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

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Wimbledon--

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wednesday's third round singles matches featuring Americans:

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

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

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

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

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

Wednesday's second round doubles results of Americans:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Thursday's doubles quarterfinals featuring Americans:

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

and Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi(IND)

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

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

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

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

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

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

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Wimbledon--

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tuesday's second round singles results of Americans:

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

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

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

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

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

Wednesday's third round singles matches featuring Americans:

Thea Frodin v Xinran Sun[1](CHN)

Melije Clarke v Anna Pushkareva[14](RUS)

Janae Preston v Charo Esquiva Banuls[10(ESP)

Jack Secord v Dante Pagani[16](ARG)

Tanishk Konduri v Jordan Lee[Q]

Wednesday's second round doubles matches featuring Americans:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Wimbledon--

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 said the 16-year-old from Romania. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Monday's second round junior results of Americans:

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

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

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

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

Tuesday's second round singles matches featuring Americans:

Andy Johnson[12] v Vincent Reisach(GER)

Keaton Hance[3] v Arnav Paparkar(IND)

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

Tanish Konduri v Svit Suljic[SE](SLO)

Jordan Lee[Q] v Tito Chavez(ESP)

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

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

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

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

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

American Qualifers Defeat No. 5 Seeds in Wimbledon Junior Championships, Home Crowd Powers British Wild Card to Victory Over Roehampton Champion Antonius, Stojsavljevic Makes Successful Return to Juniors; Pegula and Gauff Set to Meet in Quarterfinals

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Wimbledon--

Two American qualifiers sent the No. 5 seeds packing Sunday on a warm and sunny Sunday at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, with one needing less than an hour to complete the task and the other going winning a third set 10-point tiebreaker to reach the second round of the Wimbledon Junior Championships.

Jordan Lee, the youngest player in the boys draw, was eager to return to the Wimbledon courts after reaching the 14-and-under final two years ago, but suffering through a long layoff due to injury in 2025. 

"I felt good on the court, very happy to be back," said the 16-year-old from Florida, who defeated No. 5 seed Yannik Alexandrescou of France 6-0, 6-2 in 56 minutes. "Last year at this time I was injured, didn't really know how long before I could play tennis, so I'm very happy. I trust my level, I know that my game is there, so I'm happy to move forward."

Lee, who lost to World Tennis junior No. 1 Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil 6-4, 6-4 in the third round of Roehampton, won both of his Wimbledon qualifying matches in straight sets which gave him enough time on the grass courts to feel comfortable.

"I lost to Guto in the round of 16, felt pretty confident there," Lee said. "I lost a tough match, but I was looking forward to this week. I love to be aggressive and I think my game suits any surface. I look to come forward, and here that's the main thing."

Playing a seed as a qualifier comes with the advantage playing freely, at least for Olivia Traynor, who defeated No. 5 seed Nana Leme Da Silva of Brazil 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(6).

"The fact that I didn't have any pressure really helped me," said the 18-year-old from New York, who trains with Pat and Ryan Harrison in Bradenton Florida. "She's No. 5 in the world, and I'm coming in as a qualifier, so it's expected for her to come in and hit some good shots. The way she plays is just super big, really goes for every ball. Sometimes it was just too good from her, but I knew she wasn't going to keep that level, especially in the tiebreaker, that if I stayed patient she would get a bit erratic."

After failing to serve out the match at 5-3 in the third, Traynor kept her composure, and in the tiebreaker, the quality of Traynor's serve was the difference. Leme Da Silva didn't make a first serve until she was down 9-5, double faulting twice, while Traynor hit two of her three aces in the match to go up 8-4 and on her second match point.

"That was definitely an advantage for me," said the University of Michigan rising freshman. "I also started reading her second serves, and it allowed me to become offensive on her serving points. I thought my serve was good the whole tiebreaker and that helped me, because the points were really short, the whole match was only like an hour and a half. And that last ace felt great."

Traynor will face fellow American Janae Preston in the second round, after Preston came through a tight match with Polina Berezina of Russia 6-4, 7-6(4). Preston, who won the Roehampton J300 on Friday, saved two set points serving at 4-5 in the second set and benefitted from a couple of unforced errors from Berezina in the tiebreaker.

While Preston was able to continue her winning streak on English grass courts, No. 6 seed Michael Antonius was not, as he fell to wild card Rhys Lawlor of Great Britain 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in front of a huge crowd packing Court No. 4 to support him.

"The home crowd definitely helps the confidence going out there in the first round playing a really good player," said the 17-year-old from Hertfordshire, who has committed to TCU for 2027. "Knowing what I can do in front of my home crowd, having all that pressure, I felt I dealt with it really well."

Lawlor had lost to Antonius after serving for the match in the final of a J300 in Colombia in January, so he knew what he facing when he served for the match at 5-3 in third.

"I knew I had to stay in the present as much as possible," said Lawlor, who didn't convert his first match point, but hit an ace on his second. "Earlier this year I was serving at 30-15 against him for the match. I knew I had to knock it down and really take my time, but I was really excited for it; it was a good challenge."

Lawlor said he knew his best was necessary, and he brought with aggressive forehands and well executed volleys throughout the third set.

"I knew I had to play my perfect game really," Lawlor said. "I knew he was playing well, and earlier this year I was just short, but I felt on grass I had a really good chance to put my game forward."

Lawlor said TCU was his school of choice from the beginning, given its reputation for attracting a host of outstanding British players, including graduates Cam Norrie, Jake Fearnley and Lui Maxted and rising sophomore Oliver Bonding.

"Definitely speaking to some of those guys was really helpful," said 6-foot-two right-hander, who would look right at home as a tight end on Horned Frogs football team. "I knew that was the place I wanted to go ever since I heard about college tennis. It's a great university, and David(Roditi), Devin(Bowen), they work really well together. So as soon as it came up, I went for it."

While Lawlor no doubt raised his profile among British tennis fans today, no introduction was necessary for 2024 US Open girls champion Mika Stojsavlevic, who has played the Wimbledon main draw the past two years. She played her last junior match at the 2025 US Open, but not 18 until December, Stojsavljevic is limited in the number of WTA and World Tennis women's events she can play. So entering the junior tournament here made sense, despite a WTA ranking in the top 300.

Stojsavljevic looked much more comfortable in front of the capacity crowd on Court 18 than 16-year-old American Welles Newman, who lost the first ten games before coming back in the second set in Stojsavljevic's 6-0, 6-4 victory.

"I think playing at Wimbledon is always an incredible thing, firstly," said Stojsavljevic, who is seeded No. 12 this week due to her WTA ranking. "Secondly, as you know, I have the tournament limit because of my age. I only have I think, eight tournaments for the rest of the year, so another reason why I'm playing this is just to get some matches."

As to whether she considers herself the favorite to win this tournament, Stojsavlijevic deflected the question.

"I haven't really thought about it," said Stojsavlijevic, who lost to No. 11 seed Belinda Bencic of Switzerland 6-2, 6-1 in the first round of the women's draw. "There's been so much going on in the last two weeks, I haven't been thinking about juniors at all. But as I said, I just want to play matches."

Junior boys will not play singles Monday, with the girls second round of singles and the entire first round of doubles for the boys on the schedule. Five first round girls doubles matches are on Monday's schedule as well.

Sunday's Wimbledon first round junior results of Americans:

Mika Stojsavljevic[12](GBR) d. Welles Newman 6-0, 6-4

Carrie-Ann Hoo[Q] d. Megan Knight[WC](GBR) 6-4, 6-0

Jana Kovackova[3](CZE) d. Lani Chang 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 

Olivia Traynor[Q] d. Nana Leme Da Silva[5](BRA) 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(6)

Melije Clarke d. Veronika Sekerkova(CZE) 6-0, 6-2

Janae Preston d. Polina Berezina(RUS) 6-4, 7-6(4)

Jordyn Hazelitt d. Sofie Hettlerova(CZE) 6-3, 6-3

Adelina Lacinova(LAT) d. Emery Combs[Q] 6-2, 6-4

Mariella Thamm[9](GER) d. Hannah Ayrault[LL](USA) 6-2, 6-0

Mark Ceban(GBR) d. Gavin Goode 7-5, 4-6, 7-5

Rhys Lawlor(WC)(GBR) d. Michael Antonius[6] 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

Jordan Lee[Q] d. Yannik Alexandrescou[5](FRA) 6-0, 6-2

Svit Suljic[SE](SLO) d. Safir Azam[Q] 6-3, 6-2

Ziga Sesko[4](SLO)  d. Vihaan Reddy[Q] 6-4, 6-4

Jack Secord d. Matteo Gribaldo(ITA) 7-5, 6-2

Monday's second round junior singles matches featuring Americans:

Thea Frodin v Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas[13](RUS)

Janae Preston v Olivia Traynor[Q]

Melije Clarke v Ksenia Efremova[2](FRA)

Carrie-Anne Hoo[Q] v Charo Esquiva Banuls[10](ESP)

Two Americans will meet in the quarterfinals of the Wimbledon women's singles Tuesday after Jessica Pegula came from a set down to beat 18-year-old Iva Jovic and Coco Gauff finished her comeback against Belinda Bencic just minutes short of the 11 p.m. curfew Sunday.

Sunday's Wimbledon fourth round results of Americans:

Jessica Pegula[4] d. Iva Jovic[16] 4-6, 6-3, 6-1

Coco Gauff[7] d. Belinda Bencic[11] 4-6, 6-3, 6-4

Monday's Wimbledon fourth round matches featuring Americans:

Ashlyn Krueger[Q] v Marta Kostyuk[12](UKR)

Madison Keys[26] v Linda Nosokova[9](CZE)

Taylor Fritz[6] v Alexander Bublik[10](KAZ)

Frodin, Hance and Konduri Win Three-Setters, Johnson Claims First Wimbledon Victory on Opening Day of 2026 Junior Championships; Fritz, Keys and Krueger Reach Second Week; USTA National Clay Court Seeds, Links to Draws

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Wimbledon--

No. 3 seed Keaton Hance had failed to serve out the match at 5-3 in the third set against Simone Massellani of Italy, but his experience on the biggest stages, and his determination to continue when under the weather, proved the difference in his 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(7) victory.

"I have this thing called abdominal migraines, which has symptons of nausea and stomach ache, dizziness and it's hard to tell when it's coming," said the 18-year-old from Southern California, who did not take a medical timeout. "There's not really anything they can do, and it's happened to me before in matches. It's a tough time for that to happen, but I'm glad with how I dealt with it, feeling dizzy, seeing more than one ball, but after the second set, I tried to stay calm and not focus on it too much."

When Masellani hit several lines with Hance serving for the match at 5-3, Hance, who had beaten the 18-year-old in the third round at this year's Australian Open en route to the final, knew he had to refocus. And his patience paid off when he got the only mini break of the third set tiebreaker leading 7-6 and closed it out with a volley winner.

"I was super frustrated, but I just wanted to move on as quick as I could," said Hance, who is playing his seventh junior slam, while Masellani played his first in Australia this year. "I didn't want to dwell on it; you've played the whole match, so you don't want to throw it away because you didn't hold. In matches like that, when you're not feeling your best and it's super close, I think experience is one of the most importance things."

Thea Frodin is also a veteran of Junior Wimbledon, playing in her third and having reached the girls doubles final last year. But she had yet to win a singles match, and was feeling jittery in her 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-2 win over Ui Su Jeong of Korea. 

"I was pretty nervous coming into the match," said the 17-year-old from Southern California. "The last few junior tournaments haven't gone my way and I had that in the back of my mind. But the biggest thing I have to focus on is just fighting and competing. It's easy for me to rush, make wrong decisions, so I needed to bring myself back to the basics and that was the biggest thing that helped me turn it around. I had to make more balls, make her play, and instead of me making errors, she gave me more errors and that eventually built my confidence."

While Hance and Frodin had previous Wimbledon matches to draw on, No. 12 seed Andy Johnson was making his debut at the grass of the All England Lawn Tennis Club and needed a few games to get his bearings in his 6-4, 6-4 win over Matei Todoran of Romania.

"In the first set I was just feeling him out," said the 16-year-old from Southern California, who had not faced Todoran previously. "First Wimbledon, first round, maybe he came out with a little bit of nerves, maybe I calmed down with my unforced errors."

Johnson, who made only seven unforced errors in the match, with six of those coming in the first set, escaped with some defensive wizardry serving for the opening set at 5-4, 15-30. But that point proved pivotal, as he won the next two to finish the set, and his confidence just grew from there.

"I hit a forehand cross, he hit a forehand line I barely got, took it late with a slice but he missed it," Johnson said. "I think you could definitely see momentum shifting there, him maybe getting a little upset because he had a few opportunities on the point. But he still played good tennis after that. In the second set, I just played really solid, calmed down a little bit, was thinking more clearly. In the second set, my mind was really clear on what I was going to do, this will work, this will work and I just stuck to it, got an early break in the second."

Tanishk Konduri was also making his Wimbledon debut, and he is unlikely to ever forget it, with the 17-year-old from Northern California saving four match points in his 6-7(2), 6-2, 7-6(10) win over No. 10 seed Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico. Konduri, playing in just his third match on grass after losing in the second round at Roehampton last week, trailed 9-6 and 10-9 in the final set tiebreaker, but won six of the last seven points to close it out.

Top seeds Xinran Sun of China and Luis Guto Miguel of Brazil won their opening round matches today, with Sun beating Yu-Chen Lin of Taiwan 6-1, 6-1 in spite of having no play on grass prior to competing her. Miguel defeated British wild card Vincent Fletcher of Great Britain 6-3, 6-2.

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

The doubles draws have been posted, with Brazilians Victoria Barros and Nana Leme Da Silva the top seeds in the girls draw, and Miguel and Ziga Sesko of Slovenia the top seeds in the boys draw. Johnson and Michael Antonius are the No. 2 seeds.

The girls doubles draw is here; the boys doubles draw is here. Doubles play will begin Monday.

Sunday's schedule is packed, with 14 American juniors on the schedule, after only six played today.

Saturday's Wimbledon first round junior results of Americans: 

Tanishk Konduri d. Yannik Alvarez[10](PUR) 6-7(2), 6-2, 7-6(10)

Keaton Hance[3] d. Simone Massellani 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(7)

Andy Johnson[12] d. Matei Todoran(ROU) 6-4, 6-4

Dan Brand(ISR) d. Ryan Cozad 6-3, 6-2 

Thea Frodin d. Ui Su Jeong(KOR) 6-7(2), 6-3, 6-2

Maia Burcescu(ROU) d. Anita Tu 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-2

Sunday's Wimbledon first round junior matches featuring Americans:

Welles Newman v Mika Stojsavljevic[12](GBR)

Carrie-Ann Hoo[Q] v Megan Knight[WC](GBR)

Lani Chang v Jana Kovackova[3](CZE)

Olivia Traynor[Q] v Nana Leme Da Silva[5](BRA)

Melije Clarke v Veronika Sekerkova(CZE)

Janae Preston v Polina Berezina(RUS)

Jordyn Hazelitt v Sofie Hettlerova(CZE)

Emery Combs[Q] v Adelina Lacinova(LAT)

Gavin Goode v Mark Ceban(GBR)

Michael Antonius v Rhys Lawlor(WC)(GBR)

Jordan Lee[Q] v Yannik Alexandrescou[5](FRA)

Safir Azam[Q] v Svit Suljic[SE](SLO)

Vihaan Reddy[Q] v Ziga Sesko[4](SLO)

Jack Secord v Matteo Gribaldo(ITA)

The last American man standing in singles at Wimbledon is Taylor Fritz, after Zachary Svajda, Marcos Giron and No. 17 seed Frances Tiafoe lost their third round matches Saturday. But qualifier Ashlyn Krueger and Madison Keys are through to the round of 16, with the five American women in the round of 16 the most at Wimbledon since 2002.

Saturday's Wimbledon third round results of Americans:

Madison Keys[26] d. Amanda Anisimova[6] 3-6, 6-2, 6-3

Marta Kostyuk[12](UKR) d. Emma Navarro[23] 6-2, 4-6, 6-1

Ashlyn Krueger[Q] d. Daria Snigur(UKR) 6-3, 6-2

Alexander Zverev[2](GER) d. Marcos Giron 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-4

Alexander Bublik[10](KAZ) d. Frances Tiafoe[17] 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-6(11), 4-6, 6-3 

Taylor Fritz[6] d. Lorenzo Sonego(ITA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(5)

Alex de Minaur[5](AUS) d. Zachary Svajda 6-2, 5-7, 6-2, 6-4

Sunday's Wimbledon fourth round matches featuring Americans:

Jessica Pegula[4] v Iva Jovic[16]

Coco Gauff[7] v Belinda Bencic[11]

After a very disappointing first week for British players, wild card Arthur Fery, the former Stanford All-American, has buoyed spirits, making the second week with a 2-6, 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(5) win over Zizou Bergs of Belgium. Fery will face fellow wild card Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the fourth round Monday.

The USTA National Clay Court Championships begin this weekend at seven locations across the country. I obviously will not be able to provide much coverage, but the Top 16 seeds in each division are are below, with the links to the draws in the headings.

B18s (Delray Beach FL)

1. Zen Uehling

2. William Freshwater

3. Peter Jorniak

4. Omar Rhazali

5. Hunter Nelson

6. Siddharth Bharadwaj

7. William McEwan

8. Eli Kaminski

9. Kahven Singh

10. Anish Poojari

11. Tristan Stratton

12. Jacob Hewitt

13. Joseph Lee

14. Jack Reis

15. Arjun Prabhakar

16. Ryan Bedwick

B16s (Delray Beach FL)

1. Ivan Rybak

2. Advay Singh

3. Ethan Turunen

4. Lennart Hammargren

5. Mikaeel Alibaig

6. Rafael Pawar

7. Akshay Mirmira

8. Zachary Szymanski

9. Joshua Dolinsky

10. Maddox Iliescu

11. Antanas Daugis

12. Burbaaz Narang

13. Aayush Vartak

14. Michael Cervenkov

15. Sebastian Zavala

16. Connor Feehan

B14s (Dothan AL)

1. Nathan Lee

2. Pranav Vignesh

3. Rex Kulman

4. Evaan Mohan

5. Matthew Finn

6. Krish Advani

7. Jason Ye

8. Cavan Donnelly

9. Sebastian Cheaney

10. Tony Xu

11. Wyatt Markham

12. Reyansh Pant

13. Selwyn Olufemi-Owoeye

14. Daniel Gardality

15. Blount Williams

16. Liam Dent

B12s (Lake Nona FL)

1. Miguel Valencia

2. Milan Nair

3. William Zhou

4. William Zhang

5. Zephyr Zwicker

6. Jesse Goldman

7. Samuel Harley

8. Lleyton Bruneau

9. Zachary Burunov

10. Aiden Zhang

11. Dylan Kivov

12. Leonardo Bigan

13. Aleksander Denisov

14. John Benedict

15. Allen Hou

16. Louie Lu

G18s (Mt Pleasant SC)

1. Calla McGill

2. Carolina Castro

3. Lauren Nolan

4. Addison Lindsay

5. Molly Widlansky

6. Alaina Lisanti

7. Maria Navarro

8. Estela Loureiro

9. Meher Rao

10. Autumn Xu

11. Kaiden Greer

12. Samaya Smith

13. Addy Rogin

14. Shristi Selvan

15. Kaylee Hill

16. Reese Frank

G16s (Huntsville AL)

1. Nikol Davletshina

2. Olivia Lin

3. Natalie Frisbie

4. Corinne Winningham

5. Helena Seiken

6. Braylen Michelsen

7. Chukwunoneeru Smarty

8. Rachel Immordino

9. Ella Lin

10. Michelle Lee

11. Juliana Diianni

12. Alexa Mendoza

13. Evelynn Kwak

14. Adelyn Gross

15. Charlotte Ballarin

16. Jasmine Taylor

G14s (Plantation FL)

1. Ava Chua

2. Reese Ellingson

3. Kyndall Noel

4. Gavrielle Villegas

5. Lucy Dupere

6. Jessie Janiak

7. Emma Li

8. Christina Li

9. Daniella Yogumyan

10. Mary Podkhyneychenko

11. Zhongyi Zhou

12. Anna Sandru

13. Sarah Goodwin

14. Cydney Crocker

15. Noa Boar

16. Mila Mikoczi Spivey

G12s (Greensboro NC)

1. Lindy Zhou

2. Valentina Singh Carvaljal

3. Evita Barjolo

4. Ayenxavia Calugay

5. Aya Iwata

6. Catherine Chan

7. Anna Rico

8. Audrey Yang

9. Lerong Yao

10. Jordyn Cheung

11. Laila McGregor-Green

12. Lolita Paley

13. Grace Goode

14. Hana Nilsson

15. Ryan Wilson

16. Nandika Singamala

Antonius and Preston Win J300 Roehampton Titles; Six Americans Qualify for Wimbledon Junior Championships; Top Seeds Miguel and Sun Open Junior Play Saturday; Pegula, Gauff and Jovic Advance to Fourth Round

©Colette Lewis 2026--
Roehampton, England--

Janae Preston and Michael Antonius have a friendly rivalry going, after the two young Americans claimed the World Tennis J300 singes titles today at Roehampton, on a surface they approached with uncertainty.

No. 15 seed Preston, who defeated unseeded Yu Jun Lin 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 in today's final, now leads Antonius four J300s to three this year, although Antonius teased that he was a Roland Garros boys finalist last month, after all.

Antonius, who beat both 2026 boys slam champions this week in Roehampton, was facing a less intimidating pedigree in qualifier Svit Suljic of Slovenia. Yet Suljic fought to the bitter end, despite already having earned his special exemption into the Wimbledon Juniors main draw by reaching the final, before falling to Antonius 6-4, 7-6(5).

Antonius didn't detect any letdown from Suljic, despite the eight singles matches he had played in the past eight days.

"He trains is Spain, I train in Florida, so in terms of conditioning, I thought it was pretty similar," said the 16-year-old from New York, seeded sixth. "I think that's why he did such a good job fighting in the second set; he didn't give up until the very last point. He played good tennis, and for me, I'm glad it was a good match, because that gives me more confidence for my tennis next week."

Antonius did play the Wimbledon 14-and-under event in 2024, but that was the extent of his grass experience until this week, save for his appearance at the Giorgio Armani exhibition in Hurlingham last week.

"I didn't know what to expect, honestly," Antonius said. "My serve has improved a lot since then and my transition game has gotten a lot better. I told my coach and parents that I thought I would be good on grass, I just wasn't sure how the other kids would be. I didn't know what to expect, but so far, I'm looking, and feeling, confident."

Antonius also knows he could see many other in-form opponents at Wimbledon. 

"A lot of my matches this week could have gone either way," said the 6-foot-4 Antonius, who denied this week's title has increased the pressure on him. "I'm just trying to look at the positives; this is all a just a new experience to get me ready for the future."

Preston had to withstand the barrage of winners from the flat-hitting Lin, using her speed and patience to eventually wear down the 16-year-old from China, despite being uncharacteristically in defensive positions in many rallies.

"She came really strong and we had a great battle in the second set," said the 15-year-old from Nevada, who broke Lin serving at 5-6. "But I think she got a little bit tired in the third, so I was able to take advantage of that and win easier in the third."

Preston had even less exposure to grass than Antonius, and she has yet to set foot on the grounds of the All England Lawn Tennis Club.

"I was not expecting to be good on grass; I thought I would suck on grass," Preston said. "But my movement, and I had a really good strategy on grass, and my serve, really helped me as well. And it was really fun too."

As is the case with all Roehampton finalists over the years, Preston will not play Saturday, so she has one more day to savor the anticipation of her Wimbledon debut.

"I'm super excited, there's obviously so much history there," said Preston, who added her name to the list of Roehampton winners that includes major champions Petra Kvitova, Caroline Wozniacki, Jelena Ostapenko and Coco Gauff. "I'm excited to embrace it; it's going to be really exciting."

Every junior tournament J300 or above should have a display like this one honoring its past champions

The Roland Garros junior doubles champions added Roehampton titles to their resumes today, with the No. 4 seeds in both the boys and girls draws posting dominating wins.

Jana Kovackova and Katerina Zajickova of Czechia defeated wild cards Daniella Britton and Edie Griffiths of Great Britain 6-0, 6-2 and the German team of Jamie Mackenzie and Vincent Reisach beat No. 8 seeds Jack Secord and Kazakhstan's Damir Zhalgasbay 6-2, 6-2.

The final participants in the Wimbledon Junior Championships were decided today at Roehampton, which is nearly unrecognizable from the last time I was there in 2017. The new stadium courts and all the buildings for player services and amenities has transformed what was primarily a grass field with lines to a proper venue for a tennis tournament. The Lexus wheelchair championships were also concluding today, so the trophy ceremonies and speeches were numerous; only the courts for the Wimbledon Junior qualifying maintained any resemblance to nine years ago.

All three of the US boys who were in the final round of qualifying advanced to their Wimbledon debuts, with top seed Vihaan Reddy defeating Takahiro Kawaguchi of Japan 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 10-7, No. 5 seed Safir Azam defeating Kunanan Pantaratorn of Thailand 7-6(4), 6-3 and No. 7 seed Jordan Lee beating Maxi Carrascosa Diaz of Spain 6-1, 6-4.

Three of the eight US girls in the final round of qualifying advanced to the main draw of Junior Wimbledon, with Emery Combs defeating Sarah Ye in the all-US contest 6-1, 0-6, 10-6, Carrie-Anne Hoo beating Pietra Rivoli of Brazil 6-2, 6-3 and No. 8 seed Olivia Traynor beating Iulia Maria Buculei of Romania 4-6, 6-1, 10-6.  Five of the eight girls final round qualifying matches ended with a 10-point match tiebreaker in lieu of a third set, which I have always disliked. Australia and Roland Garros play a full third set in the final round of qualifying; the stakes are simply too high to have a chance to play at the All England Club decided in such arbitrary fashion.

Top seeds Luis Guto Miguel of Spain and Xinran Sun of China are in action Saturday, as the Junior Championships begin with 12  girls singles and 12 boys singles matches. The boys draw is here; the girls draw is here.

Twenty Americans--ten girls and ten boys--are in the Wimbledon Junior draws, but none of the girls are seeded. I don't recall a previous junior slam without a seeded American in a draw, but I can't rule it out. Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain is the No. 12 seed based on her WTA Ranking of 276, and Thijs Boogaard of the Netherlands is the No. 11 seed based on his ATP ranking of 525.

The Wimbledon Junior Championships Seeds:

GIRLS:

1. Xinran Sun(CHN)

2. Ksenia Efremova(FRA)

3. Jana Kovackova(CZE)

4. Victoria Barros(BRA)

5. Nana Leme Da Silva(BRA)

6. Anastasija Cvetkovic(SRB)

7. Mariia Makarova(RUS)

8. Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi(ARG)

9. Mariella Thamm(GER)

10. Charo Esquiva Banuls(ESP)

11. Paola Pinera Celorio(ESP)

12. Mika Stojsavljevic(GBR)

13. Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas(RUS)

14. Anna Pushkareva(RUS)

15. Polina Skliar(UKR)

16. Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi(IND)

BOYS:

1. Luis Guto Miguel(BRA)

2. Jamie Mackenzie(GER)

3. Keaton Hance(USA)

4. Ziga Sesko(SLO)

5. Yannick Alexandrescou(FRA)

6. Michael Antonius(USA)

7. Thilo Behrmann(AUT)

8. Zangar Nurlanuly(KAZ)

9. Dimitar Kisimov(BUL)

10. Yannik Alvarez(PUR)

11. Thijs Boogaard(NED)

12. Andy Johnson(USA)

13. Nicolas Baena(PER)

14. Mathys Domenc(FRA)

15. Kuan-Shou Cheng(TPE)

16. Dante Pagani(ARG)

Saturday's Wimbledon first round junior matches featuring Americans: 

Tanishk Konduri v Yannik Alvarez[10](PUR)

Keaton Hance[3] v Simone Massellani

Andy Johnson[12] v Matei Todoran(ROU)

Ryan Cozad v Dan Brand(ISR)

Thea Frodin v Ui Su Jeong(KOR)

Anita Tu v Maia Burcescu(ROU)

The US got shut out today in men's singles, but three American women are through to the round of 16 at Wimbledon: Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff and Iva Jovic. 

Friday's Wimbledon third round results of Americans:

Felix Auger-Aliassime[3](CAN) d. Michael Zheng[Q] 7-6(1), 6-2, 6-1

Jannik Sinner[1](ITA) d. Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 

Hubert Hurkacz(POL) d. Tommy Paul[21] 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-5, 6-2

Jessica Pegula[4] d. Jessica Bouzas Maneiro(ESP) 6-1, 6-3

Coco Gauff[7] d. Claire Liu[Q] 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2

Iva Jovic[16] d. Ekaterina Alexandrova[18](RUS) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4

Saturday's Wimbledon third round matches featuring Americans:

Amanda Anisimova[6] v Madison Keys[26]

Emma Navarro[23] v Marta Kostyuk[12](UKR)

Ashlyn Krueger[Q] v Daria Snigur(UKR)

Marcos Giron v Alexander Zverev[2](GER)

Frances Tiafoe[17] v Alexander Bublik[10](KAZ)

Taylor Fritz[6] v Lorenzo Sonego(ITA)

Zachary Svajda d. Alex de Minaur[5](AUS)