Morocco 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in the second round today.

The quarterfinals in the women's W100 in Evansville Indiana will feature three Americans, with one guaranteed to reach the semifinals when No. 7 seed Elvina Kalieva plays Caroline Dolehide. The other quarterfinal in the top half has top seed Renata Zarazua of Mexico playing qualifier Yuki Naito of Japan, with Naito defeating wild card Fiona Crawley 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-1 in three hours and 10 minutes.  In the bottom half, unseeded Lucrezia Stefanini of Italy will play No. 3 seed Mananchaya Sawangkaew(Oklahoma State) of Thailand and No. 6 seed Mary Stoiana, who beat 17-year-old wild card Julieta Pareja 6-3, 6-4 today, will face unseeded Yeonwoo Ku of Korea. Ku prevented another Dasha Vidmanova(Georgia) meeting with Stoiana, with Ku beating the 2024 NCAA fall singles champion from Czechia 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the second round today.

Four Americans will play in Friday's quarterfinals of the W35 in Santa Fe New Mexico, with top seed Hina Inoue facing Kate Fakih(UCLA). Inoue beat Kolie Allen(Ohio State) 6-4, 7-6(2), while Fakih fought back against Tatum Evans(UNC) 2-6, 6-1, 6-1.

Krisha Mahendran(USC) of India, who beat No. 3 seed Antonia Vergara Rivera of Chile 6-2, 7-5, will face Dana Guzman(Oklahoma) of Peru for a place in the semifinals. 

Fifth-seeded Malaika Rapolu(Texas) will play Mayu Crossley(UCLA) of Japan and qualifier McKenna Schaefbauer(Illinois) will face No. 2 seed Angelina Voloshchuk of Portugal.

My Wimbledon Junior Championships Recap; Kalamazoo and San Diego Acceptances; US Teams Announced for August's World Junior Tennis 14U Team Competition

My article on the Wimbledon Junior Championships is up today at Tennis Recruiting Network, so if you weren't able to follow along with my daily reports from the All England Lawn Tennis Club, this is your opportunity to get an overview of the nine-day event in abbreviated form. I also wrote a notebook-emptying post last Friday about the junior grass tournaments, with my observations on items big and small. My article on the 14-and-under event will be published Friday.

Entries closed late last week for the Kalamazoo 16s and 18s USTA National Championships and the San Diego 16s and 18s National Championships, so a look at those fields is in order.

Monday at Bloomfield Hills, I confirmed with Darwin Blanch, who is eligible to return to defend his title, that he would not be competing in Kalamazoo this year. He did not enter and I had heard he was not planning to play, so I'm not surprised, although he told me Monday that he had considered it.

Other than Blanch, all the top Americans boys have entered, with 15 in the World Tennis junior Top 100: Michael Antonius, Keaton Hance, Jordan Lee, Andy Johnson, Jack Kennedy, Jack Secord, Ryan Cozad, Tanishk Konduri, Vihaan Reddy, Gavin Goode, Safir Azam, Marcel Latak, Navneet Raghuram, Carel Ngounoue and Agassi Rusher. Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico is also entered this year; he did not play last year due to his commitment to the PanAmerican Games.

In addition there are several players who were World Tennis Top 100 who are no longer eligible for a WT junior ranking, but can play in Kalamazoo: Stanford rising freshman Ronit Karki and University of Georgia rising sophomore Noah Johnston. 2024 Kalamazoo 16s champion Gus Grumet has also entered and been accepted.

Players entered but currently on the alternate list are Nick Stoot, who has seven ATP points, and 2024 16s finalist Arin Pallegar. The only notable player I can think of who did not enter, aside from Blanch, is 2025 Orange Bowl 16s champion Matias Reyniak, who recently made an M15 final in Turkey and has eight ATP points. The wild card selections will be announced next week.

The 16s field includes several players who were accepted into the 18s, but decided to play 16s, most likely for the US Open Juniors wild card that goes to the winner, including Izyan Ahmad, currently 119 in the WT junior rankings.

The full list of Kalamazoo acceptances can be found here.

The San Diego entries do not include 17-year-old Julieta Pareja, the most notable absence in the 18s, with Olivia Traynor, WT junior No. 64, and Sarah Ye, WT No. 77, also not entered. But unlike Kalamazoo, a number of top players entered but were not accepted, meaning they are on the alternate list: Alexis Nguyen, WTA 719; Bella Payne, WTA 569; Shannon Lam WTA 669; Annika Penickova and Texas rising sophomore Elizabeth Ionescu. 

The 17 Top 100 WT junior girls from the United States on the acceptance list:  Janae Preston, Kristina Penickova, Jordyn Hazelitt, Welles Newman, Thea Frodin, Melije Clarke, Anita Tu, Lani Chang, Hannah Ayrault, Maggie Sohns, Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann, Nancy Lee, Carrie-Anne Hoo, Ireland O'Brien, Emery Combs, Armira Kockinis and Yael Saffar.

WT junior 101 Olivia De Los Reyes is playing the 16s, as is 16s Orange Bowl champion Priscilla Sirichantho.

The full list of San Diego acceptances can be found here.

The top 14-year-olds do not get an opportunity to play the USTA Nationals, with the World Tennis 14-and-under Junior Tennis team event always conflicting with the National Championships in August.

The teams representing the United States in August in Prostejov Czechia are the same as those who played in the qualifying this spring.

US Boys World Tennis 14&U:
Nathan Lee (13; Tustin, Calif.)
Rex Kulman (14; Fort Lauderdale, FL)
Maxwell Smith (13; Orlando, FL)
Captain: Jon Glover

US Girls World Tennis 14&U:
Isha Manchala (13; Hilton Head Island, S.C.)
Anna Kapanadze (14; Staten Island, N.Y.)
Nadia Poznick (14; Ann Arbor, Mich.)

Captain: Celeste Frey

The team members and captains for the other countries in the 16-team competition have been posted at the WT junior website, with the boys here, and the girls here.

ELC Goes Down, 2025 Finalist Martin Saves Match Point at Bloomfield Hills ATP Challenger 125; Twenty-eight Americans Receive Direct Entry into US Open

©Colette Lewis 2026--

Bloomfield Hills MI--

My already brief visit to the ATP Challenger 125 Cranbrook Tennis Classic was truncated even further today by several delays, with the first due to a malfunction in the Electronic Line Calling system, and then rain delays as afternoon showers popped up.

This is the first year Challengers have regularly used ELC, with the Bolt6 system approved for the top level of professional competition. It requires multiple cameras mounted around all match courts, which at the CTC are Courts, 1, 2, and 3.  

The first two matches of the day were late in the first set, in the the Jacob Fearnley-Remy Bartola match, and early in the second set, in the case of the Roger Pascual-Masamichi Imamura match.

The malfunction, which apparently was at the off-site data processing center, caused a 45-minute delay as the on-site staff attempted to trouble-shoot the problem, and there were still issues with the system not producing audible calls, or the chair unable to confirm the call on their ipads. Eventually, after nearly an hour, all issues were resolved, but there was, of course, plenty of frustration.

I am accustomed to the Play-Replay system, which uses a camera mounted on the net, and is the ELC used for collegiate competition, and I know there have been occasional issues with that going down as well. But from what I've heard from people who have seen this ELC system this year at Challengers, delays like this are not uncommon. Last week at the Lincoln Challenger 75 a similar problem developed, and I'm surprised that this is considered acceptable. I know there is no alternative once the ELC has been mandated, but the reliability of the system, not just its accuracy, should be considered when certifying it.

While Fearnley and Pascual got through their matches in straight sets, two first round matches went to third-set tiebreakers. In the battle of qualifier Alan Magadan(UTSA, Texas A&M) and lucky loser Stefan Kozlov, Magadan overcame back-to-back double faults in the final set tiebreaker to win the last three points of the match in his 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(4) victory.

For Andres Martin, the former Georgia Tech All-American, the prospect of third set tiebreaker was no doubt discouraging, as he was up 6-5, 40-15 in the third set of his first round match on Center Court against No. 7 seed Dane Sweeny of Australia.

On his first match point, Martin netted a forehand after a brief rally; on the second, Sweeny came up with winner from out of nowhere, tracking down Martin's deep backhand down the line approach in the forehand corner and blocking a short angle pass by Martin.

Martin went on to drop the game after two deuces, but the degree of difficulty of that winner did help him discount its impact.

"Yeah, it was insane," Martin said to Alex Gruskin of Cracked Racquets. "He hit that shot and I was just like, wow. There's no way, he couldn't do that again if he wanted to. I'm like, the universe just wants me to go through this, honestly, that's what I was saying. For some reason I have to play this breaker now, but I'm here to compete and this is what I trained for."

Martin, who lost to Mark Lajal in the final of last year's CTC 6-7(7), 7-5, 7-6(9), faced a match point of his own in the tiebreaker when Sweeny's return of a good first serve handcuffed Martin when it landed right on the baseline, giving Sweeny 6-5 lead on his serve. But after a good serve, his plus-one forehand was wildly long and wide, and no doubt rattled after that error, he double faulted.  This time Martin, a favorite of the crowd after his run last year, converted his match point, with Sweeny hitting a forehand long after a brief rally.

Martin will face Spain's Pascual, a rising junior at TCU, who advanced to the second round of a Challenger for the second time with his 6-1, 6-1 win over Imamura earlier.

With that two-hour and 30-minute match, which was delayed in starting due to the ELC malfunction, and Lajal's three-set win over 2025 Kalamazoo champion Darwin Blanch, plus two rain delays, the final match on Center Court between top seed Alex Michelsen and lucky loser Aidan Mayo was going to be racing against darkness, with the Cranbrook Tennis Complex having no lights. Mayo, who replaced Arthur Gea of France, who had travel issues and withdrew just minutes before the match, dropped the first set 6-3, but led 3-2 on serve in the second set when a serious rain storm arrived, cancelling play for the day.

In addition to Challenger TV, which provides streams of all courts, Tennis Channel is providing live coverage of selected Center Court matches on their app.

Cranbrook Tennis Classic - Bloomfield Hills, MI, United States
$225,000
19 - 26 July 2026

Results - Tuesday, 21 July 2026
Men's Singles - Round of 32
[4] Coleman Wong (HKG) d [WC] Spencer Johnson (USA) 62 64 
[5] Pablo Llamas Ruiz (ESP) d [Q] Bruno Kuzuhara (USA) 63 64 
[Alt] Andres Martin (USA) d [7] Dane Sweeny (AUS) 46 63 76(6) 
[8] Jacob Fearnley (GBR) d Remy Bertola (SUI) 64 64 
[WC] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) d [Q] Evan Zhu (USA) 63 63 
Mark Lajal (EST) d [NG] Darwin Blanch (USA) 64 57 64 
J.J. Wolf (USA) d Colton Smith (USA) 76(1) 63 
Tristan Boyer (USA) d Bernard Tomic (AUS) 13 Retired
[Q] Roger Pascual Ferra (ESP) d [Q] Masamichi Imamura (JPN) 61 61 
[Q] Alan Magadan (MEX) d [LL] Stefan Kozlov (USA) 36 61 76(4) 
Borna Gojo (CRO) d [Q] Sebastian Gorzny (USA) 62 62 
[LL] Dhakshineswar Suresh (IND) d Billy Harris (GBR) 62 64 

ORDER OF PLAY - WEDNESDAY, 22 JULY 2026
Center Court - start 11:00
[6] Michael Zheng (USA) vs [Q] Alan Magadan (MEX)
[1] [WC] Alex Michelsen (USA) vs [LL] Aidan Mayo (USA) 63 23
[WC] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS) vs [2] Adam Walton (AUS)
Mark Lajal (EST) vs [5] Pablo Llamas Ruiz (ESP)

Not Before 17:00
After Suitable Rest - [WC] Owen DeMuth (USA) / Andres Martin (USA) vs Pablo Llamas Ruiz (ESP) / Abdullah Shelbayh (JOR)

Court 2 - start 11:00
Jason Jung (TPE) / Evan King (USA) vs Calum Puttergill (AUS) / Dane Sweeny (AUS)
Nathaniel Lammons (USA) / Jackson Withrow (USA) vs Alternate
[1] Trey Hilderbrand (USA) / JJ Tracy (USA) vs George Goldhoff (USA) / Cleeve Harper (CAN)

Court 3 - start 11:00
Blake Bayldon (AUS) / Patrick Harper (AUS) vs [2] Finn Reynolds (NZL) / James Watt (NZL)
Borna Gojo (CRO) / Billy Harris (GBR) vs [3] Pruchya Isaro (THA) / Niki Kaliyanda Poonacha (IND)
[4] Ariel Behar (URU) / Anirudh Chandrasekar (IND) vs [WC] Matt Kuhar (USA) / Evan Zhu (USA)
Remy Bertola (SUI) / Moez Echargui (TUN) vs Jody Maginley (ANT) / Karl Poling (USA)

The USTA released the main draw acceptances for the US Open today, with 14 US men and 14 US women on the lists. Click on the headings to see the full list, plus the alternates. The deadline for qualifying is August 3rd.

The men:

Ben Shelton

Taylor Fritz

Learner Tien

Frances Tiafoe

Tommy Paul

Brandon Nakashima

Alex Michelsen

Ethan Quinn

Sebastian Korda

Zachary Svajda

Jenson Brooksby

Marcos Giron

Aleks Kovacevic

Emilio Nava

The women:

Jessica Pegula

Coco Gauff

Amanda Anisimova

Iva Jovic

Madison Keys

Emma Navarro

Ann Li

McCartney Kessler

Caty McNally

Peyton Stearns

Ashlyn Krueger

Alycia Parks

Taylor Townsend

Katie Volynets

Zheng Returns to Bloomfield Hills Challenger After Making Third Round at Wimbledon; Meineke Sweeps Titles at World Tennis J30; Tiley Begins Tenure as USTA CEO

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Bloomfield Hills MI--

I was fortunate that Michael Zheng, the two-time NCAA champion while a student at Columbia, was on Monday's schedule at the ATP Challenger 125 Cranbrook Tennis Classic, because I'm only here for a brief visit and often miss the marquee matches. I watched the final round of qualifying and the three first round singles matches(more on that later), one of which was No. 6 seed Zheng's 6-4, 6-1 win over former Florida Gator Abdullah Shelbayh of Jordan.

I spoke to Zheng after not just his match, but his lengthy post-match practice session with coach Ruan Roelofse, about his qualifying at Wimbledon and his two main draw wins there, despite his failure to win a match in the two grass Challengers he played prior to Wimbledon.

"I was playing solid, playing with confidence, even though I lost in first round, I was serving really good," said the 22-year-old from New Jersey, who lost in third-set tiebreakers to Mark Lajal of Estonia in Ilkley and Shintaro Mochizuki of Japan in Nottingham. "I got through in Roehampton, and in the main draw anything can happen. You're playing well, with a lot of confidence because you've won three matches against good players, and I had that upset against (Cam) Norrie, so it was a great tournament for me."

Zheng, who is 120 in the current ATP rankings, will not receive direct entry into the US Open, with the ranking cutoff today, but he has qualified for all three majors this year, and he still has an opportunity to win the USTA's US Open wild card challenge, which began last week and runs through August 16 for the men. A title here in Bloomfield Hills would go a long way toward winning that wild card, but Zheng has played all four years that it's been on the calendar for other reasons.

"I think it's one of the best Challengers in the US," Zheng said. "There are a lot of people who come out to support, the DeMuths (David is tournament director) they just do such a good job with the event, getting the people out, they make you feel really comfortable here. The food is great, it's very convenient to get around, not hard to get to for me. It's a great tournament, a great Challenger, the level's really high, and they moved it up to a 125, deservedly so, because the level's been going up every year."

I'll have more from Zheng about his final collegiate season, his decision to skip the USTA US Open Collegiate Playoff, his tentative schedule for the US hard court season, signing with a agency, and other topics soon.

Former University of Tennessee star Adam Walton of Australia, the No. 2 seed this week, does not have to worry about playing in the US Open, as he moved back into the ATP Top 100 after reaching the final of the Newport Challenger 125 two weeks ago. 

In today's match against Blaise Bicknell(Florida, Tennessee), Walton got off to a slow start, but quickly took control in the second set, and an increasingly disinterested Bicknell ended up retiring in Walton's 3-6, 6-1, 3-1, ret. victory.

Lloyd Harris, the big-serving, oft-injured South African, was the third main draw winner today, beating Moez Echargui of Tunisia 6-4, 6-4.

The fourth main draw match was cancelled after Alexis Galarneau of Canada withdrew. Galarneau(NC State) was scheduled to play No. 5 seed Pablo Llamas Ruiz of Spain, who now will play qualifier Bruno Kuzuhara in the first round.  No. 3 seed Bu Yunchaokete of China also withdrew, with DK Suresh(Wake Forest) of India, and Stefan Kozlov receiving main draw entry as lucky losers.

In addition to Kuzuhara,today's qualifiers are: Evan Zhu(UCLA), Sebastian Gorzny(TCU, Texas), Alan Magadan(UTSA, Texas A&M) of Mexico, Masamichi Imamura of Japan and Roger Pascual(TCU) of Spain.

Cranbrook Tennis Classic - Bloomfield Hills, MI, United States
$225,000
19 - 26 July 2026

Results - Monday, 20 July 2026
Men's Singles - Round of 32

[2] Adam Walton (AUS) d [Alt] Blaise Bicknell (JAM) 36 61 31 Retired
[6] Michael Zheng (USA) d Abdullah Shelbayh (JOR) 64 61 
Lloyd Harris (RSA) d Moez Echargui (TUN) 64 64 

Men's Qualifying Singles - Qualifying Round 2

[12] Roger Pascual Ferra (ESP) d [1] Stefan Kozlov (USA) 64 64 
[3] Masamichi Imamura (JPN) d [Alt] Darian King (BAR) 75 61 
[11] Bruno Kuzuhara (USA) d [4] [Alt] Dhakshineswar Suresh (IND) 67(5) 63 64 
[9] Alan Magadan (MEX) d Aidan Mayo (USA) 76(3) 36 76(4) 
[Alt] Sebastian Gorzny (USA) d [10] Gavin Young (USA) 57 75 63 
Evan Zhu (USA) d Patrick Maloney (USA) 46 63 62 

Cranbrook Tennis Classic - Bloomfield Hills, MI, United States
$225,000
19 - 26 July 2026

ORDER OF PLAY - TUESDAY, 21 JULY 2026
Center Court - start 11:00
[Alt] Andres Martin (USA) vs [7] Dane Sweeny (AUS)
[Q] Evan Zhu (USA) vs [WC] Thanasi Kokkinakis (AUS)
Mark Lajal (EST) vs [NG] Darwin Blanch (USA)

Not Before 17:00
[1] [WC] Alex Michelsen (USA) vs Arthur Gea (FRA)

Court 2 - start 10:00
[8] Jacob Fearnley (GBR) vs Remy Bertola (SUI)
[Q] Bruno Kuzuhara (USA) vs [5] Pablo Llamas Ruiz (ESP)
[WC] Spencer Johnson (USA) vs [4] Coleman Wong (HKG)
Colton Smith (USA) vs J.J. Wolf (USA)
Bernard Tomic (AUS) vs Tristan Boyer (USA)

Court 3 - start 10:00
[Q] Roger Pascual Ferra (ESP) vs [Q] Masamichi Imamura (JPN)
[LL] Stefan Kozlov (USA) vs [Q] Alan Magadan (MEX)
[Q] Sebastian Gorzny (USA) vs Borna Gojo (CRO)
[LL] Dhakshineswar Suresh (IND) vs Billy Harris (GBR)

I reviewed the sweep of the Bogota Colombia J200 titles for Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann in my post Saturday; only one other American junior earned a title on the World tennis junior circuit last week: 15-year-old Dylan Meineke of Texas.

Meineke won the singles and doubles titles at the J30 in Jamaica, beating Kale Dalla Costa of Trinidad and Tobago 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 for his second World Tennis junior singles title.  Meineke partnered with Vaclav Barina of Czechia in doubles, with the top seeds defeating No. 2 seeds Logan Rey and Canada's Yanis Roch 7-5, 6-3 in the final.

At the J100 in the Domincan Republic, qualifier Achyuth Binu reached the final, losing to unseeded Darsh Sachin Patel of Great Britain 6-4, 6-0; No. 2 seed Aarini Bhattacharya lost to No. 6 seed Julianny De La Cruz Champagne  of the Dominican Republic 6-7(6), 7-5, 7-6(3).

The World Tennis junior circuit returns to the United States this week with a J60 in Providence Rhode Island. It's the round robin to knockout format, with Payton Dith of Canada and Mikaeel Ali Baig of Pakistan the top seeds.

Craig Tiley was welcomed today by the USTA as its new Chief Executive Officer with this release:

Incoming USTA CEO Craig Tiley Begins Today on a Mission to Advance the Growth of American Tennis and the US Open

 

ORLANDO, Fla. (July 20, 2026) — The United States Tennis Association (USTA) announced that incoming Chief Executive Officer Craig Tiley arrived in Orlando today to begin his tenure leading the organization’s focus on growing American tennis and the US Open. Tiley’s appointment to CEO was first announced February 24, 2026.

 

“The USTA has created a great platform to inspire further growth in tennis participation,” Tiley said on his first day on the job. “We want to work with everyone within the tennis family to grow the sport beyond what anyone thought possible.”

 

USTA Board Chair and interim Co-CEO Brian Vahaly, who was integral in bringing Tiley to the USTA, is delighted with his arrival.

 

“Craig has spent his career at the forefront of our sport and brings a unique global perspective to the USTA,” said Vahaly. “We are fortunate to have him guide the organization into its next chapter as we build on six consecutive years of participation growth and continue our mission to grow tennis in America. I am confident his leadership will take both American tennis and the US Open to new heights.”

 

Tiley joins the USTA after a 21-year career at Tennis Australia where he most recently served as CEO and Tournament Director of the Australian Open. During that time, he was responsible for driving explosive tennis growth, both for recreational tennis and at the Australian Open. His distinguished career spans successful leadership in collegiate coaching, running community tennis, and administration of the Australian Open.

 

“I want to thank Brian and the USTA Board for their support. I am excited by the incredible opportunities in front of us and the tremendous team we have to go get them,” Tiley said.