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

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. Alexanader 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.

Rematch of Tucson Boys Final Set for San Diego ITF J300 Semis; Canada and USA Guaranteed Girls Finalists; Secord Reaches J500 Banana Bowl Quarterfinals; Antonius Advances at Bakersfield M25; Easter Bowl 12s and 14s Seeds; Blanch Wins at Miami Open

©Colette Lewis 2026--

San Diego CA--

The singles semifinals and doubles finals are set for Friday at the Barnes Tennis Center, with four players still in contention for two titles at this week's ITF J300 North American Regional Championships.

No. 3 seed Ryan Cozad will take on top seed Andy Johnson in singles, hoping to reverse his 6-2, 6-2 loss in the final of last week's J300 in Tucson before competing for a second consecutive doubles title with partner Gavin Goode.

Cozad won his 13th match in his last 14 attempts today, beating No. 11 seed Roshan Santhosh 6-1, 6-2, while Johnson had a similarly routine win, defeating unseeded Teodor Davidov 6-1, 6-3.

Goode, the No. 2 seed, ended the run of lucky loser Yashwin Krishnakumar 7-6(4), 6-4 and will play No. 9 seed Marcel Latak, who prevented a perfectly seeded semifinal bracket with a 6-0, 1-6, 6-3 win over No. 4 seed and doubles partner Tanishk Konduri.

The pair, who had warmed up together all week, found different hitting partners this morning, with Latak displaying peak form at the start.

"From the start I was playing super well, putting so much depth on the ball," said the 17-year-old from Illinois. "He wasn't making a lot of balls, but he was playing much better once the set ended, went to the bathroom and played a really good service game. I kind of stepped back a little bit, gave him way more time to do what he wanted to do and dictate."

Latak took his father's advice at the start of the third set and it paid off, with Latak taking a 3-0 and 4-1 lead.

"My dad just told me to go for it, basically, in the third set," said Latak, who lost his opening round match in Tucson last week. "I lost to him at Orange Bowl anyway, so there's not much pressure on my end, so I just told myself to go for it at the end."

That one-break lead didn't last, with Konduri holding for 4-2 and breaking to get back on serve, but Latak broke, hitting a forehand winner to go up 5-3 and served it out to reach his first J300 semifinal.

Latak said he felt much less fatigue today than in their quarterfinal match at the Orange Bowl, which was the second match of the day due rain earlier in the week.

"I was coming into the match much more confident this time, just because I knew I was fresh, and no matter what I wasn't going to be too tired," Latak said. "I also felt that last time he played at a better level--you can't play well every day--but I definitely felt he played a better match last time."

Latak defeated Goode in the second round of the Orange Bowl 3-6, 7-5, 6-1.

"That match was interesting too," Latak said. "He was in control basically the whole match and then when it got close in the second set, 4-all, I just took my level up so much. It's going to be a good match though, it's going to be a fight."

Latak will have a second match with Goode Friday afternoon, when he and Konduri, the No. 2 seeds, play Goode and Cozad for the doubles title.  Latak and Konduri rolled past No. 2 seeds Santhosh and Xavier Massotte of Canada 6-2, 6-2, while Goode and Cozad again were forced to a match tiebreaker, beating No. 4 seeds Zavier Augustin and Vihaan Reddy 6-2, 5-7, 10-7.

Three of the four Tucson finalists are into this week's semifinals, with unseeded Allison Wang joining Johnson and Cozad. Wang, who lost to Camille Allegre last Saturday, ended the run of qualifier Sylvana Jalbert with a 6-2, 3-6, 6-0 victory.

Wang will face fellow 15-year-old Jordyn Hazelitt, the No. 2 seed, who dispatched No. 12 seed Hannah Ayrault 6-2, 6-0 in just over an hour.

Hazelitt did not play Tucson, because she had only one more ITF tournament left, with 15-year-olds unable to play more than 18 ITF Junior Circuit tournaments. Hazelitt, who turns 16 next month, opted for San Diego, but was a point from elimination in her first match against doubles partner Emery Combs before escaping with a 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(7) win.

"It was a tough first match for sure," said Hazelitt, a Nevada resident. "But it gave me confidence that I if could battle through a three-and-a-half-hour match, then other things would be possible as well."

Despite her No. 2 seed, Hazelitt wasn't feeling any pressure coming into the event.

"I was excited, and I wasn't really expecting anything," said Hazelitt, who reached her first J300 final in Colombia in January. "I just wanted to try my best and get as far as I can."

Hazelitt is taking the same attitude toward her match with Wang.

"She is one of my good friends," Hazelitt said. "It should be an exciting match, I hope a good match. I'm not really expecting anything, I just want a good match to happen. I haven't seen her play in a while, but I know for sure she's a really good player. Everyone's good here."

Hazelitt and Combs, the No. 5 seeds, have advanced to the doubles final, beating No. 6 seeds Nadia Lagaev and Clemence Mercier of Canada 6-3, 2-6, 10-7, with Hazelitt reaching out to Combs early in the process.

"We practiced together one time, but other than that, this is our first time playing together," Hazelitt said. "I asked way in advance, because I knew she was a good doubles player, and I really wanted to play with her."

Hazelitt and Combs, who won the Tucson doubles title with Olivia Traynor, will face No. 7 seeds Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann and Karlin Schock, who beat top seeds Sarah Ye and Carrie-Ann Hoo 6-3, 6-1.

The top half semifinal in singles will feature two Canadians, with top seed Nadia Lagaev facing No. 14 seed Avery Alexander. Lagaev defeated No. 5 seed Sarah Ye 6-3, 6-2, while Alexander fought for over three hours to overcome No. 11 seed Isabelle DeLuccia 6-7(6), 6-3, 6-3. After the 90-minute first set, Alexander kept the pressure on DeLuccia, who couldn't quite match the level of aggression that Alexander produced late in both the second and third sets.

The schedule for Friday begins with the two boys semifinals, followed by the girls semifinals, the boys doubles final and the girls doubles final. All matches will be chaired, and there will be live streaming and live scoring available on YouTube through the Barnes Tennis Center website.

At the ITF J500 Banana Bowl, No. 4 seed Jack Secord is through to Friday's quarterfinals, after defeating unseeded Angel Veliz of Ecuador 6-3, 6-3. He will play No. 6 seed Dante Pagani of Argentina next.  Secord and Emilio Camacho of Ecuador, the No. 2 seeds, are through to the doubles semifinals. All the US girls competing in singles and doubles have been eliminated.

Sixteen-year-old Michael Antonius, playing in his first M25 tournament this week in Bakersfield, is through to the quarterfinals. The ITF junior No. 11 advanced to play unseeded Aleksa Ciric(Georgia Gwinnett) of Serbia, when Jonathan Mridha of Sweden retired after losing the second set at 7-6(3), 6-7(1). Ciric defeated No. 3 seed Edward Winter(Pepperdine) of Australia 6-2, 7-6(5). Antonius has twice reached the quarterfinals of M15 tournaments.

The draws for the 12s and 14s USTA Level 1 Easter Bowl Championships are out, with play beginning Saturday.

The top eight seeds in each division:

B12s:

1. Dmitriy Flyam

2. Yifan Nie

3. Thomas Gamble

4. Miguel Valencia

5. Aaron Peng

6. Zephyr Zwicker

7. William Zhou

8. Keanu Agbulos

G12s:

1. Chloe Anthony

2. Summer Yang

3. Valentina Singh Carvajal

4. Lindy Zhou

5. Lucy Jiang

6. Alara Buyukuncu

7. Lola Looney

8. Reya Mahadoo

B14s:

1. Ishaan Marla

2. Michael Chervenkov

3. Nathan Lee

4. Evaan Mohan

5. Jacques Chen

6. Tanmay Konduri

7. Yi He Gao

8. Matthew Finn

G14s:

1. Nadia Poznick

2. Anna Kapanadze

3. Ava Chua

4. Eleanor Armistead

5. Reese Ellingson

6. Lucy Dupere

7. Charlotte Kim

8. Natalia Martinez

Teenagers were among the big newsmakers at the Miami Open today, with 2025 Kalamazoo 18s champion Darwin Blanch among them.

The 18-year-old Blanch, who is eligible to compete in Kalamazoo again this August, earned his first Masters 1000 win today, beating Jan-Lennard Struff, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Nineteen-year-old Rafael Jodar(Virginia) of Spain also picked up his first Masters 1000 win today, beating Yannick Hanfmann(USC) of Germany 6-4, 4-6, 6-1.

Seventeen-year-old Moise Kouame of France defeated Zachary Svajda 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, becoming the youngest winner of a Masters 1000 match since Rafael Nadal in 2003. 

And 19-year-old Joao Fonseca of Brazil set up a much-anticipated second round meeting with top seed Carlos Alcaraz, beating Fabian Maroszan of Hungary 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

My Tucson ITF J300 Recap; Qualifier Jalbert, Lucky Loser Krishnakumar Reach San Diego ITF J300 Quarterfinals; Easter Bowl Wild Cards; Antonius Beats Bigun at Bakersfield M25

©Colette Lewis 2026--

San Diego CA--

Before I get to today's third round singles and quarterfinal doubles action at the ITF J300 North American Regional Championships at the sizzling Barnes Tennis Center, here is a link to my Tennis Recruiting Network's recap of last week's ITF J300 Tucson, with Andy Johnson and Camille Allegre earning their first titles at that level.  

Although Allegre lost in the first round here on Tuesday, No. 1 seed Johnson is still in the running for the junior version of the sunshine double, defeating No. 15 seed Izyan Ahmad 6-2, 6-1 this morning to reach the quarterfinals. Johnson will play unseeded Teodor Davidov, famous for his only-forehands playing style, after Davidov defeated wild card David Wu 6-3, 7-6(2). It will be the first meeting on the ITF Junior Circuit.

In the other quarterfinal in the top half, Tucson finalist Ryan Cozad, the No. 3 seed, will face No. 11 seed Roshan Santhosh for the second time on the ITF Junior Circuit. Cozad, who beat unseeded Gurjot Singh 7-6(4), 6-1 defeated Santhosh, a 6-3, 6-1 winner over No. 8 seed Agassi Rusher, 6-1, 6-3 in the second round of the ITF J300 in Indian Wells last year.

No. 2 seed Gavin Goode needed two and a half hours to get past No. 13 seed and fellow lefthander Ford McCollum 7-6(3), 7-6(1) and will face lucky loser Yashwin Krishnakumar, who continued his impressive play with a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 7 seed Safir Azam.

Krishnakumar, playing in just his second ITF J300 tournament, said he changed his strategy since losing to Azam twice in USTA events in the 14s in 2023 and the 16s in 2024.

"This is the first time I've beaten him," said the 17-year-old from Dublin California, who is headed to UC-Irvine this fall. "He doesn't really rush you that much, and before when I played him I would try to overplay and make a lot of mistakes. This time, I tried to construct the points and rally smart. I did a good job of coming in after long rallies and finish points off, and any time he tried to be aggressive and come to the net, my passing shots were pretty good."

The fourth quarterfinal will feature doubles partners Tanishk Konduri, the No. 4 seed, and Marcel Latak, the No. 9 seed.

Konduri defeated No. 14 seed Zavier Augustin 6-3, 6-2, while Latak downed unseeded Kamil Stolarczyk 6-1, 7-6(6).

Konduri and Latak, the No. 2 seeds this week in doubles and through to Thursday's doubles semifinals, began playing doubles together late last year in Florida, and they met in the quarterfinals in singles at the Orange Bowl, where they also reached the doubles final. 

"We warm up together every day and I've hit with him like twenty times in the last two weeks," said Konduri, who won their Orange Bowl quarterfinal 6-4, 6-3. "I can't speak for Marcel, but to me, it's just part of the sport. Honestly, almost everybody here you know and you've seen many times."

"I don't think it really affects how you perform," Latak said of their time spent together off the court. "We probably won't warm up with each other tomorrow, but if we don't find anyone else, maybe."

"It's going to be a good match," Konduri said. "Even when we play practice matches, it's always good quality. I'm just looking forward to enjoying playing good tennis."

The girls quarterfinals features six seeds, all of whom play each other, with Tucson finalist Allison Wang and qualifier Sylvana Jalbert meeting in the quarterfinal between unseeded players.

Wang defeated unseeded Aarini Bhattacharya 6-4, 6-2, while Jalbert fought back to eliminate No. 4 seed Lani Chang 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

After a quick first set, Jalbert knew that she had to make some changes in her approach.

"I just decided I was going to play more consistent," said the 15-year-old from Maryland, who is No. 1 in the USTA 16s rankings. "Just grind out points instead of trying to finish it quick and early. I felt like I was getting too desperate in the first set, so I decided to slow things down a little bit."

Jalbert said she is feeling fine physically after five matches in five days, and felt comfortable from her first match in the main draw. 

"It took me a little bit to get used to the courts and the conditions, but by the first round of the main draw, I had adjusted pretty well," said Jalbert, who trains with Vince Pulupa at OSSA Tennis Academy. "The courts are slower than in Tucson and I just felt like I had to ready myself for longer points, not get frustrated when I try to put away a shot and it doesn't go."

Top seed Nadia Lagaev of Canada had her hands full with unseeded Carlota Moreno on Stadium Court this morning, but emerged with a 7-6(2), 6-4 victory. She will face No. 5 seed Sarah Ye, who beat No. 9 seed Adla Lopez 7-5, 6-3. Lagaev, 18, and Ye, 16, met last year the second round of a J200 in Canada, with Lagaev winning 6-0, 6-1.

A second Canadian advanced to the quarterfinals, with No. 14 seed Avery Alexander beating No. 3 seed Olivia Traynor 6-4, 6-2. Alexander will play No. 11 seed Isabelle DeLuccia, who beat No. 6 seed Carrie-Anne Hoo 6-1, 6-3.

In the bottom quarter, No. 2 seed Jordyn Hazelitt defeated No. 16 seed Brooke Wallman 7-5, 6-2 and will play No. 12 seed Hannah Ayrault, who beat No. 8 seed Thara Gowda 4-6, 7-5, 7-5. Ayrault and Hazelitt have one head-to-head meeting on the ITF Junior Circuit, back in July of 2024, with Ayrault beating Hazelitt 6-3, 6-1 in the second round of a J60 in Orlando on clay.

The doubles semifinals are set for Thursday, with the top four boys seeds all advancing.

Tucson champions and No. 1 seeds Gavin Goode and Ryan Cozad barely escaped in their quarterfinal match with Felix Roussel of Canada and Mason Vaughan. Down 6-3 and 2-1 with Vaughan serving, Goode and Cozad won five straight games to force a match tiebreaker, but couldn't sustain their momentum. Up 9-7 in the tiebreaker, they lost both points and when Vaughan knocked off a volley winner, Goode had to hold serve in the next point to stay alive. A good first serve and a Cozad putaway saved the match point, and they closed out the match with a Cozad volley winner and Goode forehand up the middle.

They will play No. 4 seeds Xavier Augustin and Vihaan Reddy, who beat the fifth-seeded Canadian team of Joshua Adamson and Dani Szabo 7-6(5), 6-2.

No. 2 seeds Konduri and Latak defeated No. 7 seeds Izyan Ahmad and Canada's Quincy Yao 6-3, 6-1 and will play No. 3 seeds Xavier Massotte of Canada and Roshan Santhosh. Massotte and Santhosh came back to defaeted No. 6 seeds Safir Azam and Mason Taube 5-7, 6-3, 10-5.

Girls No. 1 seeds Carrie-Anne Hoo and Sarah Ye reached the semifinals with a 6-4, 6-2 win over unseeded Kylie Liu and Elena Zhao. They will play No. 7 seeds Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann and Karlin Schock, who defeated No. 3 seeds Lani Chang and Brooke Wallman 6-3, 3-6, 10-5.

No. 6 seeds Nadia Lagaev and Clemence Mercier of Canada defeated unseeded Ellery Mendell and Carlota Moreno 4-6, 6-1, 10-3 and will play No. 5 seeds Emery Combs and Jordyn Hazelitt. Combs and Hazelitt beat No. 2 seeds Hannah Ayrault and Capucine Jauffret 6-0, 6-2.

The Easter Bowl wild cards are below, with action beginning Saturday for the 12s and 14s divisions. The 16s and 18s begin Tuesday and run through next Sunday. Temperatures are expected to be in the low 100s throughout the event.

Boys 12s: Harvey Baek, Gaelen Thompson Healy
Boys 14s: Davidson Jackson, Keita Iida
Boys 16s: Anay Kulkarni, Indra Vergne, Smyan Thuta, Kensho Ford
Boys 18s: Arin Pallegar, Wesley Cotton, Rishvanth Krishna, Colin McPeek

Girls 12s: Malee Coupal
Girls 14s: Jacqueline Nick, Danielle Han, Cataleya Brown
Girls 16s: Tanvi Pandey, Blake Chang, Alexandra Grilliot, Emery June Martin
Girls 18s: Abigail Haile, Olivia de Los Reyes, Kalista Papadopoulos, Sophie Suh

At the M25 in Bakersfield California, 16-year-old wild card Michael Antonius is through to the second round after defeating No. 7 seed and 2024 Roland Garros boys champion Kaylan Bigun(UCLA) 7-5, 6-4. Antonius will play 30-year-old Jonathan Mridha of Sweden in the second round Thursday.