Lee and Tu Advance to Finals of ITF J300 Belgium; Six US Juniors Reach Final Round Qualifying at Roland Garros Junior Championships; Five US Women, Six US Men Reach Roland Garros Third Round; Wang Makes First W15 Quarterfinal in Lakewood

Sixteen-year-old Jordan Lee is through to his second ITF J300 final, while 17-year-old Anita Tu has reached her first with victories today at the 61st Astrid Bowl in Belgium.

Lee, who like Tu is unseeded, beat top seed Arnav Papakar of  India 6-3, 6-4  and will meet No. 6 seed Dan Brand of Israel, who beat Matei Cheleman of Romania 6-4, 6-1 in the bottom half semifinal.

Tu defeated lucky loser Sofia Barhacova of Slovakia 6-7(6), 6-1, 6-1 and will face top seed Mariella Thamm of Germany, a 6-3, 6-2 winner over qualifier Barbara Kostecka of Poland today.

Three US girls and three US boys have reached the final round of qualifying for the Roland Garros Junior Championships, which begin Sunday in Paris.

Sarah Ye defeated No. 11 seed Alena Kharchenko of Russia 7-5, 6-4 and will play No. 2 seed Maria Pop of Romania Friday for a place in the main draw. Olivia Traynor defeated wild card Mila Bastianelli of France 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 and will face No. 5 seed Sofia Bielinska of Ukraine.  Carrie-Anne Hoo, one of the last players to get into qualifying, took out No. 6 seed Veronika Sekerkova of Czechia 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 and will play No. 16 seed Fleur De Bresser of the Netherlands in the final round of qualifying.

In the boys first round of qualifying today, No. 3 seed Safir Azam defeated French wild card Evan Giurescu of France 6-2, 6-2 and will play Lucas Yunez of Ecuador next. Agassi Rusher beat No. 5 seed John Bothma of South Africa 7-5, 7-5 and Navneet Raghuram defeated No. 6 seed Kunanan Pantaratorn of Thailand 6-3, 6-0. Rusher faces No. 9 seed Maxi Carrascosa Diaz of Spain and Raghuram plays No. 13 seed Christopher Thies of Germany for a spot in the main draw.

Once again, a hearty well-done to Roland Garros officials, who play out a full third set in junior qualifying, which Wimbledon and the US Open do not do.

The shock of Jannik Sinner's loss to Juan Manuel Cerundolo of Argentina today after leading 6-3, 6-2, 5-1 sucked most of the oxygen out of the other Roland Garros results today, but eight Americans advanced to the third round with wins today, joining Peyton Stearns(Texas), Tommy Paul and Alex Michelsen, who won their second round matches yesterday.

Learner Tien(USC), now on a six-match winning streak on clay after claiming the ATP 250 title in Geneva last week, saved two match points in a 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2 win over qualifier Facundo Diaz Acosta of Argentina in just short of four hours. But that was only the third longest match time by an American man today, with Brandon Nakashima(Virginia) going 4 hours and 34 minutes tonight for a 6-7(5), 6-4, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3 win over Luca Van Assche of France and Frances Tiafoe beating Hubert Hurkacz of Poland 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-4 in 4 hours and 43 minutes.

Two-time Kalamazoo 18s champion Zachary Svajda got through in four sets in under three hours, and Ben Shelton(Florida) lost to Raphael Collignon of Belgium in straight sets in just two hours.

Thursday's Roland Garros second round matches results of Americans:
Learner Tien[18] d. Facundo Diaz Acosta[Q](ARG) 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-3
Raphael Collignon(BEL) d. Ben Shelton[5] 6-4, 7-5, 6-4
Frances Tiafoe[19] d. Hubert Hurkacz(POL) 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-7(1), 6-4
Brandon Nakashima[31] d. Luca Van Assche(FRA) 6-7(5), 6-4, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3
Zachary Svajda d. Adam Walton[WC](AUS) 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2

Diane Parry(FRA) d. Ann Li[30] 6-3, 6-4

Iva Jovic[17] d. Emma Navarro 6-0, 6-3

Amanda Anisimova[6] d. Julia Grabher(AUT) 6-0, ret.

Coco Gauff[4] d. Mayar Sherif[Q](EGY) 6-3, 6-1

Diana Shnaider[25](RUS)d. McCartney Kessler 7-6(3), 6-1 

Maria Sakkari(GRE) d. Claire Liu[Q] v 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-3

Madison Keys[19] d.  Antonia Ruzic(CRO) 6-4, 6-4

Friday's third round Roland Garros matches featuring Americans:

Tommy Paul[24] v Casper Ruud [15](NOR)

Alex Michelsen v Rafael Jodar[27](ESP)

Peyton Stearns v Belinda Bencic[11](SUI)

On the USTA Pro Circuit, second round action at the W35 in Wichita was rained out today, but the quarterfinals are set at for the SoCal Pro Series tournaments in Lakewood.

In the W15, Fifteen-year-old Allison Wang defeated fellow qualifier Eva Alvarez Sande(Washington State) of Spain 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach her first professional quarterfinal, with No. 4 seed Kailey Evans(Texas Tech, San Diego) up next for her. Three 2025-26 UCLA Bruins have also reached the quarterinals: top seed Mayu Crossley, wild card Olivia Center and No. 5 seed Anne Christine Lutkemeyer.

Two qualifiers from the Texas team that reached this month's NCAA team final are through to the Lakewood M15 quarterfinals: Estonia's Oliver Ojakaar, who plays top seed Kaylan Bigun(UCLA) and France's Lucas Marionneau, who faces No. 8 seed Noah Zamora(UC-Irvine). 

This is my second post of the day on Thursday May 28th, with a separate one wrapping up the NCAAs in Athens going up earlier.

My Thoughts on the Division I NCAA Team Championships Return to Athens

As promised here are a few random thoughts and observations, big and small, about returning to Athens for the NCAA championships this month. I covered the 2007, 2010, 2012 and 2014 championships held there, all of which were 16-team events, along with the individual championships that followed. I was not there in 2017, and with any bids for hosting not considered by the committee until a six-court indoor facility was available, Georgia was on the outside looking in, as subsequent championship bids went to Wake Forest, UCF (Lake Nona), Illinois, Oklahoma State and Baylor.

With perfect weather(save for a lightning delay during the women's final) and Georgia with a team in the mix, the crowds, especially for Friday evening's match between the Georgia women and NC State, were impressive, in number and in enthusiasm. Given that atmosphere, and the renovations to the venue since 2017, it's no mystery why the upcoming 10-year commitment to the USTA National Campus (beginning in 2028) has begun to look like a less attractive alternative.

I have not covered the NCAA team event in Lake Nona in the three years it has been held there, so I am not in a position to make a true comparison. But here are a few of the things I love about covering an NCAA in Athens, with some new, and others similar to what I remember from my previous trips.

The Community Support

The reduction to eight teams for the final site left the Georgia men out. In past years they would have had a round of 16 match at home, but a loss to Mississippi State in the Starkville Super Regional meant the top-seeded Georgia women were responsible for turning out the crowds. Their unexpected loss to Texas A&M in the semifinals obviously hurt attendance for the final, but that loss to the Aggies was in no way attributable to an indifferent crowd. I can still hear the bleacher-stomping spectators loudly exulting in every key point or game the Bulldogs won as the sun set on a perfect spring evening on the Georgia campus.

Because the Dan Magill Tennis Complex capacity is different than it was in my earlier visits, and because no official attendance numbers are released now, I don't know how the numbers compare. I remember the biggest crowds of my four trips being in 2007, when a dominant Georgia men's team, featuring senior John Isner, won the title, with the weather also rain-free that year. But there's no question that crowds in Athens are bigger and more engaged than any other venue that has served as host.

The History

The generations of fans with connections to Georgia tennis provide a baseline of support, and like The Ojai, like Kalamazoo, the history made in Athens is a large part of its charm. Georgia hosted the men's tournament 23 times from 1979 through 2023 and the women's tournament three times from 1982 to 2005. (Both men and women began playing at the same site in 2006, with six now having been held in Athens). David Roditi of TCU and Virginia's Andres Pedroso spoke of their memories in Athens as players, with Tony Bresky of Wake Forest recalling his days coaching there, as an assistant at Virginia and in his early days as head coach at Wake. It takes decades to accumulate those kinds of reminiscences, and none of the rotating sites can supply anything close to that core component of the soul of an event.

Add that the men's ITA Collegiate Hall of Fame is on site, below the VIP seating, and the consequential status of competing in Athens is undeniable.

The Know-how

Although football is obviously king, tennis matters as a sport at the University of Georgia, with the athletic department providing a dedicated staff to handle information, communications and media relations. After so many years of waiting for up to an hour for players to come to press at junior slams, in Athens I was often late to the press conferences set up in the men's trophy room just off the court, because they were, with few exceptions, immediate.

Aside from the three main courts at Stowe Stadium in Kalamazoo, there is no better place to watch tennis than the press box in Athens. Its recent expansion, with an elevator, upgraded chairs, convenient outlets and additional TV and radio cubicles added to the wow factor this year. When one 14-hour day follows another, people can get understandably cranky, but the staff was always courteous and helpful, and it was great fun to share insights, gossip and predictions with the much greater number of reporters covering the event, which I attribute to the lure of seeing what the Athens mystique is all about.

The Future

Georgia will host the Division I individual tournament this November and the 2027 Team Championships next spring, and would obviously like an opportunity to host again.

A shock wave spread around the press box when Georgia's Athletic Director Josh Brooks posted this on X:

I respectfully ask the NCAA tennis oversight committee to reevaluate the 10 year commitment that was made to Orlando. A decision that was essentially made behind closed doors without giving any campus sites an opportunity to bid on any of those years. I haven't met one athlete,… pic.twitter.com/1dTuPjU7vg

— Josh Brooks (@Brooks_UGA) May 17, 2026

John Parsons of the No-ad No-problem podcast has been trying to track down the why and the how of the NCAA's 10-year agreement to host the tournament at the USTA's National Campus, in a notable departure from the usual three-year bid cycle, but he has not been able to uncover any answers. Brooks echos that frustration, and while there is a good chance nothing comes of his request to reconsider that contract, his willingness to put the sentiment on the record does matter.

Those not enamored of Athens--primarily, as has been the case for decades, those who might have to play against a Georgia team there--aren't dismayed by the prospect of being in Lake Nona for ten years. Head coaches Jordan Szabo of Auburn and Mark Weaver of Texas A&M don't agree on much these days, but they both are fans of the National Campus and the Orlando area as a host site.

I hope the USTA can begin building a tennis community with a sense of history and an enthusiasm for the college sport at Lake Nona; the fact that two USTA employees were in Athens to cover the team championships is certainly encouraging. Incoming CEO Craig Tiley started as a college coach, so he is expected to have a greater affinity for the commitment the USTA needs to make, yet he is a not a genie who can grant unlimited wishes to every tennis player, fan, coach or employee with a pet project. But the time for press releases with rosy announcements about the USTA's support for college tennis is over; action is required now if the NCAAs in Lake Nona are to begin creating what Athens already has.

I started with the big, but here are some other observations I didn't have a chance to voice in my daily coverage.

The Ball Crews and ELC

The ballrunners from the nearby Beck Academy were outstanding. They were so good I didn't even notice they were there until midway through the first match on Thursday. Stationed only at the net, they rivaled slam ballrunners in their understanding of the role and their commitment to it; crews were there well after 11 p.m. every night with no discernible decline in their performance. I won't bore you with ballrunner horror stories from other tournaments, but untrained ones are worse than none at all.

Having competent ballrunners is a huge but often overlooked component of a world class event that can't be praised enough.

Nor should the benefits of using a reliable Electronic Line Calling system be taken for granted. I saw several instances of calls that were corrected via a challenge: if the original call had stood, it certainly would have changed the complexion, if not the result, of the match. Although we are all awaiting the day when challenges are not necessary, when the system, not the players, is calling all the lines, the lack of emotional confrontation allows players, coaches and fans to concentrate on the tennis, not on the perceived inadequacies of chair umpires or the character of opponents.

All The 4-3s

For the first time ever, which means since four points were required to win a men's dual match(1994), both men's semifinals were decided by 4-3 scores. Virginia is the only team in those 32 years to win both the semifinal and final by that last-match-decides-it score, so suffice it to say that the 2026 men's tournament is now at the top of the list of the most exciting in final site history.

And the Texas A&M women's grueling late-night/early morning 4-3 wins over North Carolina and Georgia, with the latter's crowd providing a formidable home field advantage, also stamped their unexpected run as among the tournament's most memorable ever.

The Schedule

There's no question that the Aggies did it the hard way, playing three consecutive matches that finished near or after midnight with mere hours of rest in-between.

With all its talk of student-athlete welfare, the NCAA looks insincere by continuing to schedule championship-deciding matches without any rest built into the schedule.

After moving the individual tournament to the fall, with student-athlete welfare as a justification, the NCAA has no plausible reason to keep the team championships a four-day event.

In D-II and D-III, the start of the men's and women's team tournaments are staggered, with a day a rest before the semifinals(D-II) or finals(D-III), with the finals on separate days. A D-I schedule of Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday and Wednesday-Friday-Sunday that alternates between men and women every year would be even better.

Kevin Anderson, Steve Johnson, John Frierson,
Manny Diaz, John Isner

The ITA Men's Hall of Fame induction

I was grateful to be invited this pre-final event, which featured the induction of John Isner, Steve Johnson and Kevin Anderson, all of whom I covered in juniors and throughout their illustrious collegiate careers. With Georgia's Manny Diaz also going into the Hall of Fame as a coach, and John Frierson, the curator of the Hall of Fame, going in as a contributor, the huge turnout was probably not a surprise.

I have been to several of these induction ceremonies, which have honored many greats of college tennis, but they regularly ran more than two hours and featured speech after speech, first by someone introducing the inductee and then the inductee himself. Thanks to the structure of five-minute videos and brief introductions by Cracked Racquets' Alex Gruskin, this was a much livelier and shorter ceremony, while still highlighting the inductees' emotional attachment to and reverence for college tennis.

Future Hall of Fame classes, accomplished as they might be, will not have the same connections to Athens, so it's safe to say this one won't be topped.

USTA Announces Participants for June's American Collegiate US Open Playoff; Nine Americans in Roland Garros Junior Championships Qualifying Thursday; Tu and Lee Advance to Semis at ITF J300 Belgium; Stearns, Paul and Michelsen Reach RG Third Round

I have been struggling with home internet problems the past five days, so I apologize for the delay in my NCAA D-I Athens post, but those issues are now resolved, which means I'll have it ready for tomorrow.

The USTA announced the fields for the second annual American Collegiate US Open Wild Card Playoffs, which included the surprising information that two-time NCAA champion Michael Zheng of Columbia would not be participating.

Zheng, who qualified for both the Australian Open and Roland this year, lost in the final of the inaugural Collegiate Playoffs last year. He is already assured of a spot in US Open qualifying after his run of three straight Challenger titles last summer and fall, and he has not had a stellar record against fellow collegians this spring, so he may be banking on getting his ranking, currently 146, into the Top 100 by the late July cutoff for the US Open. Last year, Arizona's Colton Smith declined his invitation to the playoff, which was won by Wake Forest's Stefan Dostanic, but Smith lost in the first round of qualifying at the US Open.

Although the committee formed to choose the participants can use other factors, all the invitees were chosen based solely on their ITA rankings. All those in the release below were the top-ranked Americans in the final ITA rankings.

STANDOUT FIELD ANNOUNCED FOR AMERICAN COLLEGIATE 

PLAYER WILDCARD PLAYOFFS

 

Top American Collegians to Compete for Six US Open Wild Card Entries June 16-18 

at the USTA National Campus

 

ORLANDO, Fla., May 27, 2026 – The USTA today announced the field of standout American collegiate players that will compete for entry into the US Open at the American Collegiate Player Wildcard Playoffs set to be held at the USTA National Campus’ Collegiate Center June 16-18.

Six wild card entries into the 2026 US Open (four singles, two doubles) will be awarded via the second-year playoff event. The winners of the four-player men’s and women’s singles playoff and four-team men’s and women’s doubles playoff will earn US Open main draw singles and doubles wild cards, respectively, while the men’s and women’s singles finalists will earn US Open Qualifying wild cards.

The full fields are below, listed by the schools with which each player or team competed in 2025-26. Players appearing in bold automatically qualified based on having reached the finals of the NCAA Singles or Doubles Championships in the fall. The remaining selections were made based on a number of criteria, including 2025-26 match record, ITA ranking, ATP/WTA ranking, professional and head-to-head results, and more.

All singles and doubles matches will be played with a best-of-three-set format featuring regular scoring, with a 10-point tiebreak at 6-all in the third set.

 

Admission is free. Cracked Racquets will provide streaming coverage.

2026 American Collegiate Player Wildcard Playoffs Field

 

Men's Singles
Trevor Svajda (SMU)
Sebastian Gorzny (Texas)
Aidan Kim (Ohio State)
*Matthew Forbes (Michigan State)

 

Michael Zheng (Columbia) automatically qualified, but declined his invitation.

 

Women's Singles
Reese Brantmeier (North Carolina)
Luciana Perry (Ohio State)
Piper Charney (Michigan)
Katrina Scott (Tennessee)

 

Men's Doubles
Brandon Carpico/Nikita Filin (Ohio State)
Alex Chang/Alex Razeghi (Stanford)
Michael Andre/Matteo Antonescu (Indiana)
Greyson Casey/Carter Pate (Northwestern)

 

Women's Doubles
DJ Bennett/Ava Esposito (Auburn)
Reese Brantmeier/Alanis Hamilton (North Carolina)
Valeria Ray/Bridget Stammel (Vanderbilt)
*Jessica Bernales/Lily Jones (Michigan)

 

* Indicates player has transferred schools for the 2026-27 season; Forbes to Ohio State and Bernales to UCLA.

 

Competition Schedule

*All matches are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. each night, subject to change*

Tuesday, June 16
Men’s and Women’s Singles Semifinals

Wednesday, June 17
Men’s and Women’s Doubles Semifinals

Thursday, June 18
Men’s and Women’s Singles Finals
Men’s and Women’s Doubles Finals

Qualifying for the Roland Garros Junior Championships begins Thursday in Paris, with four US boys and five US girls attempting to reach the main draw.

Safir Azam, the No. 3 seed in qualifying, plays wild card Evan Giurescu of France; Agassi Rusher faces No. 5 seed John Bothma of South Africa; Navneet Raghuram plays No. 6 seed Kunanan Pantaratorn of Thailand and Michael Savano faces No. 7 seed Mustafa Ege Sik of Australia. Benjamin Azar of Canada in the top seed in qualifying. 

Sarah Ye will play No. 11 seed Alena Kharchenko of Russia, Maggie Sohns is facing No. 4 seed Emily Eigelsbach of Germany, No. 9 seed Olivia Traynor plays French wild card Mila Bastianelli, Carrie-Anne Hoo faces No. 6 seed Veronika Sekerkova of Czechia and No. 15 seed Nancy Lee plays Ilary Pistola of Italy. Yu Jun Lin of China is the top seed in qualifying. 

Neither of the two Americans in the semifinals at this week's ITF J300 in Belgium were in Roland Garros Juniors qualifying as of the freeze deadline, so it's unlikely that either Jordan Lee or Anita Tu will receive special exempts into the main draw in Paris.

Lee, who missed the ITF J300s in the US this spring due to injury, defeated Oluwaseun Ogunsakin of Nigeria 2-6, 6-1, 6-3 to advance to a semifinal meeting with top seed Arnav Papakar of India. 

Safir Azam and Navneet Raghuram had to give a walkover in their doubles semifinal match in order to play qualifying in Paris, with the two boys special exempts going to the other two singles semifinalists: Matei Chelemen of Romania and Dan Brand of Israel were entered in RG qualifying but unable to play due to their semifinal in Belgium tomorrow.

Tu, who defeated qualifier Michelle Khomich of Germany 6-4, 6-1 today in Belgium to reach her first J300 semifinal, is the highest ranked player remaining in singles who was not in Roland Garros qualifying, so she could get a special exempt, but only if she ended up getting into qualifying when today's draw was made. 

Tu will play lucky loser Sofia Barhacova of Slovakia in the semifinals. 

Only three of the eight Americans in action Wednesday reached the third round at Roland Garros, with Hailey Baptiste suffering a serious injury in the first set that resulted in her retirement and a wheelchair exit from the court. Alex Michelsen repeated his 2022 Easter Bowl 18s finals win over Nishesh Basavareddy today in the only all-US matchup in Paris, coming through by the score of 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3. Peyton Stearns(Texas) and Tommy Paul are the Americans joining Michelsen in the third round.

Former Old Dominion All-American Yuliia Starodubtseva of Ukraine posted the biggest upset of the first four days at Roland Garros, beating No. 2 seed and reigning Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan 3-6, 6-1, 7-6(4). 

Wednesday's Roland Garros second round results of Americans:

Belinda Bencic[11](SUI) d. Caty McNally 6-4, 6-0 

Marta Kostyuk[15](UKR) d. Katie Volynets 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3

Xiyu Wang[Q](CHN) d. Hailey Baptiste[26] 5-4, ret.

Viktorija Golubic(SUI) d. Alycia Parks 6-2, 6-2

Peyton Stearns d.  Daria Snigur(UKR) 6-4, 6-0

Tommy Paul[24] d. Lorenzo Sonego(ITA) 6-3, 6-2, 6-4

Alex Michelsen d. Nishesh Basavareddy[WC] 7-6(5), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3

Thursday's Roland Garros second round matches featuring Americans:

Learner Tien[18] v Facundo Diaz Acosta[Q](ARG)

Ben Shelton[5] v Raphael Collignon(BEL)

Frances Tiafoe[19] v Hubert Hurkacz(POL)

Brandon Nakashima[31] v Luca Van Assche(FRA)

Zachary Svajda v Adam Walton[WC](AUS)

Ann Li[30] v Diane Parry(FRA)

Iva Jovic[17] v Emma Navarro

Amanda Anisimova[6] v Julia Grabher(AUT)

Coco Gauff[4] v Mayar Sherif[Q](EGY)

McCartney Kessler v Diana Shnaider[25](RUS)

Claire Liu[Q] v Maria Sakkari(GRE)

Madison Keys[19] v Antonia Ruzic(CRO)

Twenty-one Americans Reach Roland Garros Second Round after Day Three; CMS's Mareedu Closes Career with Back-to-Back D-III Singles Titles; ITA D-I All-Americans Announced; SoCal Pro Series Returns; Qualifying Complete at W35 in Wichita

The third and final day of first round matches at Roland Garros ended with eight more Americans advancing to the second round, after five had won their opening matches on Sunday and eight had picked up wins Monday. 

Seventeen-year-old Moise Kouame, who was No. 14 in the ITF junior rankings at this time last year but hasn't played a junior event since a first round loss to Ivan Ivanov in the 2025 Roland Garros Junior Championships, defeated 37-year-old Marin Cilic of Croatia 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-2 for his first victory at a major. The 2024 Orange Bowl finalist is the youngest player to reach the second round of a major since 16-year-old Bernard Tomic advanced in Melbourne in 2009.  He will face Daniel Vallejo of Paraguay, the 2021 Orange Bowl champion, next.

Former Tennessee All-American Adam Walton of Australia, who received Australia's reciprocal wild card, defeated No. 6 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.  It was a day for Aussie upsets, with No. 5 seed Jessica Pegula falling to Kimberly Birrell 1-6, 6-3, 6-3.

Tuesday's Roland Garros first round results of Americans

Coco Gauff[4] d. Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-0
Madison Keys[19] d. Hanne Vandewinkel(BEL) 6-3, 6-0
Kimberly Birrell(AUS) d. Jessica Pegula[5] 1-6, 6-3, 6-3
Iva Jovic[17] d. Alexandra Eala(PHI) 6-4, 6-2
Antonia Ruzic(CRO) d. Ashlyn Krueger[Q] 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
Claire Liu[Q] d. Moyuka Uchijima(JPN) 3-6, 6-0, 4-1, ret.
Emma Navarro d. Janice Tjen(INA) 6-4, 6-3
Ann Li[30] d. Shuai Zhang(CHN) 6-4, 6-2

Learner Tien[18] d. Cristian Garin(CHI) 6-0, 2-6, 6-0, 6-2
Francisco Comesana(ARG) d. Ethan Quinn 6-4, 7-6(8), 7-6(4)
Zachary Svajda d. Alexei Popyrin(AUS) 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3), 7-5

Wednesday's Roland Garros second round matches featuring Americans:

Caty McNally v Belinda Bencic[11](SUI)
Katie Volynets v Marta Kostyuk[15](UKR)
Hailey Baptiste[26] v Xiyu Wang[Q](CHN)
Alycia Parks v Viktorija Golubic(SUI)
Peyton Stearns v Daria Snigur(UKR)

Tommy Paul[24] v Lorenzo Sonego(ITA)
Nishesh Basavareddy[WC] v Alex Michelsen

The final NCAA tennis matches of the season were played today in Chattanooga Tennessee, with the men's D-III individual finals. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps senior Advik Mareedu captured his second straight singles title, while the Denison team of Ethan Green and Kael Shah claimed the doubles championship.

Mareedu has had a remarkable career at CMS, but his last two seasons have established him as a Division III legend. He has gone 84-3 as a junior and senior, with one loss last year and two this year. He avenged both losses in this month's NCAAs, including today's 6-3, 6-1 win in the final over No. 6 seed Michael Melnikov of Swarthmore, who had beaten Mareedu 6-4, 6-7, 6-4 at the ITA National Team Indoor Championships. Mareedu did have to survive a tough first round match, the day after his team lost to Chicago in the final, but he survived against Maximo Llamas of Kenyon 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-5 and was his usual dominant self thereafter.

Mareedu is just the third back-to-back men's D-III singles champion and the first since Matt Seeberger of UC-Santa Cruz in 2004 and 2005. 

For more on the final and his outstanding career at CMS, see this article from cmsathletics.org

No. 4 seed Green and Shah played five tiebreakers in their first two matches, winning three of them, but then left the drama behind, with a 6-3, 6-3 win in the semifinals over No. 2 seed Ruilin Feng and Ajay Kartik of Emory and a 6-2, 6-4 victory over Gage Gohl and Tyler Haddorff of Gustavus Adolphus in this morning's final. Green and Shah close out their careers at Denison with the 2025 team title and the program's first NCAA individual title.

Although I highlighted the Division I ITA All-Americans last Wednesday when the final rankings came out, the official chart is now available, with the women's 2026 singles and doubles All-Americans listed here and the men's listed here.

Week One of the seven-week SoCal Pro Series has begun, with the qualifying completed today at the men's and women's $15Ks in Lakewood California.

In the men's event, three Americans qualified: Karl Lee(UCLA, USC), Marko Mesarovic(Clemson) and Will Mayew(Louisville, UNC).

Wild cards were given to William Kleege(San Diego State), Alexander Guajardo(UC-Irvine), Lucca Liu(UC-Santa Barbara) and Miles Clark(NC Central).

Clark lost to Spencer Johnson(UCLA) 6-2, 7-5 and Liu lost to No. 4 seed Amit Vales. Kleege and Guajardo play each other Wednesday.

Noah Johnston, who just completed his freshman year at Georgia, received an ITF Junior Reserved entry and he defeated No. 3 seed Matt Kuhar(Bryant) 6-2, 6-3. The other Junior Reserved entrant, Vanderbilt rising freshman Roshan Santhosh, lost to No. 8 seed Noah Zamora(UC-Irvine) 6-4, 6-3.

Kaylan Bigun(UCLA) and Dmitry Popko of Kazakhstan are the top two seeds.

The wild cards for the W15 are 15-year-old Abigail Haile, Olivia Center(UCLA), and 16-year-olds Sophie Suh and Armira Kockinis. Haile lost to No. 7 seed Kallista Liu(Maryland) of Hong Kong 6-1, 6-3; Center defeated 2023 US Open girls champion Katherine Hui(Stanford) 6-1, 6-4.

Americans qualifying are Allison Wang, Claire Hill(UNC), Tatum Evans(UNC), UNC recruit Avery Nguyen and Virginia Crocker(Oregon). 

The top seeds are UCLA rising sophomore Mayu Crossley of Japan and Dasha Plekhanova of Canada.

A W35 is also on the calendar this week in Wichita Kansas, with three Americans advancing to the main draw via qualifying: Ava Catanzarite(UCLA, Oklahoma), incoming Auburn freshman Kaya Moe and incoming Wake Forest freshman Lillian Santos.

Wild cards were given to Xin Tong Wang of China, a junior at Wichita State; NC State rising sophomore Tori Osuigwe, Jenna Dean and 2025 NCAA singles champion Reese Brantmeier(UNC).

Carolyn Ansari(Auburn) is the top seed; 19-year-old Clervie Ngounoue, playing in just her second tournament this year, with her first coming two weeks ago, is the No. 2 seed.

Ngounoue defeated Dean 6-3, 6-0 in a first round match today; Wang and Ansari are playing tonight.

Eight More Americans Advance to Roland Garros Second Round; Arun Goes Back-to-Back, De Los Reyes Wins ITF J100; Little Rock Challenger Underway: Virginia Tops Men's Recruiting Class Rankings; Cristiani Completes Undefeated D-III Season with NCAA Title

Day Two of Roland Garros added eight more Americans to the five who had already reached the second round with wins Sunday; 12 more will have a chance to join those 13 as the first round concludes Tuesday in Paris.

Nineteen-year-old wild card Akasha Urhobo acquitted herself well in her slam debut, pushing British veteran Katie Boulter to three sets before losing 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 in two hours and 20 minutes. Alycia Parks took out No. 24 seed Leylah Fernandez of Canada 6-4, 6-4; Patrick Kypson(Texas A&M) withdrew right before the start of play due to an injury.

Monday's Roland Garros first round results of Americans:

Amanda Anisimova[6] d. Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah[WC](FRA) 6-3, 6-1
Alycia Parks d. Leylah Fernandez[24](CAN) 6-4, 6-4
Katie Boulter(GBR) d Akasha Urhobo[WC] 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
McCartney Kessler d. Hanyu Guo[Q](CHN) 4-6, 7-6(1), 7-5

Ben Shelton[5] d. Daniel Merida(ESP) 6-3, 6-3, 6-4

Frances Tiafoe[19] d. Eliot Spizzirri 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3

Mariano Navone(ARG) d. Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 

Patrick Kypson(withdrew) v Luca Van Assche(FRA)

Camilo Ugo Carabelli(ARG) d. Emilio Nava[Q] 7-6(10), 6-3, 6-3

Yibing Wu(CHN) d. Marcos Giron 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 

Alex Michelsen d. Alexander Shevchenko(KAZ) 6-2, 6-4, 6-2

Brandon Nakashima[31] d.Roberto Bautista Agut(ESP) 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 

Rafael Jodar[27](ESP) d. Aleks Kovacevic 6-1, 6-0, 6-4

Tommy Paul[24] d. Rinky Hijikata(AUS) 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4

Tuesday's Roland Garros first round matches featuring Americans

Coco Gauff[4] v Taylor Townsend

Madison Keys[19] v Hanne Vandewinkel(BEL)

Jessica Pegula[5] v Kimberly Birrell(AUS)

Iva Jovic[17] v Alexandra Eala(PHI)

Ashlyn Krueger[Q] v Antonia Ruzic(CRO)

Claire Liu[Q] v Moyuka Uchijima(JPN)

Emma Navarro v Janice Tjen(INA)

Ann Li[30] v Shuai Zhang(CHN)

Learner Tien[18] v Cristian Garin(CHI)

Ethan Quinn v Francisco Comesana(ARG)

Zachary Svajda v Alexei Popyrin(AUS)

I didn't have an opportunity to review the ITF Junior Circuit results for the week of the NCAAs, so there's a little catching up to do today.

Gadin Arun, a 16-year-old from Arizona, won two J60 titles in Canada the past two weeks. The top seed in Halifax, Arun didn't drop a set in claiming the top spot in his round robin group, and didn't drop a set in the three matches in the knockout format, beating No. 4 seed Andreas Mjeda of Canada 6-2, 6-1 in the final. Last week in Fredericton, the second-seeded Arun did drop a couple of sets, but beat top seed Andy Tchinda Kepche of Canada 6-0, 3-6, 6-4 in the final. Arun now has three ITF singles titles, all at the J60 level.

At last week's J100 in the Dominican Republic, top seed Olivia De Los Reyes won her first ITF Junior Circuit singles title. The 15-year-old from New York, seeded No. 1, didn't drop a set in her four victories, defeating No. 2 seed Audrey Kao of Taiwan 6-1, 6-1 in the final. Top seeds Kao and Kaya Baker won the girls doubles title, beating unseeded Isabella Bosso and Adriana Khomyakova 6-0, 3-6, 10-6 in the final.

At last week's J100 in Portugal, Sean Grossman won the boys doubles title, with partner Fernando Fontan Pardo De Santayana of Spain. The No. 4 seeds defeated No. 8 seeds Daniel Eusamio of Spain and China's Jinhong Yang 6-2, 3-6, 11-9 in the final. 

Two weeks ago at the J30 in the US Virgin Islands, No. 2 seed Anna Scott Laney defended her singles title, with the 15-year-old from Alabama beating unseeded Dallas King-Ehau of New Zealand 6-3, 6-1 in the final.

Safir Azam and Navneet Raghuram won the doubles title at the J200 two weeks ago in Germany, with the top seeds defeating No. 2 seeds Cooper Kose of Australia and Agassi Rusher 6-1, 6-3 in the final.

Both Azam and Raghuram are both playing the J300 in Belgium this week; Azam took out No. 2 seed Hyu Kawanishi of Japan 6-2, 6-3 in the first round today; Raghuram, a qualifier, also advanced to the second round, as did qualifiers Kamil Stolarczyk, Jerrid Gaines Jr., and Jordan Lee. US girls had less success, with only No. 6 seed Olivia Traynor and Anita Tu earning first round victories.  The No. 2 seed in the girls draw also exited today, with Anna Pircher of Austria beating Nadia Lagaev of Canada 6-2, 7-5.

The newly regionalized Midwest portion of the US ITF Junior Circuit has begun in Chicago, with a J30 using the round robin/knockout underway.

Qualifying for the ATP 75 Challenger in Little Rock Arkansas is complete, with just one American Ron Hohmann(LSU, Michigan State) the only American to advance to the main draw. 

Wild cards were given to Daniel Milavsky(Harvard), Braden Shick(NC State), and Dakotah Bobo(Southern Miss, LSU). Trevor Svajda(SMU) received a Next Gen entry and Timo Legout(Texas) is using one of his ATP Accelerator entries from finishing in the Top 10 in the ITA rankings last year.  Dane Sweeny of Australia and Nicolas Mejia of Colombia are the top two seeds.

Five first round matches were played today, with Andre Ilagan(Hawaii) and Michael Mmoh[5] the Americans advancing; Bobo lost to No. 8 seed Fajing Sun of China 6-2, 6-1. 

The Tennis Recruiting Network men's spring recruiting class rankings were announced today, with Virginia's class of Jack Kennedy and Luca Preda voted No. 1, although they were far from the unanimous choice, with three other schools also receiving first place votes. 

The NCAA champion Cavaliers lose only Mans Dahlberg from their starting lineup, so expect them to retain the top spot in the ITA rankings for quite some time in 2027. Virginia is followed by Princeton, Texas A&M, Georgia, Arizona State, Michigan, Stanford, Duke, Harvard and UCF. 

The women's rankings will be out next week. 

The Division III women's individual tournament concluded today in Chattanooga, with top seed Matia Cristiani of Babson winning the program's first NCAA singles championship with a 6-1, 6-1 victory over unseeded Lia Melvin of Johns Hopkins. Cristiani finished the season undefeated, going 37-0 in singles. 

Cristiani was unable to capture her third straight doubles title however. She and partner Alessandra Sikharulidze, the top seeds, lost to the second-seeded Claremont-Mudd-Scripps team of Lindsay Eisenman and Rebecca Kong 6-1, 2-6, 7-6(3).

For a detailed account of Cristiani's final day of collegiate tennis, see this article from the Babson athletics website.

The men's Division III individual tournament ends Tuesday, with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps senior Advik Mareedu attempting to clain back-to-back singles titles. The top seed defeated No. 6 seed Mark Kneiss of Bowdoin 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals; he will face No. 2 seed Michael Melnikov of Swarthmore in the final. Melnikov defeated unseeded Andreas Sillaste of Amherst 6-2, 6-2.

The men's doubles final will feature Denison's Ethan Green and Kael Shah, the No. 4 seeds, against unseeded Gage Gohl and Tyler Haddorff of Gustavus Adolphus. 

Streaming for both 10 a.m. EDT finals will be available at ncaa.com.

Mackenzie and Sun Capture ITF J500 Trofeo Bonfiglio Titles; Basavareddy Upsets Fritz at Roland Garros; Brengle Wins Pelham W50; Flagler Men Claim First NCAA Division II Title; Babson's Cristiani Plays for Both D-III Women's Titles Monday

The Roland Garros Junior Championships begin a week from today with Sunday's ITF J500 Milan champions reaffirming their status as threats to add a junior slam title to their already considerable accomplishments.

Eighteen-year-old Jamie Mackenzie of Germany won his second ITF J500 title this month, with the No. 3 seed beating No. 2 seed Thilo Behrmann of Austria, who won last month's J500 in Cairo, 6-4, 6-4 in the final. TCU recruit Mackenzie, who won the J500 in Offenbach two weeks ago, did not drop a set all week.

No. 3 seed Xinran Sun of China, the 2025 Orange Bowl champion, defeated No. 7 seed Mariia Makarova of Russia 6-2, 7-5, and she also took the title without dropping a set. The 15-year-old, who like Mackenzie reached the Australian Open junior quarterfinals this year, won a J300 in Bulgaria at the beginning of this month, so both she and Mackenzie have proven again their skill on the surface.

In a note on the Roland Garros field, Julieta Pareja withdrew two days ago; she had reached the quarterfinals in Paris last year. Lani Chang has moved into the main draw.

There is a J300 this week in Belgium, but sandwiched in between Milan and Roland Garros, the fields includes just one ITF Top 20 player: Mariella Thamm of Germany.

Thirty-six-year-old Madison Brengle, whose ranking had fallen outside the WTA Top 1000 in 2024, is up to 241 in the live rankings after winning the USTA Pro Circuit W50 in Pelham Alabama today. Brengle, the No. 2 seed, defeated top seed Katrina Scott(Tennessee) 6-1, 6-4 in the final. It's the first title of the year for Brengle, who has been as high as 35 in the WTA rankings. 

Opening day at Roland Garros saw five of the ten Americans on the schedule advancing to the second round.  The biggest surprise came from former Stanford All-American Nishesh Basavareddy, who beat No. 7 seed Taylor Fritz 7-6(5), 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-1. Basavareddy's drop shot was particularly effective against Fritz, who was playing just his second match on clay due to a chronic knee injury. It's the first Top 10 win for 21-year-old, who won the USTA's reciprocal wild card to gain entry into the main draw.

The women's USTA wild card recipient, 19-year-old Akasha Urhobo of Florida, faces Katie Boulter of Great Britain Monday in her debut in the main draw of a major.

ITF Junior No. 1 Ksenia Efremova of France, who received a main draw wild card, lost to No. 18 seed Sorana Cirstea of Romania 6-3, 6-1. Cirstea, at 36, is more than twice as old as the 17-year-old Australian Open girls champion.

Hailey Baptiste saved two match points in her win over 2021 Roland Garros champion Barbora Krejcikova of Czechia.

Sunday's Roland Garros first round results of Americans:

Hailey Baptiste[26] d. Barbora Krejcikova(CZE) 6-7(7), 7-6(6), 6-2
Katie Volynets d. Clara Burel[WC](FRA) 6-3, 6-1
Caty McNally d. Ajla Tomljanovic(AUS) 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-3
Peyton Stearns d. Sofia Kenin 6-3, 6-3
Sara Bejlek(CZE) d. Sloane Stephens[Q] 6-3, 6-2

Nishesh Basavareddy[WC] d. Taylor Fritz[7] 7-6(5), 7-6(5), 6-7(9), 6-1

Dino Prizmic(CRO) d. Michael Zheng[Q] 6-1, 6-1, 6-3

Federico Cina[Q](ITA) d. Reilly Opelka 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 6-7(6), 6-4

Monday's Roland Garros first round matches featuring Americans:

Amanda Anisimova[6] v Tiantsoa Rakotomanga Rajaonah[WC](FRA)

Alycia Parks v Leylah Fernandez[24](CAN)

Akasha Urhobo[WC] v Katie Boulter(GBR)

McCartney Kessler v Hanyu Guo[Q](CHN)

Ben Shelton[5] v Daniel Merida(ESP)

Eliot Spizzirri v Frances Tiafoe[19]

Jenson Brooksby v Mariano Navone(ARG)

Patrick Kypson v Luca Van Assche(FRA)

Emilio Nava[Q] v Camilo Ugo Carabelli(ARG)

Marcos Giron v Yibing Wu(CHN)

Alex Michelsen v Alexander Shevchenko(KAZ)

Brandon Nakashima[31] v Roberto Bautista Agut(ESP)

Aleks Kovacevic v Rafael Jodar[27](ESP)

Tommy Paul[24] v Rinky Hijikata(AUS)

The NCAA Division II team championshipsconcluded today in Surprise Arizona, with No. 6 seed Flagler winning the program's first D-II title with a 4-3 victory over top seed Barry.  Not only was it a 4-3 thriller, but the championship came down to a third-set tiebreaker at line 4.  For more on the Flagler title, see this article from flaglerathletics.com.

The women's Division III singles and doubles championships are Monday in Chattanooga, with top seed Matia Cristiani of Babson playing in both. Cristiani defeated No. 4 seed Sarena Biria of Chicago 6-3, 6-1 in today's semifinals and will face unseeded Lia Melvin of Johns Hopkins for the singles title. Cristiani and Alessandra Sikharulidze, the No. 1 seeds, will play No. 2 seeds Lindsay Eisenman and Rebecca Kong of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the doubles final after singles. Cristiani is going for her third consecutive NCAA doubles title, with a new partner this year, after winning the titles in 2024 and 2025 with Olivia Soffer. 

The men's Division III semifinals are Monday, with the finals set for Tuesday.  Defending champion and top seed Advik Mareedu of Claremont-Mudd-Scripps will play No. 6 seed Mark Kneiss of Bowdoin; unseeded Andreas Sillaste of Amherst will face No. 2 seed Michael Melnikov of Swarthmore.

Live streaming is available at ncaa.com

And while we're on the subject of Division III tennis, four-time NCAA women's champion Eudice Chong(Wesleyan) of Hong Kong won her first WTA title in doubles yesterday in Rabat Morocco. Chong partnered with Magali Kempen of Belgium, with the unseeded pair beating top seeds Aldila Sutjiadi(Kentucky) of Indonesia and Vera Zvonareva of Russia 6-3, 2-6, 10-6 in the final. Chong, who was playing in her fourth WTA doubles final, is now at a career-high WTA doubles ranking of 71.