Lyutova and Li Claim ITF J30 Titles in Claremont; Okutoyi and Ngounoue Advance to Naples W35 Semifinals; Volynets, Kovacevic Qualify for Australian Open; Navarro Reaches First WTA Final

The inaugural ITF J30 in Claremont California concluded today, with 13-year-old Christina Lyutova winning her fourth ITF singles title and 16-year-old Andrew Li capturing his first. 

Lyutova, who won three consecutive ITF J60 tournaments last fall, had her ITF winning streak ended in the first round of the Eddie Herr ITF qualifying by Trinetra Vijayakumar in November (my coverage of that match is here) and did not play either the Orange Bowl or Junior Orange Bowl. But this week she got back on her normal track, winning all five of her matches in straight sets, beating qualifier Raya Kotseva of Bulgaria 6-3, 6-2 in today's final. The 13-year-old Kotseva, who like Lyutova lives and trains in the United States, finished fourth at the Junior Orange Bowl 14s last month in Coral Gables. 

The unseeded Li, playing in just his fourth ITF Junior Circuit event and the first outside his hometown of San Diego, defeated 15-year-old wild card Liam Alvarez 6-4, 6-1 in the final, concluding the week without dropping a set. He will now have the opportunity to continue his winning streak at the Barnes Tennis Center in San Diego, where two J30s are scheduled back-to-back beginning January 22nd.

The boys doubles title went to No. 2 seeds Andre Alcantara and Mario Garcia, who defeated unseeded Amrith Kodumuri and Rishvanth Krishnam 6-2, 3-6, 11-9 in another all-USA final. 

In the girls doubles final, No. 4 seeds Emily Deming and Ava Rodriguez defeated top seeds Lyutova and Bianca Molnar 6-3, 6-1. 

Two unseeded teenagers have claimed semifinal spots at the USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Naples Florida: 19-year-old qualifier Angella Okutoyi of Kenya and 17-year-old American Clervie Ngounoue. Okutoyi, a sophomore at Auburn, defeated 2023 NCAA singles finalist Layne Sleeth(Florida/Oklahoma) 6-3, 2-6, 6-2 in today's quarterfinals, marking her second consecutive win over one of the top collegiate players, having beaten Alex Noel of Miami yesterday. Okutoyi, now on an eight-match winning streak at the W25/35 level, will face No. 8 seed Allie Kiick in Saturday's semifinals. Kiick defeated No. 2 seed Marie Benoit of Belgium 0-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Ngounoue downed No. 4 seed Varvara Lepchenko 6-3, 7-5 in two hours and 13 minutes and will now face top seed Louisa Chirico, who got past No. 5 seed Ekaterine Gorgodze of Georgia 7-6(4)< 3-6, 6-3. 

Qualifying concluded Friday at the Australian Open, with Aleks Kovacevic(Illinois) and Katie Volynets the two Americans to earn spots in the main draw. Kovacevic, the No. 7 seed, defeated 2019 Wimbledon boys champion Shintaro Mochizuki of Japan 1-6, 6-2, 6-2 to qualify for a major for the first time--he made the main draw of Roland Garros last year on his ranking.  

Volynets has now qualified for the Australian Open main draw for three consecutive years, with the No. 3 seed winning a tough battle with Julia Riera of Argentina 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-5. Volynets led 5-1 in the second set and was unable to serve out the set on either occasion, but she kept her composure and took the tiebreaker after trailing 4-2. In the third set, she broke to serve for the match at 5-4, but again couldn't close it out, although she did convert her second opportunity to serve it out at 6-5. She will face Anna Kalinskaya of Russia in the first round; Kovacevic will play Alejandro Tabilo of Chile, who is in the ATP 250 final Saturday in Auckland.

Several young players with junior slam pedigrees advanced through qualifying, including 2023 Roland Garros boys champion Dino Prizmic of Croatia, 2023 Australian Open and Roland Garros girls champion Alina Korneeva of Russia, 2014 US Open boys champion Omar Jasika of Australia, 2022 Australian Open boys finalist Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic and 2019 Wimbledon girls champion Daria Snigur of Ukraine.

Wild card Maya Joint pushed top qualifying seed Dayana Yastremska of Ukraine to the very end, but ended falling 6-2, 1-6, 6-4 to the WTA No. 96. 

2021 NCAA champion Emma Navarro has advanced to the first WTA final of her career in Hobart. The 22-year-old, seeded No. 2, will face top seed Elise Mertens of Belgium for the 250 title Saturday (tonight in the US). Navarro reached the semifinals at last week's 250 in Auckland before falling to Coco Gauff.

Navarro, who is seeded No. 27 in next week's Australian Open, is one of 27 former collegians in the main draw. See this ITA article for the complete list.