The second ITF J500 of the year, just three weeks after the first one in Brazil, is scheduled for next week in Cairo Egypt. Four Americans have made the trip, with two of them also in Cairo for this week's J300. Both Carel Ngounoue and Tucson ITF J300 champion Camille Allegre, a qualifier, lost in the second round this week, although Ngounoue is through to the doubles final with partner Alejandro Mateo Berge Nourescu of Romania.
Allegre is currently only two spots out of the main draw of the J500, which is a 48-draw, not a 32-draw like the J300, and will probably move into the main draw. The other US girl in the acceptances is Ireland O'Brien; the other US boys in the acceptances is Zavier Augustin.
The two ITF Top 20 boys in the acceptances are Nikita Belozertsev of Uzbekistan, 14, and ITF J300 Bradenton finalist Dimitar Kisimov of Bulgaria, 19. There are no Top 20 girls, with Germans Sonja Zhenikhova, 22, and Ida Wobker, 32, with the highest rankings.
SMU women's tennis student-athlete Gina Feistel has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, contending that the rule denying eligibility to players competing in organized competition after the age of 20 unlawfully restrains that labor market. The 23-year-old, who has not competed for SMU but is on the roster this season as a senior, is seeking a temporary restraining order. Feistel, who was born in Germany, but represents Poland on the ITF Circuit, has been playing ITF women's tournaments all semester and won a W15 title last month in Mexico.
The latest ITA Division III team rankings came out yesterday, with both the men's and women's teams at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps retaining the No. 1 spots, which they assumed after winning the Team Indoor Championships. The men suffered their first loss of the season 4-3 to No. 2 Tufts on March 21 at the Stag-Hen Invitational in Claremont, but kept the No. 1 ranking. The women's only loss was their first match of the year, to Division I UC-Riverside.
I've been experiencing technical problems with the email signup form in the past few days, and for two days, in the email itself being distributed. It appears the distribution is back on schedule, but I'm still trying to work through several issues with securing the form from spam bots. If you have not received emails the past few days, please sign up again. The form no longer fits the site properly on all browsers, but I believe it is fully functional.
My article on the Easter Bowl championships for the 12s and 14s divisions is up today on the Tennis Recruiting Network. Congratulations to Chloe Anthony, Dimitriy Flyam, Nadia Poznick and Michael Chervenkov for capturing their titles in the record heat that accompanied the event throughout its six days in the Coachella Valley.
My article on the Easter Bowl 16s and 18s divisions will be posted on Friday, and I'll be working on processing the videos from the two ITF J300s and the Easter Bowl finals the rest of this month.
At the USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Jackson Mississippi, 15-year-old qualifier Janae Preston has advanced to the second round after top seed Diletta Cherubini of Italy retired at 1-6, 7-5, 3-0. Preston, who also qualified for a W35 in January and won a round before claiming three consecutive ITF J300 titles, will face former Pepperdine All-American Savannah Broadus in the second round Thursday.
Other Americans to advance to the second round so far are Carson Tanguilig(North Carolina), Kylie Collins(Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State), North Carolina recruit Alexis Nguyen, wild card Emma Jackson(Duke), qualifier Mary Lewis(Arizona, MSU) and Ava Markham(Wisconsin).
The new ITA Division II rankings are out today, with West Florida holding on to the top spot in the men's rankings after taking over for Barry on March 18th. Click on the headings to go to the full lists.
Division II Top 10 Men's rankings: April 1, 2026
Team: 1. West Florida 2. Barry 3. Flagler 4. Saint Leo 5. Columbus State 6. UT-Tyler 7. Embry-Riddle 8. Rollins 9. Lee 10. Washburn
The Barry women, who are undefeated, moved to No. 1 on March 18, displacing West Florida, and they have continued to occupy that position for the past two weeks.
After three weeks with very little time to follow college results, it's time to catch up, with the latest ITA Division I team and singles and doubles rankings coming out today.
The Georgia women have been No. 1 all season and despite their fourth loss Sunday, 4-1 to Oklahoma in Norman, the Bulldogs stay in the top spot. Virginia's wins over Duke and North Carolina last weekend boosted their ranking into the Top 10, with LSU falling out of the Top 10 with their losses to Texas and Texas A&M. Click on the heading to view the entire list of 75 ranked teams.
Top Ten of Women's Division I Team Rankings, March 31, 2026 (Last week's ranking in parentheses) 1. Georgia (1) 2. Texas A&M (3) 3. Ohio State (4) 4. Auburn (2) 5. North Carolina (5) 6. Texas (7) 7. Pepperdine (6) 8. Oklahoma (8) 9. Virginia (13) 10. NC State (9)
Either Reese Brantmeier of North Carolina and Carmen Herea of Texas have occupied the top spot in singles all season, but there's a new No. 1 this week: undefeated Lucciana Perez of Texas A&M. Perez, the 2023 Roland Garros girls finalist, has lost one set in her 19 dual match wins, to Vanderbilt's Bridget Stammel, and has reached No. 1 without playing the fall season. Learning to excel on hard courts is a major selling point for US college tennis for European and South American players, and the 20-year-old junior from Peru has certainly demonstrated her progress on the surface after playing mostly at line 4 her freshman year.
Women's Doubles Top 10: 1. Roisin Gilheany and Gloriana Nahum, Oklahoma 2. Gabriella Broadfoot and Victoria Osuigwe, NC State 3. Reese Brantmeier and Alanis Hamilton, North Carolina 4. Ange Oby Kajuru and Susanna Maltby, North Carolina 5. Sophia Webster and Celia-Belle Mohr, Vanderbilt
Wake Forest, Virginia and Ohio State have all been No. 1 this season, with Ohio State returning to the top spot this week, after Wake and Virginia had held it the previous two weeks. Texas, which has six losses, is .01 of a point behind the Buckeyes, so the top position is likely to change hands again as the regular season begins to wind down.
NCAA finalist Trevor Svajda of SMU briefly lost the No. 1 ranking to Dylan Dietrich of Virginia, the only player to beat him in a dual match, but he returned to the top spot two weeks ago and remains there this week.
After two weeks with only men's events on the USTA Pro Circuit, the women have this week to themselves, at the W35 in Jackson Mississippi.
Qualifying concluded today, and among the five American qualifiers is 15-year-old Janae Preston. Preston, who did not compete in the J500 Banana Bowl two weeks ago due to her visa not being approved in time, will face top seed Diletta Cherubini of Italy in the opening round Wednesday. The other Americans to qualify are Kolie Allen(Ohio State), Mary Lewis(Arizona, Michigan State), Brandy Walker(Northern Arizona) and Jenna Dean.
Wild cards were given to 17-year-old Mississippi resident Briley Rhoden and former Duke standout Emma Jackson. Victoria Hu(Princeton) is the No. 2 seed.
While their are no men's USTA Pro Circuit events, there is an ATP tournament, the 250 on clay in Houston. The top five seeds and seven of the eight are Americans: Ben Shelton(Florida)[1], Frances Tiafoe[2], Learner Tien(USC)[3] and Tommy Paul[4], Brandon Nakashima(Virginia)[5], Alex Michelsen[7] and Jenson Brooksby[8]. Nakashima beat Martin Damm in the first round today 7-6(0), 6-2, while defending champion Brooksby lost 6-4, 6-2 to Mackenzie McDonald(UCLA) in the first round. The top four seeds have byes.
After three weeks on the road covering junior tennis, I'm back home and in need of some rest, so this post will be brief. But first I want to thank those of you who approached me at last week's Easter Bowl to tell me that you read Zootennis every day and value the content. Those comments always give me a boost when my energy level might be dropping, and I appreciate hearing that what I'm doing has value to the junior tennis community.
The USTA announced its Grassroots Tennis Award winners at the recent annual meeting in Orlando, with a release coming out today. Although I don't most of them personally, I do know Ray Benton, the recently retired Junior Tennis Champions Center CEO, and am happy to see him recognized for his role in promoting tennis for everyone.
And congratulations to one of my longtime sponsors, Sportime Randall’s Island/John McEnroe Tennis Academy, for being named Member Organization of the Year.
USTA NAMES RECIPIENTS OF GRASSROOTS TENNIS AWARDS
ORLANDO, Fla., March 30, 2026– The USTA today announced its annual national awards recipients, honored for their dedication and contributions to growing the sport of tennis both locally and nationwide. The awards were bestowed at the USTA Annual Meeting & Conference in Orlando, Fla.
The award winners are listed below:
Adaptive Tennis Award -- HERO New York (New York City)
The Adaptive Tennis Award recognizes a program or program leader who has demonstrated continued excellence, dedication, and service in tennis for an adaptive tennis community.
Barbara Williams Service Award -- Laura Canfield (Feasterville, Pa.)
Established in 2003, this award recognizes a female volunteer who, through her leadership and by her example, has encouraged and inspired others to become volunteers and assume leadership roles at the community, section, and/or national levels of the USTA.
Brad Parks Award -- Jim Tierney (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.)
The Brad Parks Award was established in 2002. It recognizes outstanding contributions to the game of wheelchair tennis and was named after Brad Parks, the sport’s chief pioneer and the first wheelchair tournament champion, who has been instrumental in the development of wheelchair tennis around the world.
Eve Kraft Community Service Award -- Jennifer Edmonson (Baton Rouge, La.)
The Eve Kraft Outstanding Service Award honors volunteer tennis leaders for significant contributions made to tennis development in their respective communities.
Family of the Year -- The Meyer Family (Rockport, Maine)
The award is awarded annually to the family who, in recent years, has done the most to promote amateur tennis, primarily on a volunteer basis. All members of the family should participate in some way, either as players or by offering their services in running programs or tournaments, or in junior development activities.
Janet Louer JTT Organizer of the Year -- Shane Cashen (Kaneohe, Hawaii)
The Janet Louer Junior Team Tennis Organizer of the Year Award is presented to an individual who delivers USTA Junior Team Tennis to their community and embodies the true meaning of having a positive impact on children. The award is named after Janet Louer, who was instrumental in the development of junior tennis during her lifetime.
League Organizer Award -- Kathy Hinrichs (Destrehan, La.)
The award, established in 2015, recognizes and honors the many volunteers who have provided leadership and have made significant contributions to the growth and enhancement of USTA Leagues, both in their section and nationally.
Member Organization of the Year -- SPORTIME Randall’s Island/John McEnroe Tennis Academy (New York City)
This award was instituted in 1981 and is given to the organization that best exemplifies service to the community, service to its members through junior and adult programs and service to the game of tennis.
NJTL Founders’ Service Award -- Ray Benton (College Park, Md.)
Established in 2010, the NJTL Founders’ Service Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to positive youth development through tennis and education, delivers outstanding service to young people from under-resourced communities with free or low-cost tennis, and provides education and life-skills programming. The NJTL network serves as the flagship program supported by the USTA Foundation.
NJTL of the Year Award -- Portland Tennis & Education (Portland, Ore.)
The NJTL of the Year Award is given to chapters that positively impact young people from under-resourced communities through the powerful combination of tennis, education and mentorship. Founded in 1969 by Arthur Ashe, Charlie Pasarell, and Sheridan Snyder, the NJTL network is a nationwide group of more than 270 community organizations. Supported by the USTA Foundation through financial grants, scholarship opportunities, curricula, technical assistance, and training, the NJTL network provides free or low-cost tennis and education programming to more than 230,000 young people nationwide.
Some of the lower level ITF Junior Circuit results from the past several weeks may have escaped my notice, but I wanted to recognize Shristi Selvan for sweeping the titles at the J60 in Puerto Rico the week of the Tucson ITF J300 I was covering. Seeded No. 5 in the new round robin/knockout format, Selvan defeated unseeded Bela Martinez Rivero of Puerto Rico 6-3, 6-4 in the final. It was the first ITF singles title for the 16-year-old from Maryland, who just completed her sweep of the Easter Bowl 16s titles yesterday in Indian Wells. The top seed in doubles with Carolina Castro of Puerto Rico, who won the silver ball in girls 18s doubles yesterday at the Easter, Selvan and Castro beat No. 3 seeds Audrey Dussault and Puerto Rico's Aurora Lugo 6-2, 6-2 in the final.
Londyn McCord, who has stuck to the South American clay this winter and spring, won her fourth ITF Junior Circuit singles title, all coming this year, at the J100 last week in Argentina. Seeded No. 4, the 16-year-old from Atlanta defeated Clara Coura of Brazil 6-3, 6-0 for the title, giving her two J30s, a J60 and a J100 title all on South American red clay. She also partnered with Scarlett Fagan for the doubles title, with the No. 2 seeds beating unseeded Zoe Doldan of Paraguay and Luciana Luna of Peru 6-4, 6-4 in the final. McCord is now up to 156 in the ITF Junior rankings.
Today at the WTA 500 in Charleston South Carolina, 19-year-old Akasha Urhobo recorded her first WTA Top 100 win in her first main draw WTA match, beating No. 65 Solana Sierra of Argentina 7-5, 3-0 retired. Urhobo, who qualified with wins over Whitney Osuigwe and Louisa Chirico, will play No. 13 seed Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic next.
Former Texas A&M All-American Mary Stoiana also qualified for the main draw of a WTA event for the first time by beating collegiate rival Dasha Vidmanova(Georgia) in the final round 6-2, 7-6(2).
The desert heat continued Sunday for the 16s and 18s singles and doubles finals at the USTA Easter Bowl Level 1, with wild cards Rishvanth Krishna and Anay Kulkarni claiming the boys singles championships as the temperature again rose to the upper 90s in the Coachella Valley. Top seed Ellery Mendell broke through for her first gold ball in the 18s, while No. 4 seed Shristi Selvan added two Easter Bowl titles after winning her first Level 1 at the Winter Nationals in January.
Selvan defeated good friend and top seed Sylvana Jalbert 6-1, 7-5, overcoming her nerves more quickly at the start of the match before Jalbert found her footing in the second set.
"She's one of my best friends and I can tell when she's nervous," said the 15-year-old from Laurel Maryland, who is coached by Paula Coyos and Oliver Akli at the Junior Tennis Champions Center. "I knew she was putting more pressure on herself, No. 1 in the country, all these sponsorships--which she deserves, she's a great player; because I knew she would put so much pressure on herself, I just laid back. Just wanted to have fun, see how this went. It was just a matter of who could stay more relaxed."
After a quick exchange of breaks early in the second set, Jalbert won a nine-deuce game serving at 4-all. Despite dropping that game after having two break points, Selvan wasn't discouraged, and she held at love for 5-all.
"I was a bit disappointed because I saved so many of those ad-ins, and wasn't able to convert it," Selvan said. "But I was winning all my service games and there's no way she's not tightening up."
After that heroic game at 4-all, Jalbert played its opposite, dropping serve at love to give Selvan the opportunity to serve for the match. She made every first serve and closed it out at love, a finish she was especially proud of.
"It was a really good service game, maybe one of my best in such a clutch moment," Selvan said. "I'm happy for coach Paula and coach Oliver who had been working on my serve continuously, telling me it was going to work out, and I'm so happy it did."
Jalbert credited Selvan's variety as a major factor in her loss.
"She took a lot of time away from me, took away my offense," said the 15-year-old from Mt. Airy Maryland. "She was really crafty, sliced and came forward, a lot of different stuff, and I had a hard time finding my rhythm. I just felt I got outplayed and overall, didn't play my best."
Wild card Anay Kulkarni was not surprised by his 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 3 seed Piotr Gradzki in the first level 1 final for both of them.
"I always try and go into a tournament thinking I'm going to win it," said the 16-year-old from Gilbert Arizona, who is coached by Casey Was. "I like to be able to have that confidence, especially because I applied late and missed the regular sign-in deadline, I thought it makes me even more dangerous to play a seed the first round."
After Gradzki used his big forehand to dictate most of the points in the first set, Kulkarni didn't change much, instead vowing to continue to keep the pressure on Gradzki.
"Honestly, I think it was all mental, taking care of my serve a little more, keeping my energy up, staying positive, not thinking about the end result," Kulkarni said.
Thinking about the end result may have derailed Gradzki, who admitted the prospect of his first USTA ball entered his mind after taking the opening set.
"There was some pressure, especially when I won the first set," said Gradzki, who has now played all USTA Level 1s for the first time in the past nine months. "I was thinking about getting the gold ball already, thinking too much ahead, not in the moment, and it just runs away."
Gradzki also credited Kulkarni with taking advantage of his mental lapse and physical fatigue by staying consistent.
"I think my energy level kind of dropped and I was getting balls in the service box and I wasn't using my chances as much as in the first set," said the 15-year-old from Woodbridge New York, who trains with Ion Efrim at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy. "When I dropped it short, he would rip it and make me keep moving, and I didn't know exactly what to do and sometimes I would go for too much."
Kulkarni is looking forward to playing the clay portion of the season this summer in the United States, and, of course, Kalamazoo.
"I promise I won't forget to enter that one," Kulkarni said.
Kalamazoo was the breakout tournament for the other wild card champion, with Rishvanth Krishna reaching the semifinals unseeded in the 16s there back in 2024. Today he won his first gold ball in a battle of unseeded Southern Californians, beating Peter Jorniak 6-4, 6-2.
Krishna needed a wild card because he had been playing mostly UTR Pro Tennis Tour events, although the 17-year-old did claim the 18s title at the Southern Californina sectional championships last summer. Today, he was nearly flawless, not dropping serve at all and taking advantage of any small mistake by Jorniak, including two errors when Jorniak was serving at 4-5 30-30 in the first set.
In the second set, a double fault by Jorniak gave Krishna a 4-2 lead and the way Krishna was serving made that a deep hole to climb out of.
"My serve helped a lot today, and I was finding my forehand," said the Irvine resident, who also credited his ability to punish Jorniak's second serve. "I like to pounce on second serves a lot."
Krishna does not have a coach, relying primarily on the strong competition in Southern California to keep his game sharp. But his older brother Rithvik, who played at UC-Irvine, has served as his tennis mentor throughout his junior years.
In the final game, Jorniak was down 0-40, but Krishna couldn't close it out on any of those three match points, making a rare unforced error and missing an overhead. But he managed take avoid any drama with a return winner to claim his first gold ball.
"I got a little bit tight and nervous, but I closed it out pretty well, playing a good three points to end it," said Krishna, who has committed to Rice for 2027.
Jorniak gave credit to Krishna for finding a good serve when he needed it, especially when down break points.
"I had a couple of chances in the second set, 40-15 in two games, I just couldn't capitalize on those," said the 17-year-old from Arcadia. "It wasn't like it was a big serve, but well-placed. But I'll look back on this week as a very big accomplishment for myself, a good showing that hard work pays off."
Krishna will celebrate his first gold ball with a cool treat that wouldn't last a minute in the desert sun: chocolate ice cream.
The girls 18s final did not play out as top seed Ellery Mendell had envisioned, and she wasn't quite sure how the second set of the 6-2, 6-4 win over unseeded Yilin Chen evolved into long exchanges that featured many a moonball, including one of hers that landed on the baseline and bounced over the fence behind the Stadium Court, giving Chen no chance to get a racquet on it.
"I played how I wanted more in the first set," said the 17-year-old from Watkinsville Georgia, who coached by Marianna Taylor. "I'm happy with how I fought, but I'm not necessarily happy with how we were playing in the second set. It was pretty defensive, I compared it to 12s, just because I think we should be past that. We were reverting to our younger selves with some moonballs. I think other than that last set, I had a great tournament, and I'm happy with how I competed and the level of play I brought."
Chen, who had not lost a set until today, found herself taken out of her aggressive baseline style that had seen her defeat four seeds, including No. 2 and No. 3.
"She did a good job of stretching the rally," said the 16-year-old from San Diego. "It wasn't really comfortable for me, and you could tell she liked that style of play a bit more than I did. I don't think I adjusted that well to the conditions today. I think I could have been a lot more confident and assertive in my shots, but she did a good job of disrupting me."
For Mendell, who has committed to Ohio State for 2027, getting out of her Level 1 rut was a big takeaway from this week.
"I've been in five 3/4 playoffs," said Mendell, who played that match at the 16s Easter Bowl in 2024. "So I was really wanting to get to the final of this one. It's so awesome, and I'm really proud of myself and to have my name with all those players (who have won it), it's really cool."
The doubles finals played into the evening, with Selvan the only player to reach both finals at this year's Easter Bowl.
Selvan and partner Ellery June Martin, the No. 5 seeds, won the title, beating Nicole Daveletshina and Alexandra Grilliot 6-2, 6-3 in the girls 16s final.
The boys 16s doubles title went to the unseeded team of Gadin Arun and Arjun Krishnan, who beat No. 7 seeds Carson Kuchar and Karthik Thuma 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Marcel Latak, the 2025 Easter Bowl 16s champion, withdrew from singles after reaching the final of the San Diego J300, but decided to stay in the tournament in 18s doubles with Joseph Nau. Last fall, the pair arranged to play their first tournament as a team at the Easter Bowl, and this evening they emerged as the champions, beating unseeded Liam Alvarez and Matteo Huarte 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-3.
Latak and Nau, the No. 2 seeds, were up a break and had three set points in the first set, but Latak said they weren't discouraged when they failed to convert any of those.
"After the first set, we thought we're going to have as many chances if we just keep playing the way we're playing, if not better," said the 17-year-old from Illinois. "There's nothing really to be upset about, losing a set like that."
Up 5-2 in the third set, Nau and Latak weren't concerned that the break would slip away again, and Latak held at love at 5-3 to win his second Easter Bowl gold ball.
Nau had good reason to expect a title given his success in collecting balls in the past.
"I have four gold, five silver and one bronze," said the 17-year-old from California. "Nine of them are in doubles."
The girls 18s champions are unseeded Chloe Zigliara and Sadira Ouyang, who came back from 3-1 down in the second set to beat unseeded Caroline Castro and Raina Kim 7-6(1), 6-4.
Zigliara and Ouyang played together at an ITF J100 last fall and continued to have success playing other top teams in Georgia, where they train.
"The past two weeks we've been training with each other and playing some practice doubles," said Zigliara, 17. "We scheduled match play in Georgia with other people," said Ouyang, who was competing in her first Easter Bowl. "And we did good in those," Zigliara said. "But coming out here and getting to play people who were going to be at the tournament gave us more confidence."
The nerves struck at the end of the match when Ouyang was up 40-15, then double faulted and made a backhand error to produce a deciding point/match point. When Kim missed the return, Ouyang had gotten her wish.
"I was so glad I had three match points," Ouyang said. "Get a serve in once, and hopefully they miss it."
Although they have bronze and silver balls between them, a gold ball is a first for both.
"Finally, we got a gold," said Zigliara.
B16s Singles Finals Results: Championship: Anay Kulkarni d. Piotr Gradski[3] 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 3/4 Place: Eli Kaminski[1] d. Ivan Rybak[6] 6-4, 6-3 5/6 Place: Mikaeel Alibaig d. Alexander Totoian 6-3, ret inj.
G16s Singles Finals Results: Championship: Shristi Selvan[4] d. Sylvana Jalbert[1] 6-1, 7-5 3/4 Place: Caroline Coan d. Tanvi Pandey 6-4, 1-0 Ret inj 5/6 Place: Avita Beitler[3] d. Natalie Frisbie[9] 6-1, 3-6, 10-8
G16s Doubles Finals Results: Championship: Emery June Martin & Shristi Selvan d. Nicole Davletshina & Alexandra Grilliot 6-2, 6-3 3/4 Place: Adelyn Gross & Kingsley Wolf [2] d. Genevieve Hayden & Caroline Coan 7-5, 6-2
B18s Singles Finals Results:
Championship: Rishvanth Krishna d. Peter Jorniak 6-4, 6-2 3/4 Place: David Wu[9] d. Alexander Suhanitski[1] w/o inj 5/6 Place: William Freshwater[4] d. Yashwin Krishnakumar[5] 7-6(6), 7-6(5)
B18s Doubles Finals Results: Championship: Joseph Nau & Marcel Latak[2] d. Liam Alvarez & Matteo Huarte 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-3 3/4 Place: Justin Riley Anson & Andre Alcantara d. Zen Uehling & Connor Plunkett[7] 4-6, 6-3, 6-2
G18s Singles Finals Results: Championship: Ellery Mendell[1] d. Yilin Chen 6-2, 6-4 3/4 Place: Alyson Shannon[3] d. Isabelle DeLuccia 6-2, 6-4 5/6 Place: Calla McGill[2] d. Aarini Bhattacharya 6-4, 7-6(12)
G18s Doubles Finals Results: Championship: Chloe Zigliara & Sadira Ouyang d. Carolina Castro & Raina Kim 7-6(1), 6-4 3/4 Place: Elena Zhao & Kylie Liu d. Kalista Papadopoulos & Abigail Haile 6-4, 6-3
Southern Californians have always had success at the USTA Level 1 Easter Bowl, with winners this decade including Alex Michelsen, Iva Jovic, Andy Johnson and Tianmei Wang. Another champion from the SoCal section is guaranteed Sunday, with unseeded Peter Jorniak and Rishvanth Krishna meeting for the Boys 18s title after straight-sets wins today at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.
Jorniak defeated top seed Alexander Suhanitski of New York, 6-2, 6-3 on Stadium Court Saturday morning, using the scouting he had done yesterday to formulate a game plan.
"I noticed his forehand was a little slower than his backhand," said the 17-year-old from Arcadia California, who trains with Chuck Brymer and his son Gage, the 2013 Easter Bowl 18s champion. "So I was just targeting that. I didn't hit a single second serve to his backhand, because it was a little more solid than his forehand, and I think that gave me a little edge."
Jorniak, who describes himself as a late bloomer, won a USTA Level 3 tournament last week in Camarillo, but was not expecting that USTA winning streak to stretch to 10.
"Honestly, going into this unseeded, I didn't really think I had anything, I was just going to play my best," said Jorniak, who beat No. 5 seed Yashwin Krishnakumar in the second round in a match tiebreaker and won another match tiebreaker in the third round to boost his confidence. "Then I started winning a couple, and then it was, ok, shoot, I can do something here. But I think my level started to rise back in November, when I won a Level 3 in Louisiana."
Jorniak's opponent in Sunday's final, the second consecutive B18s Easter Bowl final between unseeded players, is wild card Rishvanth Krishna of Irvine California, who avenged his 2025 Easter Bowl third round loss to David Wu, a No. 9 seed, with a 7-6(5), 6-1 victory.
"I lost to him in the round of 16 and it was a three-setter," said Krishna, who credits his older brother Rithvik, who played at UC-Irvine, for inspiring him to improve. "My serve has gotten a lot better, so I've gotten a lot more free points this year. Last year, it was a lot of long rallies, I got tired in the third set, but this year my serve bailed me out a lot."
Krishna said he's been playing well all week, but considers himself fortunate to have escaped his quarterfinal encounter with unseeded Justin Anson 4-6, 6-3, 10-8.
"I had a tight 10-pointer, 10-8 in the third, so it could have gone either way," Krishna said. "But I'm happy to get through that, and other than that, I've been playing pretty solid, all in straight sets."
Both Jorniak and Krishna will receive their first USTA ball tomorrow.
The third unseeded Southern Californian to advance to the 18s championship match is a repeat Easter Bowl finalist, 16-year-old Yilin Chen of Poway. Unlike the boys finalists, Chen hasn't had to play a match tiebreaker, dropping just 15 games in five matches.
Despite beating four seeds, including No. 3 seed Alyson Shannon by a score of 6-1, 6-1 today, Chen said she got lucky with the draw.
"I feel like I've been working really hard and I got lucky with the draw," said Chen, who reached the Easter Bowl 12s final in 2022. "It allowed me to play my game a little bit more, which was nice."
Chen said she has been working on being aggressive and making more first serves.
"I feel it's important to raise your first serve percentage and do some damage with your first serve," said Chen, who works with Josh Milton and David Rice at LaValle Club in Rancho Santa Fe. "It's been working for me also to take a lot of time away from my opponents, rush them a bit when I get the chance. I used to play really defensive, so when I add a bit of offense to my game it helps."
Chen has not played top seed Ellery Mendell, who defeated unseeded Isabelle DeLuccia 7-6(4), 6-2.
Mendell got through a long and competitive first set before taking control at 2-all in the second.
"I was down 3-4 (in the tiebreak), and I was really trying to dictate the points, not playing passive," said the 16-year-old from Watkinsville Georgia, who will play for Ohio State in 2027. "I wanted to go for it, be brave at the end of the set, finish on a good note, and it worked well for me."
The 18s singles finals are scheduled for 10:30 a.m., after the completion of the 16s singles finals, which begin at 8 a.m.
The girls 16s final is an all-Maryland battle, with top seed Sylvana Jalbert facing No. 4 seed Shristi Selvan.
Jalbert had the much less dramatic semifinal, with the 15-year-old from Mt. Airy posting her fifth consecutive straight-sets win in defeating unseeded Caroline Coan of Elmhurst Illinois 6-3, 6-3.
Selvan was down a set and 4-3, with wild card Tanvi Pandey serving in the second, before reeling off the next three games. The 10-minute break between sets didn't halt her momentum, and she reached her second straight USTA Level 1 final with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory.
For Selvan, who saved match points in her run to the 16s title at the Winter Nationals, took confidence from that escape in this one.
"It definitely helped," said the 15-year-old from Laurel Maryland, who trains at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park. "Winter Nationals, quarterfinals, I was down like ten match points. I think that helped me, knowing that it wasn't over yet and I could get myself back up. I've done it before, why can't I do it again? At 3-4, I was just like, I'm going to stop (going for it), I'm just going to grind the point, every point I can get."
Selvan is looking forward to the final against Jalbert.
"Sylvana is such a good friend to me, we've been friends since we were 12," said Selvan, whose most recent loss to Jalbert was in the quarterfinals of the 16s Clay Courts 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 last July. "We've played many times before, so I'm excited. Hopefully I can get my payback. I love her so much and I hope we can have a lot of fun tomorrow."
The boys 16s final will feature two players in their first L1 final: wild card Anay Kulkarni, who defeated No. 6 seed Ivan Rybak of Palm Coast Florida 7-5, 6-4, and No. 3 seed Piotr Gradzki, who took out top seed Eli Kaminski 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Kulkarni, who has won three ITF Junior Circuit singles titles, said he appreciated the opportunity to play the Easter Bowl.
"I didn't get in off (USTA) ranking, so I applied for a wild card, said the 16-year-old from Gilbert Arizona. "And luckily I was able to get in to this amazing tournament. I'm just grateful for the people who got me in."
Kulkarni, who won two third set match tiebreakers during the first four rounds, was able to apply the pressure to Rybak at the end of each set, breaking him at 5-6 and at 4-5 to earn his spot in Sunday's final.
"There's a lot of tight situations in moments in matches, and everyone is so good here," said Kulkarni, who trains with Casey Was. "Personally I just try to get one ball in at a time, not what it could mean later. I think I was just able to win a couple of important points when I needed to, and thankfully I got it done."
Gradzki is playing in his first Easter Bowl, with the Clay Courts last year his first appearance at a Level 1.
"I started playing tournaments pretty late, I was 12 or 13," said the 15-year-old from Ridgewood New York. "This my first time playing every L1."
Against Kaminski, Gradzki found his form in the second set, and when he broke and held for a 4-2 lead in the third set, he managed to keep from looking too far ahead. With Kaminski serving at 3-5, Gradzki had four match points, but was unable to convert any of them. So when some good serving at 5-4 gave him a fifth, he decided to use what he had learned in the previous game.
"I was really tight to close it out, it was the first time I was so tight," said Gradzki, who did not play a third set match tiebreaker in his first four matches. "On my second match point, up 30-40, I decided just to go for it and I missed a backhand line by a couple of inches. So I'm like, I need to play more safe, wait for the perfect ball."
Gradzki stayed patient in a long rally at 40-15 and eventually found that perfect ball, blasting a forehand winner to put him in the final.
Gradzki, who trains at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy with Ion Efrim, is ready for his Level 1 debut.
"It feels amazing," Gradzki said. "It feels like with all my hard work, I've finally achieved something. This really means a lot to me."
The unrelenting sunshine took an occasional break Saturday, with high clouds providing welcome relief with the temperatures still reaching the upper 90s by the time the doubles semifinals were played in the afternoon. Below are the results from today's action, with the doubles finals to follow the singles finals Sunday.
B16s Singles Semifinals Results:
Piotr Gradski[3] d. Eli Kaminski[1] 2-6, 6-1, 6-4
Anay Kulkarni d. Ivan Rybak[6] 7-5, 6-4
Consolation: Mikaeel Alibaig d. Advay Singh 6-4, 6-4
Consolation: Alexander Totoian d. Tristan Ascenzo w/o
Carson Kuchar & Karthik Thuma[7] d. Braylon Desquitado & Seth Christian 6-3, 7-6[4]
G16s Singles Semifinals Results:
Sylvana Jalbert[1] d. Caroline Coan 6-3, 6-3
Shristi Selvan[4] d. Tanvi Pandey 2-6, 6-4, 6-1
Consolation: Avita Beitler[3] d. Adelyn Gross 6-2, 3-6, 10-4
Consolation: Natalie Frisbie[9] d. Enya Hamilton[9] 6-1, 6-3
G16s Doubles Finals Results:
Nikol Daveletshina & Alexandra Grilliot d Genevieve Hayden & Caroline Coan 6-4, 6-4
Emery June Martin & Shristi Selvan[5] d. Adelyn Gross & Kingsley Wolf[2] 6-3, 1-6, 7-5
B18s Singles Semifinals Results:
Peter Jorniak d. Alexander Suhanitski[1] 6-2, 6-3
Rishvanth Krishna d. David Wu[9] 7-6(5), 6-1
Consolation: William Freshwater[4] d. Michael Lorenzetti[8] 6-4, 2-0 ret, inj.
Consolation: Yashwin Krishnakumar[5] d. Jesse Yang[3] w/o pc
B18s Doubles Finals Results:
Liam Alvarez & Matteo Huarte d. Zen Uehling & Connor Plunkett[7] 6-3, 6-3
Joseph Nau & Marcel Latak[2] d. Justin Riley Anson & Andre Alcantara 7-6(9), 7-5
G18s Singles Semifinals Results:
Ellery Mendell[1] d. Isabelle DeLuccia 7-6(4), 6-2
Yilin Chen d. Alyson Shannon[3] 6-1, 6-1
Consolation: Aarini Bhattacharya d. Zimora McKnight 6-3, 1-0 Ret inj
Consolation: Calla McGill[2] d. Chloe Zigliara 6-2, 6-1
G18s Doubles Finals Results:
Carolina Castro & Raina Miae Kim d. Kalista Papadopoulos & Abigail Haile 6-3, 6-1
Chloe Zigliara & Sadira Ouyang d. Elena Zhao & Kylie Liu 7-6(0), 6-3
At the USTA Pro Circuit M25 in Las Vegas, qualifier Ronit Karki is through to the final, where he will play No. 3 seed Blaise Bicknell(Florida, Tennessee) of Jamaica. The 18-year-old Karki, the 2025 Wimbledon boys finalist, defeated 17-year-old wild card Tanishk Konduri 6-2, 6-4 for his sixth win of the week. Bicknell defeated Arizona State junior Bor Artnak of Slovenia 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.
In the doubles final, No. 3 seeds Oliver Okonkwo(Iowa, Illinois) of Great Britain and Billy Suarez(Tulane) defeated unseeded Daniel Milavsky(Harvard) and Jack Vance 6-4, 6-3.
Coco Gauff lost in the women's singles final of the Miami Open today, dropping a 6-2, 4-6, 6-3 decision to WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus.
