Antonius Reaches Round of 16 at Roland Garros Junior Championships; Chervenkov and Frisbie Win First ITF Junior Circuit Titles in Chicago; Texas A&M Tops TRN's Spring Recruiting Class Rankings; Judge Questions Brantmeier Settlement

Michael Antonius is the first US junior to reach the round of 16 of the Roland Garros Junior Championships after a quick 6-3, 6-0 victory in the second round today over Kanta Watanabe of Japan. Next up for Antonius, on Wednesday, is No. 2 seed Yannick Alexandrescou of France, in a rematch of last August's ITF J300 College Park final, which Alexandrescou won 6-0, 6-2.  Alexandrescou had a much tougher second round match today, beating Nikita Belozertsev of Uzbekistan 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

No. 15 seed Janae Preston played her first round match today, and it was one of the longest of the 32 junior matches on the schedule, with the 15-year-old from Nevada defeating French wild card Cindy Langlais 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in two hours and 39 minutes. Preston is the only US girl remaining in the singles draw; No. 4 seed Jack Kennedy, No. 6 seed Keaton Hance and Ryan Cozad will play their second round matches Tuesday, hoping to join Antonius in the third round. Kennedy will be playing the red hot Daniel Jade of France, who won a round in men's qualifying two weeks ago at Roland Garros and won his first ITF men's title at an M25 last week in France.

In doubles, No. 2 seeds Kennedy and Hance, the reigning US Open champions, were on the brink in their first round match with Simone Massellani of Itay and Valentin Gonzalez-Galino of Spain, trailing 6-3, 4-2 before winning a tiebreaker to get to the match tiebreaker, where they trailed 6-4 before claiming six of the final seven points for a 3-6, 7-6(2), 10-7 victory.

Other Americans advancing to the second round of doubles are No. 8 seeds Jordyn Hazelitt and Welles Newman and Melije Clarke and Olivia Traynor. Traynor, who lost in the final round of qualifying, was able to get into the doubles draw for her junior slam debut.

Monday's Roland Garros first round junior results of Americans:

Daphnee Mpetshi Perricard[WC](FRA) d. Carrie-Anne Hoo[Q] 6-1, 6-2

Janae Preston[15] d. Cindy Langlais[WC](FRA) 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 

Jack Kennedy[4] d. Emilio Camacho(ECU) 7-6(4), 6-2

Monday's Roland Garros second round junior results of Americans:

Michael Antonius[13] d. Kanta Watanabe(JPN) 6-3, 6-0

Zangar Nurlanuly[8](KAZ) d. Agassi Rusher[Q] 6-2, 6-1

Tuesday's Roland Garros second round junior matches featuring Americans:

Jack Kennedy[4] v Daniel Jade(FRA) 

Keaton Hance[6] v Pedro Henrique Chabalgoity(BRA)

Ryan Cozad v Luis Guto Miguel[1](BRA)

Janae Preston[15] v Denisa Zoldakova(CZE)

There are no Americans left in the Roland Garros men's or women's singles after the three playing in the fourth round today lost. Frances Tiafoe led Matteo Arnaldi by two sets to one and was serving at 4-1 in the fourth before losing 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 in a match that went five hours and 26 minutes and finished after 1 a.m. Tuesday morning in Paris.

Monday's fourth round Roland Garros matches featuring Americans:

Flavio Cobolli[10](ITA) d. Zachary Svajda 6-2, 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(5)

Matteo Arnaldi(ITA) d. Frances Tiafoe[19] 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4 

Diana Shnaider[25](RUS) d. Madison Keys[19] 6-3, 3-6, 6-0

I covered the ITF J300 in Belgium last week, with unseeded US juniors Anita Tu and Jordan Lee reaching the finals and getting a big boost in their ITF junior rankings. 

Gadin Arun had his ITF Junior Circuit winning streak in Canada snapped at 16 the J100 in Calgary last week, with the No. 7 seed falling in the final to No. 3 seed Quincy Yao of Canada 4-6, 6-0, 6-1, while also dropping the doubles final. Daniel Malacek and Canada's Brayden Woo, seeded No. 2, won the doubles titles, beating Arun and Arjun Krishnan, the No. 4 seeds 6-1, 6-1 in the final.

The only titles in singles for Americans came at the J30 in Chicago, with 14-year-old Michael Chervenkov and 15-year-old Natalie Frisbie winning their first ITF Junior Circuit titles.

Chervenkov repeated his win over Ishaan Marla in the 2026 Easter Bowl 14s final, beating Marla 6-4, 6-3 to run his record this year to 30-1, with his sole loss coming in a USTA Level 3 final in the 16s.

Frisbie, who finished sixth at the Easter Bowl in the 16s, was playing in just her second ITF event, receiving entry via her World Tennis Number. She defeated Anna Bugaienko of Ukraine 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2 in the Chicago singles final.

At the J60 in El Salvador, No. 3 seeds Macksimus Malhotra and Sean Peng won the boys doubles title, beating top seeds Matias Quintero Tobon of Colombia and Gianluca Galasso 6-4, 6-7(4), 10-6.

This week's stop of the ITF Junior Circuit Midwest swing is a J60 Champaign Illinois, which, like Chicago, will be conducted in the new round robin/knockout format introduced this year by the ITF. Chervenkov is entered in the boys draw, but Frisbie is not playing Champaign this week.

Tennis Recruiting Network's  Division I women's spring recruiting class rankings were revealed today with NCAA champions Texas A&M voted No. 1. Coincidentally, men's NCAA champions Virginia also landed in the top spot when the men's spring rankings were published last week. As a voter, I can tell you that the top four classes were extremely difficult to rank in any order, with No. 2 Georgia, No. 3 Virginia and No. 4 North Carolina all attracting a wealth of talent for 2026. The rest of the Top 10 is Tennessee, Auburn, UCF, Florida, Florida State and Yale. This is hardly the last word on who will be joining the top teams come fall (or next spring for that matter) but it is a clue as to who might have all the recruits they need for next season.

The settlement announced in late April between Reese Brantmeier and the NCAA is apparently not settled, with the judge who certified the class action suit not satisfied that all the interests of other class members are being addressed. For more on the judge's questions, see this article from the Carolina Journal.

Top Seed Efremova Ousted on Opening Day of Roland Garros Juniors; UNC's Brantmeier and Evans Claim Pro Circuit Titles; Smith Captures Little Rock Challenger; Bigun Wins First Pro Title in Lakewood

It's only May, but we know that will be no girls junior calendar slam champion in 2026, after Australian Open winner Ksenia Efremova of France lost in the first round of the Roland Garros Junior Championships today to 14-year-old qualifier Ekaterina Dotsenko of Russia.  Efremova, the top seed, had not played any junior events since her Australian Open girls title, and had just one qualifying win in her five tournaments at the WTA tour level this spring. Dotsenko, the 2025 Les Petits As champion, earned two good wins in qualifying but she had not won more than one match in the three ITF junior events she's played on clay this year.

It was a discouraging opening day for Americans, with all six girls in action losing, and only four of the nine boys advancing.

Qualifier Agassi Rusher was one of the bright spots, with the 17-year-old from Florida earning his first win at a junior slam with a 6-4 7-5 decision over Motoharu Abe of Japan. Abe, the runner-up in last fall's Japanese wild card playoff, received entry into the tournament after the winner, Kenta Watanabe, got in on his own ranking. Rusher will play his second round match Monday, as will Michael Antonius. Keaton Hance[6] and Ryan Cozad, the other two US boys advancing to the second round, will play their matches Tuesday.

The other boys qualifier, Safir Azam, led No. 3 seed Jamie Mackenzie of Germany 6-1, 4-4, but Mackenzie saved a break point in that game and went on to post a 1-6, 6-4, 6-2 victory.

Welles Newman had eight set points late in the first set against No. 11 seed Paola Pinera Celorio of Spain, but Pinera Celorio saved them all mostly with winners or forced errors, then converted her first set point at 11-10 in the tiebreaker and went on to a 7-6(10), 6-2 victory.

The doubles draws are out, with US Open boys doubles champions Kennedy and Hance the No. 2 seeds and on Monday's schedule. Jack Secord and Puerto Rico's Yannik Alvarez are the No. 6 seeds, with Luis Miguel of Brazil and Ziga Sesko of Slovenia the top seeds.

Pinera Celorio and Victoria Barros of Brazil are the top seeds in girls doubles; Welles Newman and Jordyn Hazelitt, who won a W35 earlier this month in Florida, are the No. 8 seeds. Thea Frodin and her partner Anastasija Cvetkovic of Serbia are the No. 3 seeds.

Sunday's first round Roland Garros junior results of Americans:

Flynn Thomas(SUI) d. Jack Secord 1-6, 6-3, 6-1
Michael Antonius[13] d. Kirill Filaretov(RUS) 7-5, 6-0
Jamie Mackenzie[3](GER) d. Safir Azam[Q] 1-6, 6-4, 6-2
Agassi Rusher[Q] d. Motoharu Abe[WC](JPN) 6-4, 7-5
Keaton Hance[6] d. Marat Salbiev[Q](RUS) 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Connor Doig(RSA) d. Gavin Goode 6-1, 2-0 ret.
Ryan Cozad d. Savva Rybkin(RUS) 6-2, 6-2
Raffaele Ciurnelli(ITA) d. Andy Johnson[11] 6-2, 6-4
Oliver Majdandzic([Q]GER) d. Tanishk Konduri 6-2, 6-4

Alisa Oktiabreva[12](RUS) d. Melije Clarke 6-1, 6-3
Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas[14](RUS) d. Lani Chang 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3)
Giulia Popa(ROU) d. Sarah Ye[Q] 6-1, 6-1
Paola Pinera Celorio[11](ESP) d. Welles Newman 7-6(10), 6-2
Mariia Markarova[8](RUS) d. Jordyn Hazelitt 6-1, 7-5
Maia Burcescu(ROU) d. Thea Frodin 6-1, 6-3

Monday's Roland Garros first round junior matches featuring Americans:

Carrie-Anne Hoo[Q] v Daphnee Mpetshi Perricard[WC](FRA)
Janae Preston[15] v Cindy Langlais[WC](FRA)

Jack Kennedy[4] v Emilio Camacho(ECU)

Monday's Roland Garros second round junior matches featuring Americans:

Michael Antonius[13] v Kanta Watanabe(JPN)
Agassi Rusher[Q] v Zangar Nurlanuly[8](KAZ)

The 2023 and 2024 US Open boys champions have advanced to the men's quarterfinals at Roland Garros with Joao Fonseca of Brazil(2023) beating Casper Rudd of Norway 7-5, 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-2 and Rafael Jodar(2024) of Spain coming from two sets down to defeat compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2.

Monday's fourth round Roland Garros matches featuring Americans:

Zachary Svajda v Flavio Cobolli[10](ITA)

Frances Tiafoe[19] v Matteo Arnaldi(ITA)

Madison Keys[19] v Diana Shnaider[25](RUS)

Just two weeks removed from their NCAA quarterfinal loss in Athens, two North Carolina stars claimed USTA Pro Circuit events today. 

2025 NCAA singles champion and recent UNC graduate Reese Brantmeier swept the singles and doubles titles at the W35 in Wichita Kansas, beating No. 4 seed Sahaja Yamalapalli(Sam Houston) of India 6-4, 6-0 for her second ITF women's World Tennis Tour singles title, with her first the W15 in Lakewood in 2023. She and partner Maria Sholokova, the recent Wisconsin graduate, then played the doubles final, which had been pushed back to Sunday due to persistent rain delays during the week. In a battle between unseeded teams Brantmeier and Sholokova beat Maya Iyengar and Ekaterina Khayrutdinova(Auburn) 6-3, 6-1 in the final. 

Evans, a rising senior at UNC, showed no signs of fatigue in her seventh match since Monday, defeating No. 5 seed Anne Christine Lutkemeyer, a UCLA senior graduating this month, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 in the final of the W15 in Lakewood California. It's the first pro title for the 20-year-old from Virginia.

Another 20-year-old, Kaylan Bigun, also captured his first pro title, with the former UCLA Bruin replicating Evans' comeback with one of his own in the M15 in Lakewood. The top seed, who played for UCLA in the 2025 dual match season, defeated No. 4 seed Amit Vales of Israel 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

For a full recap, with comments from all four finalists, see this article from SoCal Pro Series media contact Steve Pratt.

Colton Smith won his third Challenger title today at the ATP 75 in Little Rock Arkansas, with the former Arizona All-American getting through a difficult week with frequent rain delays and a late night Saturday in order to finish the semifinals. Smith, the No. 3 seed, defeated No. 5 seed Michael Mmoh 6-2, 6-4 for his the first Challenger title outside of Cleveland, taking all five of his matches in straight sets.

Smith is the No. 5 seed in next week's ATP Challenger 75 in Tyler Texas, with wild cards given to Trevor Svajda(SMU), Sebastian Gorzny(TCU, Texas) and Landon Ardila(Princeton). Adam Walton(Tennessee) of Australia is the top seed.

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.