Pan Am ITF J300 Regional Acceptance Lists; Qualifying Complete at Fayetteville $15K; Legendary Coach Robert Lansdorp Dies

The next ITF Junior Circuit event in the United States that will have significant points on offer is next month's ITF J300 Pan American Regional Championships in Spring Texas.

Last year was the first year the event was held in the Houston suburb, and it was three weeks earlier, in mid-September due to a request by the ITF, but it has returned to its usual place on the schedule this year, with the main draw beginning Monday October 7. 

The Giammalva Racquet Club will be hosting the event for the second year, and with 48-player draws, there are plenty of courts at the facility to accommodate the busy schedules of the first few days. The weather was extremely hot last year, but hopefully three more weeks of autumn moderation will bring the temperatures down this year.

The tournament is open to all players from North and South America; rarely do South Americans enter, but this year Miguel Tobon of Colombia (who lives in Florida) and Luna Maria Cinalli of Argentina are among the top-ranked players on the acceptance list.

Jagger Leach, who reached the semifinals last year, is, at 15, the highest ranked boy at the close of entries. Other ITF Top 50 boys on the acceptance list are Cooper Woestendick, Tobon, Ian Mayew and Jack Kennedy. Alex Frusina, who is no longer age-eligible for ITF junior tournaments, defeated Stanford freshman Alex Razeghi in the final last year. 

Kristina Penickova, who at No. 11, is the highest ranked girl, lost in the second round last year to Aspen Schuman, who is returning after making the semifinals last year. Another 2023 semifinalist, Alanis Hamilton, has also entered.  The other ITF Top 50 girls on the acceptance list are Kaitlyn Rolls, Cinalli, Thea Frodin, Schuman, Annika Penickova and Christasha McNeil. WTA No. 114 Maya Joint won last year's title over Tyra Grant. Joint is no longer eligible to play this event as she now represents Australia, while Grant did not enter this year.

I'll have more on the W35 in San Rafael California and the ATP Challenger in Columbus Wednesday, but the qualifying is complete at the first non-Challenger USTA Pro Circuit men's event in the United States in a full month: the $15,000 tournament in Fayetteville Arkansas.

Qualifying concluded today, with five Americans advancing to the main draw: David Saye(Michigan State), Oren Vasser(William & Mary, Miami), Max Sheldon(Michigan State), JC Roddick(UCF, Texas A&M) and Connor Smillie(Arkansas).

Wild cards were given to Arkansas juniors Bozo Barun and Benedikt Emesz, Arkansas red shirt freshman Lukas Palovic and freshman Jakub Vrba.

The juniors who received entry via the ITF Junior Reserve program are Jagger Leach and Auburn freshman Alex Frusina, with 2023 Orange Bowl champion and Vanderbilt sophomore Danil Panarin receiving entry via the ITF Junior Exempt program. 

The top seed is Tim Legout of France, who has been a student at Texas, but does not appear to have been cleared by the NCAA yet. The No. 2 seed is Nathan Ponwith(Georgia, Arizona State), who will face Leach in the first round Wednesday.

Word of the death of renowned coach Robert Lansdorp came yesterday, and the acknowledgments of his impact on the game began to appear today.  Joel Drucker, a true historian of the sport, grew up in Southern California, so his perspective on Lansdorp's coaching career and philosophy has the feel of an insider. Drucker reviews Lansdorp's life and influence in this remembrance, posted yesterday at tennis.com.

I had met Lansdorp at an Easter Bowl seminar more than 15 years ago, and that led to a 2009 phone conversation that I summarized here. As I read it again, for the first time in many years, it's apparent just how unique his approach to coaching was and how committed he was to doing things his way.

Ken Thomas at radiotennis.com spoke to Lansdorp during the pandemic, and that interview from June of 2020 can be found here.