My San Diego J300 Recap; All Four Top Seeds in 12s and 14s Reach Thursday's Easter Bowl Finals; No. 2 Seeds Fall in Boys and Girls 16s; Antonius, Johnson, Konduri and Karki Post Wins at Las Vegas M25

©Colette Lewis 2026--

Indian Wells CA--

Before I get to the action today, as the 12s and 14s Easter Bowl draws to a close and the 16s and 18s began to ramp up, here's my Tennis Recruiting Network recap of the ITF J300 North American Regional Championships last week in San Diego. Andy Johnson won his second straight J300 and Jordyn Hazelitt claimed her first singles at that level, while adding her third J300 doubles title, all coming this year. If you weren't able to follow my daily coverage, this article is a great way to get up to speed on one of the five ITF J300 tournaments held in the United States every year.

The finals are set in singles and doubles for the 12s and 14s divisions of the USTA National L1 Easter Bowl presented by adidas after semifinal action today at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. All four of the No. 1 seeds will play for a title Thursday morning, with only one of them needing three sets to get the final, with the format reverting to best of three full sets in the semifinals after heat had led to match tiebreakers in lieu of a third set.

Boys 12s top seed Dmitriy Flyam had been cruising through the draw, dropping only seven games in his four previous wins, but No. 3 seed Thomas Gamble won six in the first set, only to see Flyam, the reigning USTA Winter Nationals champion relocate his form, taking next two full sets 6-0, 6-2. Flyam's opponent in the final will be Milan Nair, who beat fellow No. 9 seed Jesse Goldman 7-6(5), 0-6, 6-2.

Girls 12s top seed Chloe Anthony quickly dispatched No. 3 seed Valentina Singh-Caravajal 6-1, 6-1 to advance to the final against No. 4 seed Lindy Zhou. Zhou defeated Cordelia Skye, a No. 9 seed, 6-0, 6-1 in an all-Socal semifinal.

Girls 14s top seed Nadia Poznick has yet to drop a set in advancing to the final, but she had to come from 4-1 down in the second set against Nicole Alexandrovich, a No. 9 seed, to secure a 6-4, 6-4 victory.  Poznick, who reached the girls 12s semifinals two years ago, will play another No. 9 seed, Violetta Mamina, in for the title after Mamina frustrated unseeded Isabelle Nguyen 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in a three-hour battle.  Mamina, who reached the girls 12s semifinals last year, had beaten Nguyen in a match tiebreaker at an L2 last month in Long Beach so she came armed with a strategy when facing her again today.

"When I played her a few weeks ago we had a four-hour match," said the 13-year-old from Henderson Nevada. "I knew she played really aggressive, so I knew if I played more on the defensive side that she'll start missing more. She really likes an aggressive game, so my strategy was to play high heavy until I get a short ball and then I attack."

Nguyen's frustration began to grow, as Mamina refused to give her any rhythm or pace. Although Nguyen hit many more winners, she also went for too much at key moments. Occasionally Nguyen, a 12s semifinalist two years ago, would respond in kind with a moon ball, but Mamina was much more committed to her strategy and she closed out the match with a love hold to reach the final.

Poznick and Mamina met in the final of the 2024 USTA 12s Clay Court Nationals, with Poznick winning 6-1, 6-2.

"I think I was very nervous to play her that year, because it was my first final, first time going very far and she was a much higher person than me," Mamina said. "And now, there's not that big of a difference, and now I think I'm more ready. I'll see what my strategy will be during the match. If something's working I'll do it, if something's not working, I'll stop it."

The boys 14s final will feature the top two seeds, with No. 1 Ishaan Marla facing No. 2 Michael Chervenkov. Both advanced in straight sets, with Chervenkov defeating No. 9 seed Prana Vignesh 6-1, 6-4 and Marla beating No. 3 seed Nathan Lee 7-6(4), 6-1, but Marla needed 90 minutes to win that first set, saving a set point serving at 4-5. 

Marla held then broke, but could not serve out the set, with Lee, the 2024 boys 12s Easter Bowl finalist, saving a set point with an approach and volley. A double fault by Marla sent the match to a tiebreaker, and Lee had a 4-2 lead at the first changeover, but Marla won the last four points, with Lee's ground strokes landing wide on the final three.

Marla said once he took that grueling set, he was in control.

"I knew if I kept intensity in the second set, I could bring him away," said the 14-year-old from Mason Ohio. "I tried to be more aggressive, was serving bigger and I felt like after the real high intensity first set, he sort of lost a lot of confidence, so I took that advantage and started pounding the ball corner to corner and make him hit shots he does not want to hit."

Marla has split two matches with Chervenkov, although he has the advantage of having already won two gold balls, at the 2024 12s Nationals and the 2025 14s National Indoors.

Marla credits his coach Sam Shrivastava for those results, and they have been hitting at 5 each morning due to the three-hour time change.

"I wake up at 4 and hit with my coach at 5 because we both can't sleep," Marla said. "He's been coaching me for two years and it's been a life-changer for me. When I met him, we trained for six months, and then I won the 12s. Without him, I would never be in this position."

The 12s boys and girls singles finals are set for 8 a.m., with the 14s singles finals scheduled for 11 a.m.  The two matches on Stadium Court can be live streamed at the Easter Bowl YouTube channel.

The 12s and 14s doubles semifinal results are below, with the finals set for Thursday afternoon.

B12s Doubles Semifinal Results:

Miguel Valencia & Milan Nair d. Benedict Zhong & Pavel Abadzhev[7] 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-6(4)

Yifan Nie & Thomas Gamble[2] d. Devansh Patra & Isaac Milner[8] 6-3, 6-2

G12 Doubles Semifinal Results:

Ayenxavia Calugay & Grace Malholtra[3] d. Summer Yang & Lucy Jiang[1] 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-2

Alara Buyukuncu & Catherine Chan d. Lindy Zhao & Valetina Singh-Carvajal[2] 3-6, 6-3, 6-2

B14s Doubles Semifinal Results:

Evaan Mohan & Nathan Lee[8] d. James Borchard & Evan Fan[5] 6-4, 6-0

Wyatt Markham & Max D Smith[6] d. Jacques Chen & Tony Xu[2] 6-1, 6-1

G14s Doubles Semifinal Results:

Ava Chua & Gwyneth Britton[3] d. Victoria Park & Isabelle Nguyen 6-2, 6-0

Natalia Martinez & Ellington Reese[2] d. Anna Victoria Sandru & Emma Li[7] 6-4, 6-1

Several top 4 seeds in the 18s escaped upsets in Wednesday's second round, with No. 2 seed Omar Rhazali beating Connor Plunkett 6-3, 2-6, 10-4 and No. 3 seed Alyson Shannon getting by Reagan Levine 7-6(5), 5-7, 10-7 in a match that took more than three hours to complete. 

Not all seeds struggled, with 18s No. 1s Ellery Mendell and Alexander Suhanitski winning in straight sets, as did 16s No. 1 seeds Sylvana Jalbert and Eli Kaminski.

But the No. 2 seeds in the 16s were both knocked out, with Heidi Polasek beating Vanessa Kruse 7-6(6), 6-3 and Mikaeel Alibaig defeating Lennart Hammargren 6-2, 6-1.

Hammargren took a medical timeout for an ankle problem at the end of the first set, and although he had it taped and resumed play, his mobility was obviously reduced, a circumstance Alibaig had to ignore.

"When someone takes a medical timeout it's difficult to regroup," said the 16-year-old, who has been training at IMG for the past six months. "I really had to stay super focused and not let that distract me and I think I did that really well, won the next four games in a row, so I played really solid mentally."

Alibaig was born in Wisconsin, but has dual citizenship and competes for Pakistan in international events.

He has written a book about the two cultures and his life as a junior athlete, which can be found at his website: https://www.mikatensity.com/.

"For me, my life has been really challenging," Alibaig said. "A dual citizen, being Pakistani and an American, it's sometimes difficult dealing with other people when you're from two ethnicities. And three years ago, I got attacked really badly by a German Shepherd and for five months I couldn't walk, but getting through those challenges really inspired me to write the book about my whole life journey. Athletes have a difficult time--it looks like they're in the spotlight, it's very difficult--it's not just me, I'm sure a lot of other junior athletes too. So it's an inspiration book, an emotional book and a happy book at the same time."

In Thursday's third round, Alibaig will face unseeded Alexander Totoian, who beat No. 9 seed Antanas Daugis 6-2, 3-6, 10-8.

The second round of doubles tonight saw both the top two seeds in the girls 18s lose, with No. 1 seeds Alyson Shannon and Francie Pate falling to Kalista Papadopoulos and Abigail Haile 6-2, 3-6, 10-8 and No. 2 seeds Isabelle DeLuccia and Amy Lee losing to Chloe Zigliara and Sadira Ouyang 6-3, 6-4.

Wednesday's Top 8 seed report for 16s and 18s:

B16s:

1. Eli Kaminski

2. Lennart Hammargren (out rd 2)

3. Piotr Gradzki

4. Ethan Turunen (out rd 2)

5. Gadin Arun (out rd 2)

6. Ivan Rybak

7. Akshay Mirmira (out rd 1)

8. Rafael Pawar (out rd 1)

G16s:

1. Sylvana Jalbert

2. Vanessa Kruse (out rd 2)

3. Avita Beitler (out rd 2)

4. Shristi Selvan

5. Olivia Lin

6. Nikol Davletshina (out rd 1)

7. Anastasiya Muravia (out rd 1)

8. Molly Widlansky

B18s:

1. Alexander Suhanitski

2. Omar Rhazali

3. Jesse Yang

4. William Freshwater

5. Yashwin Krishnakumar (out rd 2)

6. Soren Swenson (out rd 1)

7. Noble Renfrow (out rd 1)

8. Michael Lorenzetti (out rd 2)

G18s:

1. Ellery Mendell

2. Calla McGill

3. Alyson Shannon

4. Alanna Ingalsbe

5. Lauren Nolan

6. Ava Beltran

7. Reiley Rhodes

8. Kylie Liu (out rd 2)

Third round matches will again feature match tiebreakers in lieu of a full third set, with temperatures again expected to approach 100 degrees Thursday.

At the USTA Pro Circuit M25 in Las Vegas, Michael Antonius continued his winning streak on the USTA Pro Circuit, with the Bakersfield M25 champion defeating Ilia Snitari, a sophomore at UNLV, 7-5, 6-3. Andy Johnson, the Tucson and San Diego J300 champion, defeated qualifier Aaron Bailey 6-2, 6-0 and will play top seed Tyler Zink(Georgia, Oklahoma State) in Thursday's second round. Tankishk Konduri earned his first ATP point, beating fellow wild card Gus Grumet 5-7, 6-2, 6-3; Ronit Karki defeated qualifier Yousseff Kadiri Hassni of Morocco 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(2) and Kaylan Bigun defeated qualifier Zach Stephens of Great Britain 7-5, 6-1.

Boys 16s Top Seed Kaminski Saves Match Point in First Round Match Tiebreaker Victory; Girls 12s No. 1 Anthony Survives Lengthy Second Set Tiebreaker to Advance to Semifinals

©Colette Lewis 2026--

Indian Wells CA--

Cramping in the 95-degree heat that forced the Easter Bowl to shorten matches was not the only problem boys 16s top seed Eli Kaminiski was facing Tuesday afternoon at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. The physical stress was secondary to the mental battle he was having with himself, as he faced match point against 15-year-old Tristan Ascenzo in a match tiebreaker in first round action Tuesday.

"I won National Indoors (in November) and with those points I was No. 2 seed at Winter Nationals and I lost in the first round," said the 16-year-old from Fairfax Station Virginia. "I was so nervous, because I can't go from winning an L1 to losing two times in the first round."

Ascenzo, the 2025 Junior Orange Bowl champion, was no stranger to Kaminski, who was a teammate of his at the Brewer Cup earlier this month in Mobile, with Kaminski playing 18s and Ascenzo 16s. He said his attempt to downplay the dangerous draw was insincere.

"When I saw the draw I was kind of playing it off, talking to them," Kaminski said, gesturing to his mother and coach Momin Khan of Aplus Tennis. "It's fine, it's fine, it's a good draw, but in my mind I was panicking."

After taking the first set, the toll of little outdoor tennis began to cause problems for Kaminski, and although he is much bigger and stronger than Ascenzo, that advantage didn't show in the second set.

"The thing about him, he might not be the biggest player, but he believes," Kaminski said. "If you put him on the court with Jannik Sinner, he's going to think he's going to double bagel him. I have to give him credit, he played a terrific match. He has a really good balance of being aggressive with his forehand, but not overplaying it, going for stupid shots."

Ascenzo led throughout the match tiebreaker, up 6-2 and 7-5, but Kaminski fought back to level it at 8.  Serving at 8-all Kaminski hit a big first serve and hit a plus-one backhand that went just wide, giving Ascenzo a match point on serve.

"Normally my backhand is one of the shots I prefer, especially under pressure, but I don't know I haven't been feeling it as well recently so I still tried to go for it," Kaminski said. "I'm already cramping in my abs and my left calf, so I can't get in a long rally or I'm going to die. I have to take my cuts, but if I miss, I miss, at least I won't die on court."

Ascenzo had a chance to put away a shanked ball by Kaminski in the service box, but he netted it, and Kaminski took advantage.

"To be honest, when I hit the forehand and I shanked it, I didn't think it was going over the net," Kaminski said. "I was like, second L1 in a row, top 2 seed but I'm out in the first round. But it went over and he missed it. And then I celebrated, I had so much adrenaline that I forgot that I'd had a lucky shank; I was just happy I won the point. But when I replayed it in my head, I got so lucky, so I told him I was sorry."

Ascenzo made another unforced forehand error to lose serve again, and Kaminski hit an ace to survive.

"That's one of my favorite serves," Kaminski said. "Even if I don't hit as hard, as long as I place it well, it opens up the court so much. I don't want to sound arrogant, but I knew he was going to fall for it. When I'm under pressure, I try to think, not of my weaknesses, but I think of my opponent's weaknesses. We're playing on a high bouncing court, my kick serve is probably my best shot, they see me tossing up a kick down match point, they're like, I've got to race as hard as I can to get this, so it opens the court."

Kaminski plays Zhiyu Yuan, a 6-3, 6-3 winner over Brody Barbeau, in the second round Wednesday.

"I hope it's not as dramatic," Kaminski said. "I don't think I could stand it."

The top seed in the girls 16, Sylvana Jalbert, breezed into the second round with 6-0, 6-1 win over Taisiya Sorokina, while both 18s No. 1 seeds also won in straight sets. Alexander Suhanitski, who reached the semifinals of the 16s here last year, beat Wesley Cotton 6-1, 6-4, while Ellery Mendell defeated Autumn Xu 6-2, 6-2.

While the 16s and 18s divisions are just getting started, the 12s and 14s divisions are close to finishing, with all eight semifinals set for 8 a.m. Wednesday at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

The No. 1 seeds are still in contention for their first Easter Bowl titles, with the boys 12s top seed Dmitriy Flyam and boys 14s top seed Ishaan Marla cruising in their quarterfinals, while the girls top seeds had much more challenging matches.

At the Palm Valley Country Club, girls 14s No. 1 Nadia Poznick defeated unseeded Gabrielle Villegas 6-4, 7-5; on Stadium Court at Indian Wells, girls 12s No. 1 seed Chloe Anthony fought off two set points to defeat No. 6 seed Alara Buyukuncu 6-1, 7-6(9) in over two hours and 20 minutes.

Anthony said she was unable to play the style she was most comfortable with in the second set, struggling to find the balance between aggression and consistency when attacking the Buyukuncu moon balls.

"I feel like I made more mistakes, made more unforced errors in the longer rallies, so I had to change it up a little bit, hit a little harder, a little flatter," said Anthony, who trains with her mother Elena and coaches at both the Lakeville Athletic Club and Weymouth Club. "I thought it worked pretty well (hitting with more pace). Sometimes, though if she would hit a couple of those I went for too much off of those. But if I could, I would definitely hit harder, keep it lower."

Anthony served for the match twice, at 5-4 and 6-5, but didn't get to match point in either game. She attempted to target the Buyukuncu one-handed backhand, but Buyukuncu defended that side well, often with high balls that would send Anthony six or eight feet behind the baseline.

One of those moon balls kept Anthony from converting her first match point at 6-5, and she went down a set point serving at 6-7, but hit a forehand winner to save it. A double fault, which gave Anthony another occasion to loudly slap her left thigh in frustration, gave Buyukuncu a second set point, but she sent a forehand wide, and lost another point on serve with Anthony's powerful return forcing an error. Anthony couldn't convert her second match point at 9-8, making an unforced error on the forehand, but she rebound to earn a third match point with a forehand winner. When Buyukuncu's forehand went just long, as it was called by Anthony and confirmed by the umpire, she had avoided the dreaded match tiebreaker.

"I was trying really hard not to get there," Anthony said.

Anthony will not have to worry about that in the semifinals Wednesday, with all 12 and 14s singles matches returning to best of three tiebreak sets. The 12s and 14s doubles semifinals are scheduled for Wednesday afternoon.

The 16s and 18s will continue to play a match tiebreaker in lieu of a full third set in round two Wednesday.

Girls 12s quarterfinal results Tuesday:

Chloe Anthony[1] d. Alara Buyukuncu[6] 6-1, 7-6(9)

Valentina Singh-Carvajal[3] d. Lucy Jiang[5] 7-5, 0-6, 10-6

Ayenxavia Calugay[9] d. Lindy Zhou[4] 6-3, 7-5

Cordelia Skye[9] d. Reya Mahadoo[8] 4-6, 6-3, 10-8

Boys 12s quarterfinal results Tuesday:

Dmitriy Flyam[1] d. Keanu Agbulos[8] 6-0, 6-2

Thomas Gamble[3] d. William Zhou[7] 6-2, 6-2

Jesse Goldman[9] d. Benedict Zhong 6-2, 6-4 

Milan Nair[9] d. Jaden Joyner[9] 6-4, 6-4

Girls 14s quarterfinal results Tuesday:

Nadia Poznick[1] d. Gabrielle Alexa Villegas 6-4, 7-5

Nicole Alexandrovich[9] d. Eleanor Armistead[4] 7-5, 6-7(5), 10-4

Isabelle Nguyen d. Andrea Jakovljevic[9] 6-3, 6-0

Violetta Mamina[9] d. Rachel Immordino 7-6(3), 6-3

Boys 14s quarterfinal results Tuesday:

Ishaan Marla[1] d. Jason Zhao[9] 6-1, 6-2

Nathan Lee[3] d. Matthew Finn[8] 6-4, 6-2

Pranav Vignesh[9] d. Tanmay Konduri[6] 6-3, 6-4

Michael Chervenkov[2] d. Jacques Chen[5] 6-0, 6-3 

How the top 8 seeds in 16s and 18s fared Tuesday:

B16s:

1. Eli Kaminski

2. Lennart Hammargren

3. Piotr Gradzki

4. Ethan Turunen

5. Gadin Arun

6. Ivan Rybak

7. Akshay Mirmira (out rd 1)

8. Rafael Pawar (out rd 1)

G16s:

1. Sylvana Jalbert

2. Vanessa Kruse

3. Avita Beitler

4. Shristi Selvan

5. Olivia Lin

6. Nikol Davletshina (out rd 1)

7. Anastasiya Muravia (out rd 1)

8. Molly Widlansky

B18s:

1. Alexander Suhanitski

2. Omar Rhazali

3. Jesse Yang

4. William Freshwater

5. Yashwin Krishnakumar

6. Soren Swenson (out rd 1)

7. Noble Renfrow (out rd 1)

8. Michael Lorenzetti

G18s:

1. Ellery Mendell

2. Calla McGill

3. Alyson Shannon

4. Alanna Ingalsbe

5. Lauren Nolan

6. Ava Beltran

7. Reiley Rhodes

8. Kylie Liu

First round doubles action is still underway tonight for 16s and 18s. Draws can be found here.

Desert Heat Shortens Matches at Easter Bowl, But All No. 1 Seeds in 12s and 14s Divisions Reach Quarterfinals; 16s and 18s Begin Play Tuesday; Las Vegas M25 Main Draw Features Six Teens

©Colette Lewis 2026--

Indian Wells CA--

The heat relented a bit today, with the temperature failing to reach 100 for the first time since the start of the Easter Bowl, but high 90s are not ideal playing conditions, so the decision has been made to continue using a match tiebreaker in lieu of a third set for the 12s and 14s quarterfinals and to begin the 16s and 18s tournament tomorrow with that same format.

All four of the No. 1 seeds are still in contention for the 12s and 14s titles, with girls 12s No. 1 Chloe Anthony, boys 12s No. 1 Dmitry Flyam, girls 14s No. 1 Nadia Poznick and boys 14s No. 1 Ishaan Marla all avoiding a match tiebreaker. 

But No. 2 seeds left in the quarterfinals are down to one, boys 14s Michael Chervenkov, after No. 9 seed Cordelia Skye defeated Summer Yang 6-4, 6-2 in the girls 12s.

Skye, a 12-year-old from West Hollywood California, had lost twice to Yang in the past 12 months, dropping straight-sets decisions at the Easter Bowl last year and at the Nationals last August, causing her to change her strategy in this meeting.

"Today I decided I had to fight more and get more balls back," said Skye, who sported a white oversized scrunchie while pulling off the upset today. "The past two times I played her, I wasn't able to extend the rallies long enough. So my goal today was to play aggressive, but still hit the big targets, and get the ball back in play multiple times, make her have to work for the points."

Skye is coached by her father Owen Williams at local public parks in the LA area, as is her younger brother.  

"He went to college on a basketball scholarship, but he did play tennis when he was younger," said Skye, who played the Easter Bowl for the first time last year. "He got me into it when I was like a year old, me and my brother. He's 10, so not playing here yet, but he's very talented."

Skye has seen her game improve since those two losses to Yang in 2025.

"I think my game has definitely gotten better," Skye said. "I also think I am able to stay a bit more calm in big points, but sometimes I have a problem missing early on in the rallies when I shouldn't be, because I'm going for bigger and bigger shots. So I've definitely been working on that, and adding a little bit more power on my serve, because sometimes my opponents can take control on my serve."

Skye will face No. 8 seed Reya Mahadoo in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Girls 12s quarterfinals Tuesday:

Chloe Anthony[1] v Alara Buyukuncu[6]

Valentina Singh-Carvajal[3] v Lucy Jiang[5]

Ayenxavia Calugay[9] v Lindy Zhou[4]

Reya Mahadoo[8] v Cordelia Skye[9]

Boys 12s quarterfinals Tuesday:

Dmitriy Flyam[1] v Keanu Agbulos[8]

Thomas Gamble[3] v William Zhou[7]

Benedict Zhong v Jesse Goldman[9]

Jaden Joyner[9] v Milan Nair[9]

Girls 14s quarterfinals Tuesday:

Nadia Poznick[1] v Gabrielle Alexa Villegas

Eleanor Armistead[4] v Nicole Alexandrovich[9]

Isabelle Nguyen v Andrea Jakovljevic[9]

Violetta Mamina[9] v Rachel Immordino

Boys 14s quarterfinals Tuesday:

Ishaan Marla[1] v Jason Zhao[9]

Nathan Lee[3] v Matthew Finn[8]

Tanmay Konduri[6] v Pranav Vignesh[9]

Jacques Chen[5] v Michael Chervenkov[2]

The boys 12s and girls 14s quarterfinals will be played at Palm Valley, the girls 12s and boys 14s are at Indian Wells, all with 8 a.m. start times.

Presenting sponsor adidas was on-site today, distributing a pair of shoes to all players from their mobile trailer, while also sponsoring the player party, which featured a dj, table tennis, and a dinner of salmon, shrimp, chicken, pasta and salad.

The Top 8 seeds for the 16s and 18s:

B16s:

1. Eli Kaminski

2. Lennart Hammargren

3. Piotr Gradzki

4. Ethan Turunen

5. Gadin Arun

6. Ivan Rybak

7. Akshay Mirmira

8. Rafael Pawar

G16s:

1. Sylvana Jalbert

2. Vanessa Kruse

3. Avita Beitler

4. Shristi Selvan

5. Olivia Lin

6. Nikol Davletshina

7. Anastasiya Muravia

8. Molly Widlansky

B18s:

1. Alexander Suhanitski

2. Omar Rhazali

3. Jesse Yang

4. William Freshwater

5. Yashwin Krishnakumar

6. Soren Swenson

7. Noble Renfrow

8. Michael Lorenzetti

G18s:

1. Ellery Mendell

2. Calla McGill

3. Alyson Shannon

4. Alanna Ingalsbe

5. Lauren Nolan

6. Ava Beltran

7. Reiley Rhodes

8. Kylie Liu

San Diego J300 finalist Marcel Latak, the 2025 Easter Bowl 16s champion, withdrew from singles but is the No. 2 seed in doubles with Joseph Nau.

All singles and doubles draws can be found here, with court assignments also posted on the draws. Live streaming of Stadium Court matches can be found at the Easter Bowl YouTube Channel. 

The only USTA Pro Circuit tournament this week is again a men's event, the M25 in Las Vegas.  Qualifying, which has a 48-player draw rather than the customary 32, finishes Tuesday, but the draw is out.

Andy Johnson did not need his wild card, getting in on his own ranking, so that went to Tanishk Konduri, who was initially set to receive a qualifying wild card. Bakersfield M25 champion Michael Antonius got the special exempt, freeing up another wild card, with that going to Gus Grumet, who was the doubles champion with Antonius in Bakersfield. Grumet and Konduri play in the first round.

Two former ITF Junior No. 1s are also in the draw: 19-year-old Kaylan Bigun(UCLA) and 18-year-old Wake Forest freshman Mees Rottgering of the Netherlands, who won an M15 in Canada two weeks ago.

Two more teens could make the 32-draw, with Jon Gamble and Ronit Karki in the final round of qualifying.

Antonius Sweeps M25 Bakersfield Titles; Pagani, Leme da Silva Champions at ITF J500 Banana Bowl; Seeds Fall in Easter Bowl Second Round; Korda Takes Out Alcarez in Miami; Wake Forest Men Beat No. 1 Virginia

A day after his first ITF men's World Tennis Tour title in doubles at the Bakersfield California M25, 16-year-old wild card Michael Antonius won his first ITF men's singles title, beating No. 2 seed Andrew Fenty, a former University of Michigan All-American, 7-6(3), 6-2. Antonius, the youngest American to win a pro title since 2007 and the first in the 2010 birth year to win a pro title(stats courtesy of Ariel Fernández on X), won the last three points of the opening set tiebreaker, and wasn't taken to deuce in any of his four holds in the second set.

Antonius, who partnered with 18-year-old Gus Grumet for the doubles title, will move inside the ATP Top 900 with the 25 points gained this week. He was entered in the qualifying at the M25 in Las Vegas, which is currently underway, but will get a special exempt into the main draw if he decides to play after the title this week. Tucson and San Diego ITF J300 champion Andy Johnson, a teammate of Antonius's in the USA's Junior Davis Cup championship team, accepted a main draw wild card into Las Vegas. 

The ITF J500 Banana Bowl concluded today in Gaspar Brazil, with both 16-year-old Nauhany Leme da Silva of Brazil and 17-year-old Dante Pagani of Argentina beating the top seeds in three sets to claim the titles.  No. 4 seed Leme da Silva defeated Victoria Barros 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, while Pagani beat Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.  

Jack Secord and his partner Emilio Camacho of Ecuador lost in the boys doubles final Saturday, with the No. 2 seeds falling to No. 7 seeds Leon Sloboda and Marko Bekeni of Slovakia 6-0, 6-7(5), 10-8. 

No. 4 seeds Maia Burcescu of Romania and Alyssa James of Jamaica beat top seeds Leme de Silva and Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi of Argentina 6-4, 6-0 in the girls doubles final.

The heat has been relentless in the first two days of 12s and 14s competition at the USTA Level 1 Easter Bowl in Indian Wells, with temperatures in the 100s leading to a change of format. If a third set is necessary, a 10-point match tiebreaker is played to decide the match, and with temperatures approaching 100 again Tuesday, the third round may also be played under that format.

I'll be onsite beginning tomorrow, but Steve Pratt, the media assistant for the tournament, provided a full recap at Easterbowl.com, with this rundown of the results of the top seeds in today's second round:

The top seed in the Boys’ 14s, Ishaan Marla from Mason, Ohio, had two easy wins by identical 6-2, 6-1 scores and No. 2 Michael Chervenkov from Canton, Ga., did the same dropping a total of five games in his first two rounds. 

 

In an All-Southern Cal matchup that produced an upset, Goleta’s Ciaran Tober-Bridges split sets with No. 7 Yi He Gao from Rancho Santa Fe and then took the super tiebreaker 10-6 to advance. Unseeded Aarian Nayak from Henderson, Nev., knocked off No. 4 seed and Lee’s doubles partner Evaan Mohan from Shelton, Conn., 6-3, 6-1.

 

In the Girls’ 14s, top-seed Nadia Poznick (Ann Arbor, Mich.) moved onto the third round but there were two big upsets in the second round as No. 3 Ava Chua (Brooklyn, N.Y.) lost to Angela Li from NorCal 11-9 in the tiebreaker and San Gabriel’s Isabelle Nguyen upset No. 5 Reese Ellingson (Saint Paul, Minn.), 6-1, 6-3.

 

In the Boys’ 12s, while No. 1 seeded Dmitriy Flyman from Hallandale Beach, Fla., was moving on and not dropping a game in his second round, 6-0, 6-0 win, that was not the case for No. 2 Yifan Nie from Great Neck, N.Y., who was upset by Mile Markham of Lawrence, Kan., 6-1, 6-4. In the Girls’ 12s, top seeds Chloe Anthony (Lakeville, Mass.), Summer Yang (McLean, Va.) and Valentina Singh Carvajal (Morristown, N.J.) all advanced. 

 

Live streaming of stadium court action is available all week at the Easter Bowl YouTube channel, with Ken Thomas providing commentary.

The title today by Michael Antonius, who won the Easter Bowl 12s title in 2022, was overshadowed by the win by today of 2017 Easter Bowl 18s finalist Sebastian Korda over ATP No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz at the Miami Open Masters 1000. Today's 6-3, 5-7, 6-4 third round victory came in Korda's first match ever against a world No. 1. For more on Korda's win, see this article from the ATP website.

Two big Top 5 matchups this weekend saw one No. 1 team validate their claim to the top spot, with the other falling to a former (and future) No. 1.

On Saturday, the top-ranked Georgia women pummeled No. 4 Auburn 4-0 in Athens, handing the Tigers their first doubles point loss of the season and getting wins from lines 1, 2 and 5 to earn their second win over Auburn this season. A recap from georgiadogs.com is here, with the full box score available here.

Today, No. 4 Wake Forest hosted Virginia, which ascended to the No. 1 ranking this week, with the Demon Deacons taking a 4-2 decision. Wake, ranked No. 1 to start the season, will return to the top spot after taking the doubles point and getting wins at lines 3, 5 and 6. Virginia got their points at 1 and 4. For a complete rundown, see this article from godeacs.com.

Johnson Goes Back-to-Back, Hazelitt Earns First J300 Title at North American Regional Championships in San Diego; Antonius Reaches M25 Bakersfield Final, Wins Doubles with Grumet; Pareja Takes W50 Title in Mexico

©Colette Lewis 2026--
San Diego CA--

Fast food is not in the nutritional regimen of top juniors, but Andy Johnson and Jordyn Hazelitt are going to treat themselves tonight after capturing the singles titles at the ITF J300 North American Regional Championships at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego.

Top seed Johnson avenged his loss to Marcel Latak in the 2025 Kalamazoo 16s final with a tense and high-quality 6-3, 6-4 victory to claim his second J300 title in as many weeks, while No. 2 seed Hazelitt earned her first ITF J300 title with a dominate 6-1, 6-2 decision over No. 14 seed Avery Alexander of Canada.

The boys final opened the Stadium Court schedule on yet another sunny and warm morning, with both players quickly shaking off any nerves early as they engaged in long and entertaining rallies. 

Johnson earned the only break of the opening set with Latak serving at 2-3, and held at love to close out the 37-minute first set.

The ninth-seeded Latak got his only break of the match in the second game of the second set, but lost it immediately, with his unforced errors more responsible for the love break than anything Johnson came up with. 

After that exchange of breaks, neither player faced a break point in their next two service games, with each coming up with a key winner at either 30-all or deuce. 

With Latak leading 4-3, Johnson double faulted on two separate occasions to give Latak break points, but Latak couldn't take advantage, with Johnson hitting winners on both.

"I honestly couldn't be upset by those," said Latak, a 17-year-old from Illinois, who often trains in San Diego. "He hit a good serve, and on the second one, hit a really good pass."

Johnson understood the impact a break of serve there would have had on the rest of the match.

"If he breaks me, he's serving for the set, so those two points there could have meant a third set," said the 16-year-old from Southern California. "I said after my last match that maybe some lucky stuff was going my way, maybe a little bit in this match as well, but I play well under pressure, and these two points, I'm proud of myself for that."

Once he secured that game, Johnson immediately broke Latak, with a double fault making it 15-40 and Latak hitting a backhand long to give Johnson the opportunity to serve for the match.

Serving to close out a championship is rarely an easy task, and Johnson had a few ghosts to vanquish as well. In the 2025 Kalamazoo 16s final against Latak, Johnson served for the title at both 5-1 and 5-3, but ultimately Latak was the champion, winning the last six games for an improbable 2-6, 7-5, 7-5 win.

Up 5-4, 40-15 today, Johnson watched as Latak come up with two big shots, using aggressive forehands to force Johnson into a defensive mode. His third match point also fell victim to a Latak winner, with Latak anticipating Johnson's trademark backhand-down-the line and picking it off for a forehand winner. 

The advantage then swung to Latak, who had three break points, only to see Johnson turn the tables and hit two winners. The third saw Latak miss a backhand return, and that shot, usually his strength, produced two more errors in succession to give Johnson the title.

"Towards the end, I was a little nervous, of course, because it's the finals, and what happened last time too," Johnson said. "I don't care who you are, you're going to feel a little bit of that on the important points. Going into the match, I didn't really care, it's a completely different match, but there's always the thought at the end. But I definitely got lucky to make it 3 and 4; it could have easily been that one point deciding the set, and I could have lost, who knows?"

 

Latak admits that the dynamic of their second meeting was much different from that Kalamazoo encounter.

"That match was different, because I was down the majority of the match," said Latak, who was playing in his first J300 singles final and won his second J300 doubles title Friday. "So then I had less pressure anyway, so it's easier to just go for it. Here, I felt like it was pretty even, I was never that far down in a set. I feel like I could have played better in moments, but it happens."

Johnson was prepared for that tough last game.

"He never backs off," Johnson said. "He's like a bully on the court. He stands on the baseline and just rips. That's really hard to deal with, for anyone, so I had to find an even balance, not playing too much defense, not playing too much attacking and I think I found that this match. Maybe in Kzoo I was playing too much defense at the end of it, not enough offense, so I think I was able to find the even ground throughout the match."

Last week's Tucson champion, Johnson has won both J300s he's played this year, in addition to claiming his first USTA Pro Circuit men's title at the M15 in Sunrise Florida last month. He will make his M25 debut next week in Las Vegas as a wild card, and expects to play several other ITF Pro Circuit tournaments before heading to Europe for the major events there on clay. 

As for his celebration, Johnson didn't hesitate.

"Go to In-N-Out," Johnson said. "That's a Cali thing, I love it."

While the boys final raised the possibility of three sets, the girls did not, mostly due to Alexander's lengthy quarterfinal and semifinal matches, both of which were well over three hours in duration.  

Alexander managed to hold in the first game of each set, and in her last service game, but the grueling rallies which she excelled in throughout the week didn't materialize.

Part of that was also due to the finishing power of Hazelitt, who was on top of her game. With her serve firing and her groundstrokes landing deep in the court, the drop shots and volleys were even more effective, and Alexander could not summon the energy to stay in the rare rallies that lasted over six strokes.

"It's been a long couple of days," said Alexander, a 16-year-old from Sudbury Ontario. "In warmup, I was feeling ok, but stepping on the court I felt tired, and mentally a little exhausted. But she was playing amazing and there really wasn't much I could have done. I couldn't get many plays on the ball."

Hazelitt was delighted with her performance today, particularly after losing 7-6(3), 6-3 in the final of the J300 in Colombia to unseeded Olivia Traynor in January.

"It feels great," said Hazelitt, who turns 16 next month. "I'm glad to be able to bounce back after I lost the one in Colombia, so I'm really happy about that. That gave me a little experience and helped me control my nerves a little bit."

Hazelitt was a point from losing in her first match in the second round, to doubles partner Emery Combs, when she was down 5-6 in the third-set tiebreaker. But a big first serve saved her, and after surviving that close call, she knew staying positive was the key to continuing her success.

"For me, I always expect the players to play their best, so I'm prepared for it," said Hazelitt, who is coached by Adolph Huddleston at the Las Vegas Country Club. "I need to have a positive mindset, but I try to forget whether I won or lost a point and forget about it. It doesn't matter when it comes to the next point, because if I think about it too much, it'll carry on to the next point and I won't play my best."

Hazelitt has now added a fourth ITF J300 title to the list of those won this year by a Henderson Nevada resident, with Janae Preston taking three straight in Central and South America in January and February.

"We're really good friends, we've known each other for a while," Hazelitt said. "She's a really good player, and it's nice that I have someone else to be on the journey with me."

Hazelitt claimed two titles in San Diego, having won the doubles title with Combs on Friday, and, like Johnson, she had a ready answer for how she would celebrate.

"I'm going to go to Popeye's," Hazelitt said. "That's my go-to cheat meal."

Two juniors who were originally scheduled to compete in the San Diego J300 decided instead to play on the ITF and USTA Pro Circuit, and have posted impressive results.

I apologize for not realizing that Julieta Pareja was competing this week at the W50 in Mexico, but the former ITF Junior No. 1 captured her biggest pro title without dropping a set this week. The 17-year-old from Carlsbad California, seeded No. 7, defeated LSU sophomore Kayla Cross of Canada 6-3, 7-6(5) in the final.

Sixteen-year-old Michael Antonius has reached the final of the Bakersfield California M25, beating fellow wild card Gianluca Brunkow(UC-Santa Barbara) 7-6(2), 6-2. He will face No. 2 seed Andrew Fenty(Michigan) in the Sunday final, after Fenty beat LSU newcomer Olaf Pieczkowski, the No. 4 seed, 6-3, 1-6, 6-4.  Antonius is the first player born in 2010 to reach the final of an ITF men's tournament. 

Wild cards Antonius and Gus Grumet, the 2024 Kalamazoo 16s champion, won the doubles title via a walkover from No. 2 seeds Maximilian Homberg(Pepperdine) of Germany and Christopher Papa(San Diego Christian, Pepperdine) due to an injury to Papa.

Johnson and Latak Meet for J300 San Diego Title in Rematch of Dramatic 2025 Kalamazoo 16s Final; Alexander Ousts Top Seed Lagaev, Faces Hazelitt in Girls Final; Doubles Champions Crowned; Antonius Advances to Bakersfield M25 Semifinals

©Colette Lewis 2026--
San Diego CA--

Top seed Andy Johnson will play for his second straight ITF J300 title Saturday morning at the Barnes Tennis Center, with the ITF J300 Tucson champion repeating his finals victory there over No. 3 seed Ryan Cozad in today's semifinals, this time by a 7-5, 6-3 score. 

Standing in Johnson's way is No. 9 seed Marcel Latak, who came from 5-1 down in the third set in last summer's USTA Kalamazoo 16s final, a match neither of the participants nor any of the tournament's spectators are likely to forget. Latak posted his second three-set win in the past four months today over No. 2 seed Gavin Goode, prevailing in a rollercoaster of a semifinal 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.

Latak, who said he had big leads he often squandered in his earlier wins this week, continued in that mode today, watching a 5-1 lead disappear in the first set. Unable to convert two set points with Goode serving at 3-5, 15-40, Latak quickly dropped his next service game, but broke Goode for 6-5 and converted his third opportunity to serve for the set.

Latak then went up 3-0 in the second set, but proceeded to drop the next six games, with Goode picking up his level and Latak unable to exert any pressure.

"He definitely started playing better, and I feel I kind of let him do that, gave him too much time," said the 17-year-old from Illinois, who regularly trains with Christian Groh here in San Diego. "I also feel I rushed it a little too much, didn't go to my towel after points. Once he won one game he just kept winning points and I wasn't slowing down the game at all. So when the third set came, it was back to square one."

Latak lost his seventh straight game when he was broken to open the third set, but got a break at love in the next game to pull even and broke for a 3-1 lead. He gave that break back, with Goode getting back on serve, but Latak crushed a backhand winner to break Goode again and take a 5-3 lead. Serving for the match Latak fell behind 0-40, but then hit four winners in the next five points--an overhead, a service winner, a backhand winner, closing out the match on a forehand winner, with Goode missing a backhand just wide on the other point Latak won in that streak.

"At love 40 I hit two really good serves in a row, and at 30-40 I told myself I've got to surprise him a little bit," said Latak, who had beaten Goode in the second round of the Orange Bowl in December 3-6, 7-5, 6-1. "He was trying to make a lot more balls toward the end of third set, so I told myself not to go for too much, but go for a little more and just see what happens on his side. Third set, even though I wasn't playing my best, I felt like mentally I played smart enough to get out of that situation."

Latak acknowledges that the revenge factor favors Johnson.

"One thing is for sure, I know from the start he's just going to want it so much," said Latak, who has warmed up with Johnson the past two days. "There's definitely motivation for him to go out and try to do his best. Obviously, he's playing unreal right now, he won the (USTA Pro Circuit M) 15. He's an unbelievable player, the guy's got skills like nobody else. So tomorrow I'll just go out there and fight."

Johnson had his challenges in his second meeting with Cozad in the past seven days, falling behind 5-3 in the first set before winning four straight games. Cozad had a set point serving at 5-4 40-30, with Johnson coming up with a backhand on the run that Cozad couldn't get back in play to save it.

Johnson extended his streak of games to six, taking a 2-0 lead in the second set, but Cozad broke Johnson twice to stay close, only to lose his service game at 3-4, allowing Johnson to serve out the match.

"I started out a little slower and he started with the guns out, of course, he wanted to play better," Johnson said of the contrast in their Tucson final, which Johnson won 6-2, 6-2. "And he definitely did. I'd say these courts suit his game a little bit better as well, they are a lot slower than last week, so he had a little bit more time to work with."

Despite going deep in back-to-back weeks, Johnson said he is holding up well physically.

"Maybe a little bit of soreness, but I'm sure all of these players have soreness as well," said the 16-year-old from Rancho Palos Verdes California. "I'm feeling pretty good, nothing to complain about."

As for the upcoming rematch of the Kalamazoo final, Johnson isn't dwelling on it.

"It's been how long, seven months?" Johnson said. "These tournaments are just titles, every match is going to be different. Obviously, I'm going to do a few things differently than I did before. But it's kind of hard to say, because we've both grown a lot, gotten a lot better. So I'll just go out and try to figure it out, and if I can, I can, if I don't, I don't."

The girls semifinals both went to three sets, but those deciding sets could not have been more different.

No. 2 seed Jordyn Hazelitt defeated unseeded Allison Wang 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-0, while No. 14 seed Avery Alexander again survived a three-hour marathon, defeating top seed and fellow Canadian Nadia Lagaev 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(2). 

Alexander, who had been on the court more than three hours in her 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-3 quarterfinal win over No. 11 seed Isabelle DeLuccia Thursday, needed six set points before finally closing out the 73-minute first set. The next set was drastically shorter, with Lagaev winning it in 25 minutes.

"I knew it was going to be a fight from the first game," said the 16-year-old, who broke Lagaev in that 16-minute game. "I knew I had to prepare to stay in every single point, just fight, because she's a really good player and she's not going to just give it up, go easy on you."

The second set slipped away quickly, with Alexander giving Lagaev much of the credit for the drop in her level.

"I was focused on the wrong things," said Alexander, who has recently begun training and traveling with Tennis Canada coaches. "I was making way too many mistakes on my backhand and she was being way more consistent than me, making a lot more first serves."

The third set returned to the level of the first, with both players committing to long rallies despite the physical toll they were taking. After Alexander won a deuce game to take a 6-5 lead, she had two set points, but netted a backhand early in a rally on the first. On Alexander's second match point, Lagaev came up with a forehand pass to save it and hit another forehand winner to get to game point, which she converted when Alexander hit her forehand wide.

"I definitely didn't do what I was supposed to do on those match points," Alexander said. "I got really tight, nervous, I couldn't go for it, I was just trying to make the ball in, which is the wrong thing to do. So I was pretty upset with myself that I let those two go, but I just said, move on, there's a tiebreaker coming up and you need to focus on that, not what's in the past right now."

Alexander took an early lead in that tiebreaker and didn't look back, going up 5-1 with perfect execution despite the three-hour and 15-minutes of play prior to that point. Making all six of her first serves, Alexander did not give Lagaev any openings, while continuing to stay aggressive.

"She's not going to miss, and that's the only way you're going to win, going for your shots," said Alexander, who will be playing in her first ITF J300 final Saturday. "And making your first serve definitely gives you an advantage, being on the offensive side of the point, and that's really what you need, especially against a player like her, who is really consistent and won't just miss."

Hazelitt's win over Wang featured less lengthy rallies, but the first set was similar to the Lagaev-Alexander semifinal, with Wang needing five set points to take the 65-minute set. 

Wang was serving at 4-3 in the second set, but couldn't convert either of her game points in the four-deuce game and Hazelitt went on to take the tiebreaker.

"It gave me a boost of confidence and energy," Hazelitt said of coming through to win that game. "I just tried then to get a little more determined, to get more focused, have more energy."

Hazelitt was not thrilled with her level in the first two sets, but she saw a obvious improvement in her play in the third.

"I definitely think my shots started to get better in the third set," said the 15-year-old from Henderson Nevada. "In the first and second sets I was just making too many errors. I think I was just minimizing my errors in the third, which made for a big impact. I think she did miss a few more than she did in the previous sets, but I was just trying to be more consistent."

Hazelitt lost in the final of the J300 in Colombia at the end of January, her first appearance in a J300 final, which may be useful in approaching Saturday's match.

"I think it can help me with the experience, that I've been there before," said Hazelitt, who turns 16 next month. "Colombia was my first final at a J300, and I was more excited than nervous I would say, but it just didn't work out in that one, so I hope it goes my way this time."

Both Latak and Hazelitt already have captured titles at the North American Regional Championships this week, with Latak and partner Tanishk Konduri and Hazelitt and Emery Combs winning the doubles competition this afternoon and evening.

Latak and Konduri, the No. 2 seeds, ended the winning streak of Tucson champions and No. 1 seeds Ryan Cozad and Gavin Goode 7-5, 6-3, coming back from 4-0 down in the first set.

"I think at 4-love down, Tanishk said, just bring some energy," Latak said. "That was the one thing we were missing and after we got that, it was so much better. We were moving better on the court, playing better, going for our shots more."

"We were kind of rushing through points, not thinking about what we were doing, just going through the motions," Konduri said. "Those guys are so good at putting points away, quickly hold and make a lot of returns, so if you just rush through games and give them that rhythm, you're going to be in a very precarious situation."

Konduri and Latak, who reached the Orange Bowl J500 final in December, broke Cozad for a 3-1 lead in the second set, then held that lead on a deciding point in the next game. When the time came for serving out the championship, Konduri stepped up, overcoming a double fault early in the game to close it on their first match point.

"He's a clutch server," Latak said. "I pride myself in serving well under pressure," Konduri said. "I wasn't really under too much pressure in that last service game, it was more just focusing on making serves. It was more within me than external."

Hazelitt and partner Emery Combs, seeded No. 5, defeated No. 7 seeds Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann and Karlin Schock 6-4, 1-6, 10-4.

After going down a break to open the match, Combs and Hazelitt trailed 4-2, but began to increase the pressure with easy holds on their own serves and two straight breaks to take final four games of the set.

"We definitely had to adjust our game plan," said Combs, who won the Tucson doubles title last Saturday with Olivia Traynor. "I think we were being a little too passive. And we were missing too many returns to start off, so it really helped when we started having a higher return percentage."

But that momentum quickly disappeared, with Drenser-Hagmann and Schock taking a 4-0 lead and closing out a 25-minute second set in dominant fashion.

"I think maybe our energy dropped a little bit in the second set, but then again, they were also playing very well in that set," Hazelitt said. "But yeah, it was a struggle in that set for sure."

"Our plan for the tiebreak was just to gain rhythm, be aggressive and have lots of energy," said Combs, who made all four of her first serves in the match tiebreaker. "I think I was overthinking in the second set, in the tiebreaker I just focused more on faster arm speed, more shoulder, keeping it simple."

With an ace to make it 8-3, Combs then handed the baton to Hazelitt at 9-4, and a good first serve, or at least one that the chair umpire didn't see as long, delivered the championship, in their first tournament as a team.

The boys final is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday, followed by the girls final not before noon. Live streaming is available here.

At the USTA Pro Circuit M25 in Bakersfield California, 16-year-old wild card Michael Antonius is through to the semifinals of singles and the finals of doubles.

Playing in his first M25-level event this week, Antonius reached his first pro circuit semifinal with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Aleksa Ciric(Georgia Gwinnett) of Serbia. Antonius will play fellow wild card Gianluca Brunkow(UC-Santa Barbara), who beat qualifier Daniel Kakhniuk(New Mexico) 6-4, 6-1. Brunkow had defeated top seed Daniel Milavsky(Harvard) in the second round.

In doubles, Antonius is playing with Gus Grumet, the 2024 Kalamazoo 16s champion, and they have reached the final Saturday. The wild cards will play No. 2 seeds Maximilian Homberg(Pepperdine) of Germany and Christopher Papa(San Diego Christian, Pepperdine) for the title.