Fifteen of 18 Americans Begin Play Sunday at Roland Garros Junior Championships; Svajda, Tiafoe and Keys Reach RG Round of 16; Brantmeier Advances to Wichita W35 Final; SoCal Pro Series Week One Concludes Sunday

The Roland Garros Junior Championships begin Sunday, with both Australian Open champions in the draw, four seeded US boys and one seeded US girl. In total ten US boys and eight US girls will be playing main draw matches this year and 15 of those 18 will play tomorrow. In total 24 of the 32 matches in each draw are scheduled for Sunday, with the only Americans not in action are qualifier Carrie-Anne Hoo, No. 15 seed Janae Preston and No. 4 seed Jack Kennedy.

Roland Garros Junior Championship seeds:

Girls:
1.Ksenia Efremova(FRA)

2. Xinran Sun(CHN)

3. Victoria Barros(BRA)
4. Jana Kovackova(CZE)
5. Nauhany Leme Da Silva(BRA)
6. Anastasija Cvetkovic(SRB)
7. Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi(ARG)
8. Mariia Makarova(RUS)
9. Charo Esquiva Banulds(ESP)
10. Ida Wobker(GER)
11. Paola Pinera Celorio(ESP)
12. Alisa Oktiabreva(RUS)
13. Mariella Thamm(GER)
14. Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas(RUS)
15. Janae Preston(USA)
16. Anna Pushkareva(RUS)

Boys:

1. Luis Guto Miguel(BRA)

2. Yannick Alexandrescou(FRA)

3. Jamie Mackenzie(GER)

4. Jack Kennedy(USA)

5. Ziga Sesko(SLO)

6. Keaton Hance(USA)

7. Thilo Behrmann(AUT)

8. Zangar Nurlanuly(KAZ)

9. Dimitar Kisimov(BUL)

10. Ryo Tabata(JPN)

11. Andrew Johnson(USA)

12. Yannick Alvarez(PUR)

13. Michael Antonius(USA)

14. Dante Pagani(ARG)

15. Kuan-Shou Chen(TPE)

16. Nicolas Baena(PER)

Jack Kennedy is currently 11 in the ITF junior rankings, but his ATP ranking of 426 moves him to the No. 4 spot thanks to the ITF's formula to compare ATP rankings with ITF junior rankings. (That chart can be found here). Girls No. 12 seed Alisa Oktiabreva is seeded due to her WTA ranking of 309.

A couple of junior slam finalists are in the draw but unseeded, with 2025 US Open runner-up Lea Nilsson of Sweden returning to junior competition for the first time since then, having reached the semifinals of two W35s this month. This year's Australian Open finalist Ekaterina Tupitsyna of Russia has won two W15s this month on hard courts, but went 2-2 in April's ITF Cairo events on clay.

The ITF's media preview is here(Pareja withdrew a week ago, not sure why she's mentioned). The ITF Junior Circuit's website preview is here.

Sunday's first round RG Junior matches featuring Americans:

Jack Secord v Flynn Thomas(SUI)

Michael Antonius[13] v Kirill Filaretov(RUS)

Safir Azam[Q] v Jamie Mackenzie[3](GER)

Agassi Rusher[Q] v Motoharu Abe[JGSE](JPN)

Keaton Hance[6] v Marat Salbiev[Q](RUS)

Gavin Goode v Connor Doig(RSA)

Ryan Cozad v Savva Rybkin(RUS)

Andy Johnson[11] v Raffaele Ciurnelli(ITA)

Tanishk Konduri v Oliver Majdandzic([Q]GER)

Melije Clarke v. Alisa Oktiabreva[12](RUS)

Lani Chang v Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas[14](RUS)

Sarah Ye[Q] v Giulia Popa(ROU)

Welles Newman v Paola Pinera Celorio[11](ESP)

Jordyn Hazelitt[Q] v Mariia Markarova[8](RUS)

Thea Frodin v Maia Burcescu(ROU)

After a day off Friday, the singles finals of the ITF J300 Astrid Bowl in Belgium were played today, with both unseeded Americans falling. No. 6 seed Dan Brand of Israel defeated Jordan Lee 6-3, 6-2 and Mariella Thamm of Germany beat Anita Tu 3-6, 6-4, 6-1. Brand and Thamm are in the main draw at Roland Garros, Lee and Tu are not.

Just three Americans have advanced to the second week of Roland Garros: Zachary Svajda, Frances Tiafoe and Madison Keys.  Svajda is the big surprise, as he had never been past the second round of a major, but he defeated No. 25 seed Francisco Cerundolo(South Carolina) in five sets today. As if that wasn't emotional enough, this career-best win came on the birthday of his late father Tom, a fixture of the tennis coaching scene in San Diego, who died of cancer last fall.

Saturday's third round Roland Garros results of Americans:

Zachary Svajda d. Francisco Cerundolo[25](ARG) 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 6-3

Flavio Cobolli[10](ITA) d. Learner Tien[18] 6-2, 6-2, 6-3

Frances Tiafoe[19] d. Jaime Faria[Q](POR) 4-6, 6-7(2), 7-6(4), 6-1, 6-2

Felix Auger-Aliassime[4](CAN) d. Brandon Nakashima[31] 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(4), 7-6(1)

Naomi Osaka[16](JPN) d. Iva Jovic[18] 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 6-4

Madison Keys[19] d. Victoria Mboko[9](CAN) 6-3, 5-7, 7-5

Anastasia Potapova[28](AUT) d. Coco Gauff[4] 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-4

Diane Parry(FRA) d. Amanda Anisimova[6] 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(3)

No Americans are on the singles schedule for Sunday in Paris.

Rain has continued to be a problem at the W35 in Wichita Kansas but Sunday's finalists have been determined after a long day of tennis and rain delays. No. 4 seed Sahaja Yamalapalli(Sam Houston) won two matches today, the second a nearly three-hour 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 victory over Yekaterina Dmitrichenko(Texas Tech).  Yamalapalli will face wild card Reese Brantmeier(North Carolina), who trailed No. 2 seed Clervie Ngounoue in their quarterfinal match when Ngounoue retired, but went on to defeat unseeded Dana Guzman(Oklahoma) of Peru 6-4, 6-4 in the semifinals.

The ATP Challenger 75 in Little Rock Arkansas has also had rain delays, with three Americans in tonight's semifinals. No. 3 seed Colton Smith(Arizona) is facing Andre Ilagan(Hawaii) and No. 5 seed Michael Mmoh is playing Canadian qualfier Justin Boulais(Ohio State) for the other spot in Sunday's final.

The finals are set at the SoCal Pro Series tournaments in Lakewood.

Qualifier Tatum Evans(North Carolina) defeated top seed Mayu Crossley(UCLA) of Japan 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 in the W15 semifinals and will play another UCLA Bruin for the title: Anne Christine Lutkemeyer. Lutkemeyer, the No. 5 seed, ended the run of 15-year-old qualifier Allison Wang 6-4, 7-5.

Unseeded Washington State teammates Eva Alvarez Sande of Spain and Maxine Murphy won the doubles title, beating top seed Jaedan Brown(Michigan) and Kailey Evans(Texas Tech, San Diego) 6-2, 3-6, 10-6 in today's final.

Top seed Kaylan Bigun(UCLA) defeated qualifier Lucas Marionneau  (Texas) of France 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first Pro Circuit final at the M15 in Lakewood. The 2024 Roland Garros boys champion will face No. 4 seed Amit Vales of Israel, who defeated Spencer Johnson(UCLA) 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-2 in the other semifinal.

The men's doubles title was won by Texas teammates Marionneau and Sebastian Gorzny, who were partners during the season, playing No. 2 doubles for the Longhorns. The unseeded pair defeated No. 3 seeds Reece Falck(UNC Wilmington) and Matthew Shearer(Nebraska) of New Zealand 7-6(5), 7-6(4). It's the second Pro Circuit doubles title for Gorzny and the first for Marionneau.

Ye, Hoo, Azam and Rusher Qualify for Roland Garros Junior Championships; Wang Reaches W15 Lakewood Semifinals; Ribbon Cutting for David Filer Courts in South Bend

Four Americans have reached the main draw after posting wins today at the Roland Garros Junior Championships qualifying. Sarah Ye saved three match points with No. 2 seed Maria Pop of Romania serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set, but the 16-year-old from New Jersey won the last three games of the match for a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory that puts her in her first junior slam main draw.

Seventeen-year-Carrie-Anne Hoo, who made her junior slam debut this year in Australia, defeated No. 16 seed Fleur De Bresser of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-4 to reach the main draw.

Sixteen-year-old Safir Azam and 17-year-old Agassi Rusher will be making their junior slam main draw debuts, with No. 3 seed Azam beating Lucas Yunez of Ecuador 7-5, 6-3 and Rusher defeating No. 9 seed Maxi Carrascosa Diaz of Spain 7-5, 6-4.

The draws for the Roland Garros Junior Championships, which begin Sunday, will be out tomorrow.

Although 15-year-old Allison Wang has yet to break into the ITF Junior Top 100, the Northern Californian is poised to have a Pro Circuit breakout during the next seven weeks of the SoCal Pro Series. Wang, who qualified for the W15 event this week in Lakewood California, is through to the semifinals of what is just her second pro event, beating No. 4 seed Kailey Evans(Texas Tech, San Diego) 6-0, 6-0 in 68 minutes today. Next up for Wang is No. 5 seed Anne Christine Lutkemeyer, the recent UCLA graduate, who beat No. 2 seed Dasha Plekhanova of Canada 6-7(8), 6-1, 6-4 in 3 hours and 19 minutes.

Lutkemeyer's teammate, top seed Mayu Crossley of Japan, defeated Kallista Liu(Maryland) of Hong Kong 6-4, 6-1. The top seed will play qualifier Tatum Evans(UNC), who, like Wang, didn't lose a game in her quarterfinal against wild card Olivia Center(UCLA).

Top seed Kaylun Bigun(UCLA) is through to the semifinals of the M15 in Lakewood, defeating Texas rising junior and qualifier Oliver Ojakaar of Estonia 6-1, 7-6(2). Bigun will face another Longhorn in rising sophomore and qualifier Lucas Marionneau of France, who defeated No. 8 seed Noah Zamora(UC-Irvine) 7-6(2), 6-2. 

In the bottom half, No. 4 seed Amit Vales of Israel will face unseeded Spencer Johnson, a rising senior at UCLA. Johnson, who was 14-5 last year during the SoCal Pro Series (including qualifying) defeated Theo Dean(Yale, Cal) 6-1, 7-6(4) in today's quarterfinals.

After a washout Thursday, the second round was played today at the W35 in Wichita Kansas, with No. 3 seed Lea Ma(Georgia), No. 2 seed Clervie Ngounoue and wild card Reese Brantmeier(UNC) the Americans advancing to the quarterfinals. Ngounoue and Brantmeier will meet for the first time Saturday.

The ATP Challenger 75 in Little Rock Arkansas has also been delayed by rain, with both second round and quarterfinal matches played today. No. 5 seed Michael Mmoh is currently the only semifinalist that has been determined, with the three other quarterfinals either in progress or yet to begin.

At Roland Garros today, all three Americans in action lost their third round matches, with eight others on the schedule Saturday looking to make the second week.

Friday's third round Roland Garros results of Americans:

Casper Ruud [15](NOR) d. Tommy Paul[24] 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(4), 7-5
Rafael Jodar[27](ESP) d. Alex Michelsen 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3

Belinda Bencic[11](SUI) d. Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-3

Saturday's third round Roland Garros matches featuring Americans:

Zachary Svajda v Francisco Cerundolo[25](ARG)
Learner Tien[18] v Flavio Cobolli[10](ITA)
Frances Tiafoe[19] v Jaime Faria[Q](POR)
Brandon Nakashima[31] v Felix Auger-Aliassime[4](CAN)

Iva Jovic[18] v Naomi Osaka[16](JPN)
Madison Keys[19] v Victoria Mboko[9](CAN)
Coco Gauff[4] v Anastasia Potapova[28](AUT)
Amanda Anisimova[6] v Diane Parry(FRA)

The ribbon-cutting for the A. David Filer Tennis Courts in South Bend Indiana took place yesterday, with the dedication highlighting the efforts of the area's tennis community to provide a fitting tribute to Filer, who died of brain cancer three years ago at the age of 16. Honoring Filer, a top national junior, with this renovation and rejuvenation of his local courts will not only keep his memory alive, but give others the opportunity to discover the joy he found in the game. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Friday's third round Roland Garros matches featuring Americans:

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

Alex Michelsen v Rafael Jodar[27](ESP)

Peyton Stearns v Belinda Bencic[11](SUI)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Community Support

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

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

The History

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

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

The Know-how

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

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

The Future

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

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

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

— Josh Brooks (@Brooks_UGA) May 17, 2026

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

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

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

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

The Ball Crews and ELC

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

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

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

All The 4-3s

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

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

The Schedule

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

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

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

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

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

The ITA Men's Hall of Fame induction

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

STANDOUT FIELD ANNOUNCED FOR AMERICAN COLLEGIATE 

PLAYER WILDCARD PLAYOFFS

 

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

at the USTA National Campus

 

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

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

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

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

 

Admission is free. Cracked Racquets will provide streaming coverage.

2026 American Collegiate Player Wildcard Playoffs Field

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

Competition Schedule

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Wednesday's Roland Garros second round results of Americans:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thursday's Roland Garros second round matches featuring Americans:

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

Ben Shelton[5] v Raphael Collignon(BEL)

Frances Tiafoe[19] v Hubert Hurkacz(POL)

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

Zachary Svajda v Adam Walton[WC](AUS)

Ann Li[30] v Diane Parry(FRA)

Iva Jovic[17] v Emma Navarro

Amanda Anisimova[6] v Julia Grabher(AUT)

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

McCartney Kessler v Diana Shnaider[25](RUS)

Claire Liu[Q] v Maria Sakkari(GRE)

Madison Keys[19] v Antonia Ruzic(CRO)

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

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

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

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

Tuesday's Roland Garros first round results of Americans

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

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

Wednesday's Roland Garros second round matches featuring Americans:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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