Electronic Line Calling Coming to Select USTA National Indoor Junior Tournaments; ITA Conference Masters Entries; Paskauskas Ousts Top Seed in Norman W35; Quinn, Basavareddy, Rodesch Advance at Charlottesville Challenger

The USTA announced today that Electric Line Calling will be used for the first time at USTA Level 1 events at next month's National Indoor Championships. This rollout is for the 12s and 16s division only in four sites. Today's USTA release:

2024 Boys’ and Girls’ 16s and 12s National Indoors to Become Inaugural

USTA Junior National Championships to Feature ELC

 

ORLANDO, Fla., October 31, 2024 – The USTA today announced that the upcoming USTA Junior National Indoor Championships will utilize PlayReplay electronic line-calling in competition, marking the first time USTA national junior tournaments have formally featured ELC in play. The Boys’ and Girls’ 16s and 12s tournaments being played November 29-December 2 at four different indoor facilities will have the PlayReplay system available for challenges in all singles and doubles matches. 

 

PlayReplay’s ELC system utilizes a minimally intrusive camera solution that provides an unprecedented level of accuracy and precision for ELC systems priced for recreational competition. Players competing in the select National Indoor Championships will have access to courtside touchscreens to immediately access ball-tracking data, “challenge” a line call and receive a visual representation of where the ball landed and an in/out ruling within approximately 20 seconds.

 

The facilities hosting these events utilizing PlayReplay are the Baseline Tennis Center in Minneapolis (G16s); the Manchester Athletic Club in Manchester, Mass. (G12s); XS Tennis Village in Chicago (B16s); and the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, N.Y. (B12s).

 

PlayReplay is a tennis technology company that was tabbed in the spring for the inaugural investment of USTA Ventures, the USTA’s strategic investment initiative focused on acquiring potential equity stakes in technologies and other companies that will help advance the USTA’s mission.

 

The USTA has tested the PlayReplay system at lower-level junior tournaments throughout 2024, with a surveyed group of 64 players, parents, tournament staff and officials rating their ‘overall impression’ of the technology 9.4 out of 10, on average. 

The PlayReplay system is the same as the one used at last month's men's ITA All-American tournament in Tulsa, but a college tennis major is different from a junior event in that all matches have chair umpires, who can immediately call up the point in question and provide a ruling. (This is not the same system as at the US Open, where the calls are made by the system, not by the players themselves). In junior tennis events, even at Level 1, roving umpires are the rule until the very end of the tournament, which means the players will be checking the tablet themselves when a dispute arises. There is no limit on these "challenges," but the expectation is that they will take no more than 20 seconds total, and they will not be frequent.

I was a guest today on the Parenting Aces podcast with host Lisa Stone, and after a discussion on the new ITF decision to allow coaching at all levels, we delved into the ELC. Lisa had been at tournaments where a different system was used, and reported positive feedback from competitors in those tournaments.You can hear more of her impressions here, beginning at the 23-minute mark. I do think it would be helpful for the USTA to provide a webinar on the system and how it will be implemented at the four National Indoor Championships, or at the very least, provide a Frequently Asked Questions document to send to all players accepted into the tournament.

One of my questions was whether there would be any difference in implementation if there is a chair umpire, and I was told there would not, although the umpire could be the person calling up the shot in question, rather than a player.

I've been a fan of ELC from its introduction (for juniors) at the 2021 US Open, so it's encouraging to see it making its way to lower profile junior events in just three years. 

The next pilot for the PlayReplay system in a Division I college event is at the West Sectional at University of Southern California November 7-10. For more on the upcoming college events using it, see this ITA article.

The ITA Sectional Championships are one of the two remaining events that will determine the final 28 singles players and 15 doubles teams competing in next month's NCAAs, with the Conference Masters event the other. The fields for the Conference Masters have been posted, although there are not 32 players currently listed for either the men or women. It was up to conferences to decide how to select their representatives. I know some, but not all, had tournaments for that purpose.

The representatives of the Power 4 + Ivy conferences are:

ACC W: Katja Wiersholm, Cal

ACC M: Sebastian Dominko, Notre Dame

Big 12 W: Gracie Epps, Oklahoma State

Big 12 M: Zsombor Velcz, Baylor

Big Ten W: Fatima Gutierrez, Purdue

Big Ten M: Niels Hoffmann, Southern California

Ivy League W: Shyla Aggarwal, Yale

Ivy League M: Zhengqing Ji

Southeastern W: Carmen Andreea Herea, Texas

Southeastern M: Thomas Paulsell, Georgia

There was a big upset in second round action today at the USTA Pro Circuit women's W25 in Norman Oklahoma, with North Carolina State sophomore Kristina Paskauskas of Great Britain beating top seed Jaimee Fourlis of Australia 6-4, 7-6(6). The 20-year-old qualifier, who has had success in ITF women's World Tennis Tour W15s, had not won a match on the W35 level until this week. She will face unseeded Central Florida sophomore Olivia Lincer of Poland in the quarterfinals. 

Americans advancing to the quarterfinals are unseeded Maribella Zamarripa(Texas), No. 4 seed Jessica Failla(USC, Pepperdine) and No. 3 seed Anna Rogers(NC State), who faces Zamarripa in the quarterfinals.

At the ATP Challenger 75 in Charlottesville Virginia, unseeded Americans Nishesh Basavareddy(Stanford) and Ethan Quinn(Georgia) picked up wins today to join Colton Smith(Arizona) and Learner Tien[2](USC) in the quarterfinals. 2023 NCAA champion Quinn defeated No. 5 seed Maks Kasnikowski of Poland 7-5, 6-0 and Basavareddy rolled past qualifier Patrick Zahraj(UCLA) of Germany 6-2, 6-0. Zahraj had taken out top seed Christopher Eubanks(Georgia Tech) in the opening round. 

Basavareddy's opponent in the quarterfinals will be lucky loser Chris Rodesch of Luxembourg, the former Virginia All-American, who came from a set and 5-2 down to beat No. 8 seed and 2019 NCAA champion Paul Jubb(South Carolina) of Great Britain, 6-7(5), 7-5, 6-4. Quinn will face the winner of tonight's late match between Virginia sophomore Dylan Dietrich of Switzerland, a wild card, and Alexis Galarneau(NC State) of Canada.

Tien is the only seed to reach the quarterfinals.

Smith and Tien Advance to Charlottesville Challenger Quarterfinals; Karue Sell Feature; WTA 125 Dow Tennis Classic Preview; Krueger Replaces Pegula for BJK Cup; VCU Plans New Tennis Facility

Arizona senior Colton Smith, who received a special exempt entry into this week's ATP Challenger 75 in Charlottesville Virginia after reaching the final at last week's Challenger in Sioux Falls, is through to the quarterfinals after defeating wild card Reilly Opelka 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 in tonight's second round match. Smith was able to break Opelka three times, and was not broken after the seventh game of the first set. After getting the only break in the third set in the fifth game, Smith held on, finishing that always nerve-racking final game with a big forehand and perfect backhand volley. Smith will face unseeded James Trotter(Ohio State) of Japan, who defeated Brandon Holt(USC) 6-2, 6-3.

No. 2 seed Learner Tien reached the quarterfinals earlier today, defeating Nicolas Mejia of Colombia 6-4, 7-6(8). Tien was unable to convert his five match points serving at 6-4, 5-4, but he saved four set points in the tiebreaker, three from 6-3 down. The two-time Kalamazoo champion has now reached at least the quarterfinals of all ten Challengers he has played in 2024 (and his career). He will take on unseeded Mark Lajal of Estonia on Friday. Lajal defeated No. 6 seed Patrick Kypson, 7-6(4(, 6-3. 

Lucky loser Chris Rodesch, the recent University of Virginia graduate, advanced to a second round meeting with 2019 NCAA singles champion Paul Jubb(South Carolina) of Great Britain Thursday, defeating wild card Govind Nanda(UCLA) 6-4, 6-3.

Thirty-year-old Karue Sell, a former UCLA Bruin, has resusciated a dormant pro tennis career via the unusual route of YouTube star. The Brazilian, who lives in Torrance California, stayed in tennis after he stopped playing in 2019, giving private lessons, serving as a hitting partner for Naomi Osaka and working with former UCLA teammate Marcos Giron. As his popularity on YouTube grew, he began putting many of his own lessons into practice in lower level events in 2023, and having success, continued to play regularly while documenting it all on YouTube.

This lengthy feature on Sell from the Los Angeles Times provides a look at his climb up the rankings, his daily life, and the challenges of any professional in the no man's land, financially, of a rankings in the 300s, outside the ranking necessary to qualify for slams. Sell has financial backing, including from a company co-founded by another former Bruin teammate Clay Thompson, but he is acutely aware of how fortunate he is in that regard. 

I hope you are able to access the article--I know it can be challenging to negotiate news website these days without a subscription, but it is a very thorough and comprehensive look at the life of a professional outside the Top 100.

I will be making my annual visit to the Dow Tennis Classic in Midlan this weekend, and although it will be even more brief than usual, I look forward to catching up with many of the junior and college players I've covered in years past. The tournament always gets excellent coverage from the local newspapers; here is the Midland Daily News preview of this year's event.

Jessica Pegula has withdrawn from the USA's Billie Jean King Cup team, with 2021 USTA 18s champion Ashlyn Krueger named as her replacement. Already without Coco Gauff, Emma Navarro and Madison Keys, team captain Lindsay Davenport will travel to Spain for a first round contest with Slovakia with Krueger, Danielle Collins, Peyton Stearns, Caroline Dolehide and Taylor Townsend.

Virginia Commonwealth University has broken ground on a new athletic village, which is expected to include an 18-court tennis facility with six indoor and 12 outdoor courts. VCU's commitment to its tennis programs has been in question since this spring, when Anthony Rossi left the men's head coaching position after six years to become associate head coach at Florida and women's head coach Vivian Segnini departed to join the WTA administration staff. 

Dimitar Kutrovsky, the men's assistant at Alabama, was named Rossi's replacement in July, but women's assistant Rifanty Kahfiani, who was named interim head coach in August when Segnini left, is still referred to that way on the coaches roster. But last week's announcement of the hiring of Lucy Harper as the associate head coach refers to Kahfiani as the head coach, so perhaps the website has yet to be updated. In any case, neither program has even a minimum number of players on their 2024-25 rosters, each showing just four players.

The women had seven last year; four with remaining eligibility are no longer on the roster. 

The men's roster from last year is not available, but four (of nine) men on the 2022-23 roster who would have eligibility remaining are not on the current roster of four players.

All this is say that there has been undeniable upheaval in both programs this year, so a commitment to a new facility has to considered a positive development. 

Pepperdine's Nilsson Tapped to Lead Florida Women; Jovic Finishes Fifth in Australian Open Wild Card Race But Likely to Claim It; UVA's Dietrich Among Winners at Charlottesville Challenger; Staker Qualifies at Norman W35

After building the Pepperdine women's tennis program into a national contender, Per Nilsson will be leaving the Waves after  10-plus years in Malibu to take over one of the top jobs in college tennis at the University of Florida.

The Gators announced Nilsson's hiring just three weeks after Roland Thornqvist stepped down, effective immediately, from the position he had held for 23 years in Gainsville. It's no surprise that Florida opted for a proven head coach to replace Thornqvist; when Bryan Shelton announced last summer that he was departing to coach his son Ben, Florida athletic director Scott Strickland hired Michigan head coach Adam Steinberg, who won an NCAA title at Pepperdine, to lead the men's program.

There is also another connection, with Nilsson and Strickland both Mississippi State alumni; Nilsson coached the men's team in Starkville when Strickland was the Athletic Director there.

The release, which provides a thorough rundown of Nilsson's accomplishments, says Nilsson is expected to be coaching the Gators, currently working under interim coach Jeremy Bayon, by the time the Conference Masters and Sectional tournaments take place November 7-10.

The USTA released the final update today on the women's Australian Open Wild Card Challenge, which concluded Sunday. Although 16-year-old Iva Jovic is in fifth place, the four women in front of her in the final standings are ranked in the 80s, so are likely to receive direct entry when the Australian Open fields are announced the first of December. 

Today's release, which also includes the first week of the men's rankings, with three weeks to go in that race:

The final women's standings are below, with the four players ahead of Jovic all ranked high enough to likely earn direct entry into Melbourne when the entry lists are revealed in the first week of December. 

 

Jovic, from Torrance, Calif., made her Grand Slam main draw singles debut at the US Open this past summer and won her first-round match after earning a wild card as the USTA Girls' 18s National Champion. Since then, she's gone 14-2 in pro singles matches on the USTA Pro Circuit.  

 

Final Women's Standings

(Player's current ranking in parenthesis)

 

1. Sofia Kenin (88) -- 395

2. Hailey Baptiste (84) -- 240

3. Caroline Dolehide (78) -- 164

4. Bernarda Pera (81) -- 149

5. Iva Jovic (212) -- 141

6. McCartney Kessler (69) -- 117

7. Ann Li (111) -- 104

 

On the men's side, University of Arizona senior Colton Smith leads the Challenge after Week 1, having reached the final of the USTA Pro Circuit Challenger 75 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

 

Men's Standings -- Week 1

(Player's current ranking in parenthesis)

 

1. Colton Smith (390) -- 44

2. Murphy Cassone (328) -- 22

3. Aleks Kovacevic (99) -- 13

There are just two USTA Pro Circuit events this week, the men's Challenger 75 in Charlottesville Virginia and the women's W35 in Norman Oklahoma.

First round matches are spread over three days in Charlottesville, but there has already been a notable result, with wild card Dylan Dietrich, a University of Virginia sophomore, picking up his first Challenger victory with a 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 4 seed Zachary Svajda. Dietrich, a 20-year-old from Switzerland, will face Alexis Galarneau(NC State) of Canada in the second round.

Another Cavalier will play in the main draw after Sioux Falls South Dakota Challenger champion Borna Gojo(Wake Forest) withdrew. Recent Virginia graduate Chris Rodesch, who lost to Alex Rybakov(TCU) in the final round of qualifying, is the lucky loser replacing Gojo. He will play wild card Govind Nanda(UCLA) in the final first round match Wednesday morning.

The third wild card in Charlottesville went to Reilly Opelka, still trying to return to form after a nearly two-year hiatus due to injuries. Opelka defeated No. 7 seed Dmitry Popko of Kazakhstan 5-7, 6-1, 7-6(1) in the first round Monday, hitting 28 aces.

Five of the six qualifiers failed to reach the second round, with the sixth, Patrick Zahraj(UCLA) of Germany, playing his first round match against top seed Christopher Eubanks(Georgia Tech) tonight. Toby Kodat, Andre Ilagan, Naoki Nakagawa, Kyle Edmund and Rybakov all were beaten today. Colton Smith, the Sioux Falls finalist who received a special exempt entry into the main draw, beat Ilagan 6-3, 7-5.

Learner Tien(USC), who has not played since winning the Fairfield Challanger on October 13th, is the No. 2 seed; he defeated defending champion Beibit Zhukayev of Kazakhstan 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the first round Monday.  No. 3 seed Mitchell Krueger lost to James Trotter(Ohio State) of Japan 7-5, 7-6(6).

Qualifying for the women's tournament in Norman concluded today, with Oklahoma senior Emma Staker the only American reaching the main draw. Oklahoma freshman Salakthip Ounmuang of Thailand also qualified, joining wild card Alina Shcherbinina of Russia, a senior at Oklahoma, and wild card Julia Garcia Ruiz of Mexico, a junior at Oklahoma, in the main draw.

The top seed is Jaimee Fourlis of Australia, with Sohyun Park of Korea the No. 2 seed. Anna Rogers(NC State) is the No. 3 seed, one of just six Americans in the draw.

Eight American women are competing in the main draw of the W75+H in Toronto, including seeds Maria Mateas(Duke)[2], Louisa Chirico[5] and Robin Anderson(UCLA)[7].

Montoya Sweeps J100 Titles in Mexico; Johnson and Lee Claim Second Singles Titles on ITF Junior Circuit; Florida State Seeking Candidates for PhD in Tennis Research, Teaching

The fall ITF Junior Circuit in the United States features a tournament every week from September 30 to November 18, including last week's J60 in Rome Georgia. But the biggest singles titles for Americans came south of the border, with 16-year-old Kori Montoya and 15-year-old Andrew Johnson capturing the championships at the J100 in Mexico last week.

Montoya, a blue chip high school junior from Texas, won her first ITF Junior Circuit singles title early this month at the J60 in Corpus Christi as the top seed. This past week, seeded No. 4, Montoya avenged her semifinal loss at the previous week's J100 to top seed Hikari Yamamoto of Japan to advance to the final, where she defeated 13-year-old Hannah Ayrault[14] 7-6(1), 7-5. Ayrault had lost to Yamamoto in last week's final. 

Montoya also claimed her second ITF Junior Circuit doubles title, with partner Ika RajuKanumuri of India. The No. 2 seeds defeated top seeds Carolina Alonso and Marianne Angel of Mexico 6-4, 2-6, 10-5 in the final.

Johnson also won his first ITF Junior Circuit singles title three weeks ago in Corpus Christi, then followed it up with a title in Mexico this week. The No. 9 seed, Johnson defeated No. 5 seed Miko Lapalme of Canada 6-4, 6-0 in the final, after defeating No. 2 seed Felix Roussel of Canada 6-1, 7-5 in the semifinals. Johnson did not lose a set in his five victories. 

Fourteen-year-old Jordan Lee won his first ITF Junior Circuit singles title last month in Bosnia on clay; his first in the United States came in Rome Georgia last week. The second seed, Lee didn't lose more than three games in his first four victories (Rome was a rare 64-player draw), then beat No. 4 seed William Zhang 7-6(4), 6-3 in the semifinals. In the final, Lee defeated 15-year-old Navneet Raghuram, the No. 8 seed, 6-2, 6-2.

Unseeded Connor Plunkett and Zen David Uehling won the boys doubles title, defeating unseeded Jonah Hill and Malhar Patel 7-5, 1-6, 10-5 in the all-USA final.

Californian Aishi Bisht, who represents India on the ITF Junior Circuit, swept the girls titles in Rome. The No. 3 seed defeated Ellery Mendell 6-4, 6-0 in the singles final. Bisht partnered with Emerey Gross for the doubles title, with the No. 5 seeds defeating No. 2 seeds Nicole Okhtenberg and Addison Iacono 6-3 6-4 in the final. 

Doubles titles were more plentiful for Americans last week, with five more championships in addition to those mentioned above.

At the J200 in Santa Cruz Bolivia, No. 5 seeds Nancy Lee and Welles Newman defeated No. 3 seeds Nauhany Leme Da Silva and Pietra Rivoli of Brazil 2-6, 6-0, 10-1 in the final. Nischal Spurling and El Salvador's Cesar Cruz, finalists two weeks ago at the LaPaz J200, took the boys doubles title, with the No. 7 seeds defeating unseeded Juan Ignacio Gallego of Argentina and Santiago Lora of Bolivia 6-1, 6-1 in the final.

Dillon Beckles won the boys doubles title at the J60 in Botswana, with Czech partner Sebastian Chodura. The No. 2 seeds defeated No. 3 seeds Joshua Aston of Great Britain and Jayden Summers of South Africa 6-4, 7-6(4) in the final. Younger brother David Beckles won the doubles title at the J30 in Cameroon with Daniel Ekango of Cameroon. The top seeds defeated Anas Ben Youssef of Tunisia and Fadil Adam Zambou of Cameroon 6-4, 6-3 in the championship match. It's the first title on the ITF Junior Circuit for 15-year-old David Beckles.

Kashish Kant earned her second straight J30 doubles title in Ethiopia, again partnering with Presha Shanthamoorthi of India. The top seeds defeated unseeded Beatriz Dias and Bruna Liotto de Carvalho of Brazil in the final for a second straight week, this time by a score of 6-3, 6-2. 

This week the ITF Junior Circuit moves south to the J60 in Boca Raton Florida. Prathinav Chunduru and Jordan Lee are the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the boys draw; Ameia Sorey and Daniela Chica are the top two girls seeds. Seeds begin play Tuesday in the 48-player singles draws.

If you are a current or former collegiate player interested in post-graduate work in the sport of tennis, Florida State has a fully funded doctoral student position available for the fall of 2025. Here is a brief description of the position and contact information for more details.

Florida State University: Tennis-Specific PhD/Doctoral Student Position

Starting Fall 2025, Florida State University will offer a fully-funded PhD/doctoral student position (tuition waiver, stipend, and health insurance) for one individual looking to do tennis-specific research and teaching. The position will have both on-court and off-court elements, including co-authorship publication potential. College and professional tennis players are encouraged to apply. All applicants must provide a current GRE score. The deadline to apply is February 15, 2025. For further details, please contact Dr. Ryan Rodenberg:

Ryan Rodenberg, JD/PhD
Professor
Florida State University
rrodenberg "at" fsu.edu

Lopata Earns First Pro Circuit Title at Hilton Head; Monday Three-Peats in Norman; Qualifier Gojo Takes Sioux Falls Challenger Title; Jovic Drops W100 Tyler Final; Shelton, Dolehide and Kenin Fall Short in Finals

The good news is that Americans were in three finals on the USTA Pro Circuit and three more on the ATP and WTA Tours; the bad news is that none could secure a winner's trophy in today's championship matches.

University of Georgia junior Anastasiya Lopata won her first Pro Circuit title today, using her ITA Accelerator Program entry to capture the title at the USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Hilton Head South Carolina. Lopata, who has yet to qualify for next month's NCAA tournament despite being the 2024 finalist, defeated top seed and WTA No. 304 Elvina Kalieva 6-3, 6-2. It was the only straight sets win of the week for the 19-year-old from Ukraine, who is 4-3 in W75s this fall and now 5-0 at the W35 level.

The only USTA Pro Circuit tournament without an American finalist was the $25,000 men's event in Norman Oklahoma, which saw Stefan Dostanic(USC, Wake Forest) and Tyler Zink(Georgia, Oklahoma State) lose in Saturday's semifinals. Recent Tennessee graduate Johannus Monday of Great Britain, who was unseeded, continued his incredible form this month, winning his third consecutive title today with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over unseeded Canadian Juan Carlos Aguilar(Texas A&M, TCU). The 22-year-old left-hander won the Louisville $25K two weeks ago unseeded and the Harlingen $25K last week as the No. 5 seed, dropping just three sets in this three-week run. 

Gojo(left) and Smith receive Sioux Falls Challenger trophies

For the second consecutive week, a qualifier has won a North American Challenger 75, with Wake Forest's 2018 NCAA singles finalist Borna Gojo of Croatia defeating wild card Colton Smith 6-1, 7-5 in today final in Sioux Falls South Dakota. Media manager Greg Sharko provided this recap of today's final:

SIOUX FALLS – Croatian qualifier Borna Gojo captured the first professional tennis singles championship in the state of South Dakota on Sunday at the MarketBeat Open presented by USTA Northern as he defeated Univ. of Arizona wild card Colton Smith 6-1, 7-5.

The 26-year-old Gojo was sidelined for seven months earlier this year due to a back injury. After playing the first two weeks in January, Gojo didn’t return again until August.

“A lot of things people don’t really see after you get hurt for such a long time, for being at the top of your career and then going back to zero,” said Gojo, who finished a year-end best No. 72 last year but dropped to No. 422 coming into Sioux Falls.
“Mentally it wasn’t easy and I struggled but always kind of stayed positive and went to all the doctors in this world to find a solution. I’m happy right now that I’m feeling well and playing some good tennis.”

After rallying from a set down in his quarter-final win over No. 8 seed Brandon Holt, Gojo won the last six sets he played. In his last three matches he saved 18 of 20 break points, including four of five in the final.

It was Gojo’s second career ATP Challenger Tour title in his fifth final, almost two years since winning his maiden title in Ortisel, Italy on Oct. 30, 2022. At last year’s US Open he advanced to the fourth round as a qualifier (l. to Djokovic).

The 21-year-old Smith, a senior at Arizona, came in ranked No. 496 and he will jump to around No. 390. This was his first career Challenger final. Smith is the first week leader in the USTA/Australian Open Wild Card Challenge. The American with the most points in three of the four-week series of events, will earn a main draw WC into the 2025 Australian Open.

“I had a slow start and it’s attributed a little bit to nerves, having never been in this position before,” said Smith. “The guy played like a Top 50 player I think and I tried to find my way back into the match. Overall I couldn’t be more happy and I feel super blessed to be here in this position. It hasn’t been an easy road this week but to be able to get through a handful of really tough matches, helps me build the confidence and I am looking forward to kind of keeping this momentum the next couple of weeks.”

Smith added on being the wild card leader: “It’s pretty cool and I didn’t know about it at all until two days ago so to be in the lead it feels pretty nice but I think now going into these next couple of weeks it’s not something I will be thinking about. I just got to take it one match at a time.”

The $82,000 ATP Challenger Tour event was the first professional tennis tournament held in South Dakota as the Huether Family Match Pointe played host on the Sanford Sports Complex.

Both Smith and Gojo received special exempt entries into next week's Challenger 75 in Charlottesville Virginia. 

Sixteen-year-old Iva Jovic had never played a WTA Top 100 player until this spring, yet she had managed to post a 3-2 record in those encounters this summer and fall. Her sixth Top 100 match, against No. 71 Renata Zarazua of Mexico in today's final of the USTA Pro Circuit W100 in Tyler Texas, brought her back to .500, with Zarazua earning a 6-4, 6-2 victory over the fifth seed.

On the WTA Tour, Caroline Dolehide lost 6-3, 6-1 to Olga Danilovic of Serbia in the final of the 250 in Guangzhou China.

Wild card Sofia Kenin was beaten by top seed Qinwen Zheng of China 7-6(5), 6-3 in Sunday's final of the WTA 500 in Tokyo.

Ben Shelton fell to Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard of France in the final of the ATP 500 in Basel Switzerland 6-4, 7-6(4). Mpetshi Perricard had 22 aces and faced no break points in the championship match.

Jovic Reaches Final at USTA Pro Circuit W100 in Tyler Texas, Ngounoue Wins Doubles Title; Smith's Comeback Leads to Sioux Falls Challenger Final; Lopata Advances at W35 Hilton Head; Monday Aims for Third Straight $25K Title in Norman

Iva Jovic will play in the biggest final of her career Sunday at the USTA Pro Circuit W100 in Tyler Texas, just three weeks after winning the biggest title of her career at a W75 in Rancho Santa Fe California. The reigning USTA Girls 18s champion is now 14-1 with two titles since reaching the semifinals at the US Open Junior Championships, earning win No. 14 today with a 6-4, 6-2 decision over unseeded Jaimee Fourlis of Australia.

The 16-year-old from Torrance California, the No. 5 seed this week, will play top seed Renata Zarazua of Mexico, who ended wild card Alana Smith's chance for the USTA's Australian Open reciprocal wild card with a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 decision over the former NC State All-American.

Jovic, who is now up to 204 in the WTA live rankings, which guarantees her a spot in the Australian Open qualifying draw, is likely to receive the main draw wild card. Although she is fifth in points at the moment, the four women ahead of her--Sofia Kenin (now through to the final at the WTA 500 in Tokyo), Hailey Baptiste, Caroline Dolehide and Bernarda Pera--have all earned enough points to get into the main draw on their own ranking during the past month. So, barring injury or some other unforeseen circumstance, Jovic will be competing in Melbourne in January. 

Clervie Ngounoue and Australian Alexandra Osborne won the doubles title in Tyler, defeating Brandy Walker(Northern Arizona) and Mary Lewis(Arizona, Michigan State) 6-2, 6-3 in the championship contest between unseeded teams. It's the fourth and biggest title for both Ngounoue and Osborne, who had not played together before this week.

Wild card Colton Smith will lead the men's race after the first week of the USTA's Australian Open Wild Card Challenge, coming from 5-2 down in the third set to defeat Murphy Cassone(Arizona State) 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 at the ATP Challenger 75 in Sioux Falls South Dakota. The Arizona senior, who had beaten last week's Calgary champion Cassone 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(3) in the singles quarterfinals of the NCAAs in May, saved three break points serving at 1-4, to keep his deficit to just one break. He then broke Cassone in his next two service games and closed it out with a love hold. 

Smith will face qualifier Borna Gojo of Croatia, with the former Wake Forest All-American defeating unseeded Mark Lajal of Estonia 7-6(1), 6-4 in the first semifinal. 

A complete recap of today's action by media manager Greg Sharko, with comments from both Gojo and Smith, can be found here.

Like the singles title will be, the doubles title was claimed by former collegians, with Canadians Cleeve Harper(Texas) and Liam Draxl(Kentucky) ending the run of titles for Ryan Seggerman(Princeton, UNC) and Patrik Trhac(Idaho State, Utah). The No. 3 seeds defeated the top seeds 7-5, 6-3, after Seggerman and Trhac had won the Fairfield and Calgary Challenger titles the past two weeks. It's the second Challenger doubles title for Draxl and 2022 NCAA doubles champion Harper; they won the Edmonton $25K title two weeks ago.

2024 NCAA singles finalist Anastasiya Lopata, a junior at the University of Georgia, will play in her first Pro Circuit final Sunday at the W35 in Hilton Head South Carolina. The 19-year-old from Ukraine, who used one of her ITA Accelerator Program entries as an NCAA finalist this week, defeated Kylie McKenzie 6-4, 0-6, 6-2 in the semifinals today. Lopata will play top seed Elvina Kalieva, who beat Central Florida sophomore Olivia Lincer of Poland 6-1, 6-3. 

Former UNC Tar Heels Fiona Crawley and Makenna Jones won the doubles title in Hilton Head, with the No. 4 seeds defeating No. 2 seeds and Auburn teammates Angella Okutoyi of Kenya and Merna Refaat of Egypt 6-2, 6-7(5), 10-7 in today's final. It's the second Pro Circuit doubles title for Crawley, the 2023 NCAA doubles champion, and the 12th for Jones, the 2021 NCAA doubles champion, but their first as a team.

At the men's $25,000 USTA Pro Circuit tournament in Norman Oklahoma, Johannus Monday of Great Britain will play for his third consecutive $25K title in as many weeks after he defeated Wake Forest's Stefan Dostanic(USC) 6-2, 6-4. The former Tennessee Volunteer All-American will face unseeded Juan Carlos Aguilar(Texas A&M, TCU) of Canada, who beat No. 6 seed Tyler Zink 6-4, 6-3. 

The home crowd went home happy from the doubles final, with Oklahoma teammates Oscar Lucides of Guadaloupe and Bruno Nhavene of Mozambique, who were a wild card entry, beating Alan Magadan(UT-San Antonio) of Mexico and Alex Martinez(Oklahoma) of Spain 7-6(4), 6-1. It's the first pro title for Lucides and Nhavene.

My Article on Rodriguez's Commitment to Georgia; Jovic Outlasts Stoiana to Stay in Australian Open WC Race; Smith Reaches First Challenger Semifinal in Sioux Falls; Monday Wins 13th Straight Match at Norman $25K

Earlier this month I spoke with blue chip Ava Rodriguez about her commitment to the University of Georgia, with the 16-year-old, who is No. 9 in the Tennis Recruiting Network's Class of 2026, making a decison early in the process, just weeks after talking with coaches this summer.

Rodriguez started playing softball, but with an older brother who played tennis, and a family background in the game, she began focusing solely on that sport four or five years ago. 

For more on Rodriguez's decision to verbally commit to Georgia, see this article at the Tennis Recruiting Network. 

Wild card Sofia Kenin defeated No. 3 seed Daria Kasatkina of Russia 6-3, 6-4 today in the quarterfinals of the WTA 500 in Tokyo to move closer to a return to the Top 100 and direct entry into the Australian Open. She's not there yet however, with her live ranking at 105, so if she loses to No. 9 seed Katie Boulter of Great Britain in the semifinals and doesn't play the rest of the year, she will win the USTA's Australian Open wild card race, which ends this week.

But if Kenin wins tomorrow, or does continue to play and gets into 2025's first major on her own ranking later this fall, that wild card will go to the next highest finisher, which will be determined this week at the USTA Pro Circuit W100 in Tyler Texas.

Iva Jovic took a big step forward in that race today, defeating Texas A&M senior Mary Stoiana 6-2, 6-7(6), 7-6(2) in the three-hour and 24-minute quarterfinal. Jovic served for the match twice in the second set, at 5-4, and 6-5, but with only two service holds in the 12 games of the set, it was no surprise that she didn't close it out. Stoiana, who moved into the WTA Top 300 with her second round win Thursday, was up 6-3 in the tiebreaker before closing it out. 

Jovic took a 3-1 lead in the third set, but three service breaks later it was 4-all, and neither blinked in reaching the tiebreaker. Jovic was definitely steadier in that final game, closing it out on her first match point.

Jovic will face unseeded Jaimee Fourlis of Australia, who defeated No. 6 seed Katarzyna Kawa of Poland 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. 

While Jovic has kept her hopes alive for the Australian Open wild card, so too has Alana Smith, the former NC State All-American, who received a wild card into this week's tournament. Smith, who reached the final of the W75 in Norman two weeks ago, defeated unseeded Usue Arconada 3-6, 6-2, 6-4 to advance to the semifinals. She will face top seed Renata Zarazua of Mexico, who defeated Clervie Ngounoue 6-4, 6-2.

While the women's Australian Open Wild Card Race ends this week, the men's has just begun, and only two Americans will earn any significant points this week, Colton Smith(Arizona) and the winner of tonight's Sioux Falls ATP Challenger 75 quarterfinal between Chris Eubanks(Georgia Tech) and Murphy Cassone(Arizona State).

Arizona senior Smith, who received a wild card this week, battled past Michigan State junior Ozan Baris 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to reach his first Challenger semifinal. One bad game in the third set by Baris, at 4-all, was the only break of the set, but Smith had to save three break points serving for the match before converting his third match point.

Smith, who played his first Challenger in August, will take on either Cassone or Eubanks Saturday.

After last week's Challenger in Calgary featured two qualifiers, another one has reached the Sioux Falls semifinals, former Wake Forest All-American Borna Gojo of Croatia. Gojo, who was 72 in the ATP rankings less than a year ago, was out with an injury from January until August, and struggled to find his form in the past three months. But with his wins over No. 2 seed Mitchell Krueger, Denis Kudla and No. 6 seed Brandon Holt(USC) today, the latter by a 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-2 score, he is back on track. He will face unseeded Mark Lajal of Estonia, who beat No. 6 seed Patrick Kypson(Texas A&M) 7-6(3), 6-3.

Johannus Monday is one of four former collegians through to the semifinals at the $25,000 men's USTA Pro Circuit tournament in Norman Oklahoma. Monday, who graduated from Tennessee this past spring, has won the past two $25Ks in the United States, two weeks ago in Louisville and last week in Harlingen. Unseeded, the 22-year-old from Great Britain, won his 13th straight match today with a 6-0, 7-6(3) win over qualifier Sebastian Dominko(Notre Dame) of Slovenia.

Monday will face Stefan Dostanic, the former USC All-American who will be using his final season of eligibility at Wake Forest in the spring. Dostanic, also unseeded, defeated qualifier Isaac Becroft(Oklahoma State) of New Zealand 6-3, 6-2.

Recent Oklahoma State graduate Tyler Zink, the only seed remaining at No. 6, defeated No. 4 seed Alex Martinez(Oklahoma) of Spain 6-4, 6-2. He will play Juan Carlos Aguilar(Texas A&M, TCU) of Canada, who beat Quinn Vandecasteele(Oregon) 0-6, 7-6(4), 6-4. Vandecasteele had beaten top seed Toby Kodat 6-4, 6-3 Thursday.

There are two 19-year-old current collegians in semifinals at the USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Hilton Head: Georgia junior Anastasiya Lopata of Ukraine and Central Florida sophomore Olivia Lincer of Poland. 

2024 NCAA finalist Lopata followed up her win yesterday over teammate and Georgia No. 1 Dasha Vidmanova by taking out Michigan's former No. 1 Kari Miller 6-1, 4-6, 6-4. Lopata will face Kylie McKenzie, who advanced when No. 3 seed Allie Kiick retired down 3-1.

Lincer defeated No. 4 seed Jenny Duerst of Switzerland 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-0 and will play top seed Elvina Kalieva, who beat Eryn Cayetano(USC) 6-3, 6-1. 

Arizona State Senior Cassone Reflects on First Challenger Title; Kenin Takes Lead in Australian Open Wild Card Race; Bryan Brothers, Sharapova Elected to International Tennis Hall of Fame

Arizona State's Cassone with Calgary Challenger trophy

I had an opportunity to talk with Arizona State senior Murphy Cassone today, with his recent title at last week's ATP Challenger title in Calgary obviously a major topic of the conversation.  The 22-year-old from Overland Park Kansas, who is playing his second round match at the ATP Challenger 75 in Sioux Falls South Dakota tonight against Stefan Kozlov, said he is ready for more despite the intense week in Canada.

After getting through qualifying in Calgary, Cassone immediately went into clutch mode, saving five match points in his 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-6(13) first round win over Ryan Seggerman. After a 6-2, 6-4 victory over No. 2 seed Patrick Kypson(Texas A&M) in the second round, Cassone then played three more tiebreakers in his 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 7-6(4) quarterfinal win over Alexis Galarneau(NC State) of Canada. A 7-5, 6-4 victory over No. 3 seed Aziz Dougaz(Florida State) of Tunisia in his first Challenger semifinal earned Cassone a place in the final, against fellow qualifier Govind Nanda(UCLA). Cassone had to come back from dropping the opening set, but came away with a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 win and left Canada with an ATP ranking of 363, up 236 spots from when he began the tournament.

"It's pretty surreal, actually," Cassone said of his run in Calgary. "Most of the matches I though I was down and out and thought I was going to lose, but a part of me just kept sticking point to point, focusing on what I can, doing the best I can. That's a mindset shift that's helped me out lately."

Cassone, who reached a Challenger quarterfinal in 2022, in the summer after his freshman year, said he never doubted that he could compete at Challengers, but his mental game was lacking.

"I've always thought I have the level to do things like this," Casssone said. "But I've had a lot of close matches, more mental losses, whether I get up in the score and think about the moment too much, or just get in my own way, almost. So I knew it was bound to happen if I just kept getting to this level and training with these guys. I didn't expect it to be so soon, but you just never know in tennis."

Cassone, who reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA singles championship in May, losing to Colton Smith of Arizona, who is through to the quarterfinals of the Sioux Falls Challenger as a wild card, decided not to play the fall season this year. Although that means no NCAA participation this fall, Cassone was determined to leave Arizona State next spring with a Challenger-level ATP ranking, and the uncertainty about the US Open wild card the USTA had traditionally provided to an American champion was also a factor.

"We weren't sure if there would be any wild cards attached(to NCAA participation) and I wanted to set myself up for the summer," said Cassone, who is living and training in Tempe, although he is not enrolled this semester. "I didn't want to start from square one, so I wanted to give myself a chance to get ahead on my ranking, to build it a little easier and stress-free once school's done next spring."

Despite taking this fall off, Cassone is scheduled to graduate in the spring, although he will not devote himself exclusively to dual matches. 

"We want to hybrid my schedule, so I can get seven pro tournaments in next spring," said Cassone, who plans to build that schedule around the classes he'll need to graduate, although his results the rest of this year could change that. "Right now, I'm planning on going back."

Arizona State has the added benefit of being the home of his longtime coach David Fox, now a Sun Devils assistant coach. Fox, who travels with Cassone when his collegiate schedule allows, was Cassone's junior development coach at the Overland Park Racquet Club.

Although he is taking advantage of his special exemption into the main draw to play this week, Cassone is ready for a break, although he said that physically, he has no complaints.

"I definitely need a week or two, back at home just to spend time with my family, take time for me," said Cassone, who has played a Challenger in six of the past seven weeks. "I just need a week after this tournament to reset. I feel good other than that, my body's holding up well."

Cassone is planning to close his year playing a $25K and a $15K, which is in keeping with his determination to proceed as if he hadn't won the title last week.

"I'm trying to keep the same mindset, the same everything," Cassone said. "Before the Challenger, I just came in focusing on the process, what I need to do to get better. Winning it obviously adds extra thoughts and goals, but for me, I just want to keep the same frame of mind, keep plugging away and going on the path I'm going."

Today at the WTA 500 in Tokyo, wild card Sofia Kenin reached the quarterfinals with a 6-7(8), 6-4, 7-6(6) win over Clara Tauson of Denmark, and the 108 points she earns give her 179 points in the USTA's Australian Open wild card race. That puts her in second place, behind only Hailey Baptiste, who is not likely to need the wild card, with her current ranking of 82. Kenin is up to 121 in the WTA live rankings so she could still make the Australian Open field on her own with a few more good results; Ann Li lost in the first round of the WTA in Mexico, so she will finish with 104 points. At 109 in the live rankings, Li could also move into the Australian Open main draw on her own, so it won't be obvious who will get the wild card despite the final standings coming out next week.

The International Tennis Hall of Fame announced its inductees today, with Mike and Bob Bryan and Maria Sharapova selected as the Class of 2025. 

The Bryans, who are also in the ITA Collegiate Hall of Fame for their careers at Stanford, will be inducted in a ceremony next August in the weekend prior to the start of the US Open, as will Sharapova. The induction was previously in July, as part of the Newport ATP 250, but that tournament was eliminated after the 2024 edition.

For more on the Bryans many professional accomplishments, see this article from usta.com.

Division I Regionals Complete, 36 of 64 NCAA Participants Decided; Baris Reaches First Challenger Quarterfinal in Sioux Falls; Four Teens Advance at W100 in Tyler; No. 2 and No. 3 Seeds Out at Norman $25K; Auburn, Georgia Shine at Hilton Head W35

The Division I Regional Championships concluded yesterday, with 26 men and 26 women now having earned their spots in next month's NCAA singles championships in Waco Texas by reaching the regional finals. The first 10 spots were filled by performances at the ITA All-American Championships last month. That leaves 28 spots yet to be determined, with four decided at the Conference Masters and 24 playing their way in at the Sectional Championships, both scheduled for November 7-10.

The current list of NCAA singles qualifiers is below, with the asterisk indicating the regional champion. One of the women's regional final matches was not played; five of the men's regional final matches were not played. For the doubles qualifiers, see Chris Halioris's google documents, with the women here and the men here. Seventeen of the 32 teams in the NCAA doubles draw have been determined; the 

All American qualifiers:

Maria Sholokova, Wisconsin

Elza Tomase, Tennessee

Tatum Evans, North Carolina

Theadora Rabman, North Carolina

Savannah Broadus, Pepperdine

Ange Oby Kajuru, Oklahoma State

Valerie Glozman, Stanford

DJ Bennett, Auburn

Dasha Vidmanova, Georgia

Mary Stoiana, Texas A&M

Regional qualifiers:

*Anastasiya Komar, Oklahoma State

Xin Tong Wang, Wichita State

*Luciana Perry, Ohio State

Julia Fliegner, Michigan

*Ariana Pursoo, Texas

Ashton Bowers, Texas

*Ozlem Uslu, Virginia Tech

Sara Ziodato, Virginia

Irina Balus, Duke

Eleana Yu, Duke

*Serafima Shastova, Syracuse

Olivia Benton, Boston College

*Sabine Rutaluka, Penn

Esha Velaga, Penn

*Bridget Stammel, Vanderbilt

Carmen Gallardo Guevara, Purdue

*Ekaterina Khayrutdinova, Florida International

Raquel Gonzalez, Miammi

*Merna Refaat, Auburn

Angella Okutoyi, Auburn

*Zdena Safarova, Boise State

Andrea Beltran, Denver

Connie Ma, Stanford

Alexis Blokhina, Stanford

(Stanford's Valerie Glozman, A-A qualifier, won the regional, beating Ma; Blokhina took third for NCAA berth)

*Amelia Honer, UC-Santa Barbara

Emilija Tverijonaite, Arizona State

(Pepperdine's Savannah Braodus, A-A qualifer, was regional finalist; Tverijonaite finished third)

MEN:

All American qualifiers:

Oliver Tarvvet, San Diego

Sebastian Gorzny, Texas

Aidan Kim, Ohio State

Pedro Vives, TCU

Lui Maxted, TCU

Samir Banerjee, Stanford

Corey Craig, Florida State

Michael Zheng, Columbia

Colton Smith, Arizona

Jay Friend, Arizona

Regional qualifiers:

Oscar Lacides, Oklahoma

Jordan Hasson, Oklahoma

*Ozan Baris, Michigan State

Kenta Miyoshi, Illinois

*Timo Legout, Texas

Jonah Braswell, Texas

*Connor Van Schalkwyk, Old Dominion

Dylan Dietrich, Virginia

Martin Borisiouk, NC State

Pedro Rodenas, Duke

*Radu Papoe, Cornell

Vignesh Gogineni, Yale

*Hugo Hashimoto, Columbia

Top Nidunjianzan, Princeton

Shunsuke Mitsui, Tennessee

Alex Kotzen, Tennessee

Miguel Perez Pena, Georgia

Jamie Connel, Florida State

Petar Jovanovic, Mississippi State

Benito Sanchez Martinez, Mississippi State

*Daniel Sancho Arbizu, Denver

Raffaello Papajcik, Denver

*Carl Emil Overbeck, Cal

Cesar Bouchelaghem, Washington

*Spencer Johnson, UCLA

Noah Zamora, UC-Irvine

Michigan State junior Ozan Baris, a semifinalist at May's NCAAs, won his regional last week on his home courts; this week he is at the ATP Challenger 75 in Sioux Falls South Dakota. After matching his best Challenger result with a 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 win over Alastair Gray(TCU) of Great Britain on Monday, Baris advanced to his first Challenger quarterfinal today, defeating Calgary finalist Govind Nanda(UCLA) 7-6(4), 6-4.  Nanda served for the first set at 6-5 and had seven set points in the 10-deuce game, but Baris got the break, took an early lead in the tiebreaker and closed it out. Baris made very few errors in the long rallies and looked fresher than Nanda, who was playing his ninth Challenger match in the past 11 days.

Baris will play the winner of tonight's match between wild cards Colton Smith(Arizona) and former ATP No. 14 Kyle Edmund of Great Britain.

At the W100 in Tyler Texas, four teenagers advanced to Thursday's second round: 16-year-old Iva Jovic, 17-year-old Akasha Urhobo, 18-year-old Clervie Ngounoue and 18-year-old qualifier Lexington Reed.

Jovic, the No. 5 seed, rolled past qualifier Anita Sahdiieva(Baylor, LSU) of Ukraine 6-1, 6-0; Urhobo beat 18-year-old qualifier Carmen Herea, a Texas freshman 6-2, 6-3 and will play Jovic next. The two met in May's W75 final in Florida, on clay, with Urhobo winning 6-3, 6-1.

Ngounoue, who defeated Martina Okalova(Tulsa) of Slovakia 2-6, 6-3, 6-3, will face qualifier Mary Lewis(Arizona, Michigan State), who beat No. 8 seed Katrina Scott 6-3, 6-7(5), 7-6(7) in three hours and 33 minutes. Reed, a freshman at Texas A&M, defeated 33-year-old Hiroko Kuwata of Japan 6-2, 6-3 today and will get an opportunity to face teammate Mary Stoiana Thursday.

All 16 first round matches were played today at the men's $25,000 tournament in Norman Oklahoma, with top seed Toby Kodat advancing, but No. 2 seed Felix Corwin and No. 3 seed Micah Braswell eliminated.

Corwin lost 7-6(4), 6-4 to lucky loser Bruno Nhavene, a junior at Oklahoma, who joins teammates Luis Alvarez and Oscar Lacides, both wild cards, in the second round. Braswell lost to qualifier Lui Maxted(TCU) 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

Tyler features Aggie teammates Stoiana and Reed Thursday, while the W35 in Hilton Head South Carolina will showcase two Georgia Bulldogs, with Dasha Vidmanova taking on Anastasiya Lopata. Vidmanova had the easier path to the second round, defeating 16-year-old qualifier Ishika Ashar 6-3, 6-0, while NCAA singles finalist Lopata, who has not yet qualified for the NCAAs next month, got past Texas freshman Eszter Meri of Slovakia

3-6, 7-6(1), 6-0.

Qualifier DJ Bennett defeated teammate Merna Refaat 6-3, 6-4 today; both have already secured their spots in the NCAAs next month, as has Angella Okutoyi, who also in through to the second round in Hilton Head.

Talking with Nanda about Calgary Final, Win Over Basavareddy at Sioux Falls Challenger; Stoiana Beats No. 2 Seed Chirico, Five Americans Advance to Main Draw at Tyler W100; Three Teens Qualify at W35 Hilton Head

Calgary finalists Murphy Cassone and Govind Nanda both returned to action today at the ATP Challenger 75 in Sioux Falls South Dakota, and both picked up victories. Calgary champion Murphy Cassone, a senior at Arizona State, defeated qualifier Antoine Ghibaudo of France, a freshman at Kentucky, 6-4, 6-4 to run his Challenger winning streak (including qualifying) to eight matches. He will face Stefan Kozlov, who beat No. 5 seed Dmitry Popko of Kazakhstan 7-6(3), 4-6, 6-4 in the second round.

Calgary finalist Govind Nanda(UCLA), who, like Cassone, received a special exemption into the main draw, continued his stellar play this fall, beating No. 7 seed Nishesh Basavareddy(Stanford) 6-4, 6-4. On Wednesday, Nanda will play Michigan State junior Ozan Baris, who beat Alastair Gray(TCU) of Great Britain 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 Monday.

Thanks to ATP legend Greg Sharko, who is at Sioux Falls Challenger, I had an opportunity to talk with Nanda this evening, and he told me that although the Calgary final might have felt like it was "a little bit out of nowhere," he attributed his recent success to all the work that he has been putting in since completing his eligibility at UCLA last spring.

The 23-year-old has reunited with Joe Gilbert, who he worked with from 2019-2021, and is based out of Sacramento.

"I've been working with him since end of July, early August, it's been a few months now," Nanda said. "Before that, I was just kind of on my own, didn't have any guidance, so I was lucky enough to run into to Joe at one of the $15Ks, and we talked, and decided it was a good idea to work together again."

After leaving UCLA, Nanda wasn't clear on what direction he needed to take.

"The first few tournaments I played out of school, I felt a little bit lost," Nanda said. "A little bit fearful, a little bit doubtful about my ability. But I got through a couple of tough matches last week and it gave me a lot of confidence moving forward into this one. I obviously had a tough opponent today and I played super solid, stuck with the game plan really well and got it done."

Nanda, who faced only one break point in his win over Basavareddy, said taking care of his serve was key.

"I served pretty solid, won a lot of second serve points, I think my win percentage on my second serve was like 72 percent," Nanda said. "It's pretty unheard of against a guy like that. I was defending my serve really well; I know he's a very tough returner, but I was hitting my spots pretty well. I feel like he was kind of pressing out of the neutral rallies before I was. That paid off for me, staying neutral, staying disciplined in my decision making."

Nanda said he has practiced a bit with Baris, but has never played him, in singles or in doubles.

The other Calgary wild cards were given to Arizona senior Colton Smith, who beat Martin Damm 5-7, 7-6(3), 6-1, and Kyle Edmund of Great Britain, who will play Smith in the second round.

The top three seeds in the draw are Chris Eubanks(Georgia Tech), Mitchell Krueger and Zachary Svajda.

Seventeen-year-old Cooper Woestendick doubled his ATP point total by qualifying for the main draw, with a 6-4, 7-6(5) win over No. 2 qualifying seed Omni Kumar. Woestendick lost to Alexis Galarneau of Canada 6-4, 6-3 in the first round today, but his four ATP points for qualifying will make him less reliant on wild cards for entry into the lower level ITF men's circuit tournaments.

Woestendick and Max Exsted, the Australian Open boys doubles champions, received a wild card into the doubles draw in Sioux Falls.

Kalamazoo 18s champion Matt Forbes, a freshman at Michigan State, received a main draw wild card, losing 6-2, 6-4 to Aidan Mayo in first round action today. 

Texas A&M senior Mary Stoiana didn't get the best draw this week at the W100 in Tyler Texas, with No. 2 seed Louisa Chirico her first round opponent. But the 21-year-old from Connecticut kept her hopes for the USTA's Australian Open reciprocal wild card alive with a 7-5, 6-4 victory in one of the four first round matches contested today.

Wild card Alana Smith(NC State) also eliminated a seed, with Smith defeating No. 4 seed Valeriya Strakhova of Ukraine 7-6(1), 6-3.

Five Americans qualified for the main draw with wins today, including Texas A&M freshman Lexington Reed, who defeated  No. 1 qualifying seed Michaela Bayerlova(Washington St) of the Czech Republic 6-3, 6-3.

The other four American qualifiers are Brandy Walker(N Arizona) who beat 2024 ITA All-American champion Maria Sholokhova(Wisconsin) of Russia 6-3, 6-2; Rhiann Newborn(Syracuse, Baylor), who beat Mouna Bouzgarrou(NJIT, St. Johns) of Tunisia 6-0 ,6-1; Mary Lewis(Arizona, Michigan State), who defeated Adriana Reami(NC State) 6-4, 2-6, 7-5; and Ashley Kratzer[5], who beat Emma Ghirardato(Oklahoma) of Italy 6-2, 6-0.

In addition to Smith, wild cards were given to Texas freshman Ariana Pursoo, who lost 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 to Gabriela Lee(Texas Tech) of Romania today; Lauren Davis, and Lucy Carpenter(Loyola New Orleans).

The top seed is Renata Zarazua of Mexico. 

The other two USTA Pro Circuit events this week are a women's W35 in Hilton Head South Carolina and a men's $25K in Norman Oklahoma.

Three US teens advanced to the main draw in Hilton Head: 15-year-old Harper Stone, 16-year-old Ishika Ashar and 17-year-old Monika Ekstrand. Auburn junior DJ Bennett is the fourth American to reach the main draw via qualifying.

Monika Ekstrand defeated Yichen Zhao of China 7-5, 6-0, Ashar beat No. 2 qualifying Bronte Murgett(New Mexico, Missouri) of Greating Britain 7-6(6), 7-6(5) and Stone defeated UNC sophomore Tatum Evans 6-7(4), 7-6(2), 10-6 in three hours and 35-minutes.

Elvina Kalieva is the top seed, with wild cards given to Madison Hill(St. Louis), Zaire Clarke and Pan Am champion Maya Iyengar (both of whom lost their first round matches today), and Claire Hill.

Georgia's Anastasiya Lopata and Dasha Vidmanova[5] could meet in the second round if both win their opening matches Wednesday.

There were no first round matches played today in Norman, and just two Americans advanced to the main draw via qualifying: Alex Brown(Illinois) received a walkover in the final round of qualifying;  Drew Van Orderlain is the other American qualifier.

All four wild cards were given to Oklahoma players: freshman 

Oscar Lacides, sophomore Khololwam Montsi, junior Luis Alvarez and senior Jordan Hasson.

Toby Kodat and Felix Corwin(Minnesota) are the top seeds.

USTA Announces New Player Pathway Department, GM Martin Blackman Out in Reorganization; ITF Approves Off-Court Coaching for 2025; Australian Open Wild Card Challenge Standings; Goode and Giribalan Claim First ITF Junior Circuit Singles Titles

At the beginning of this month, USTA's Director of Coaching Ola Malmqvist announced his retirement; today another major Player Development departure was announced with General Manager Martin Blackman leaving in the wake of a reorganization that will establish what the release below refers to as a "transformed department." Blackman has led Player Development since 2015, when he took over from Patrick McEnroe.

I know that USTA CEO Lew Sherr has decided to take a more hands-on approach to Player Development since the organization came under fire for the drastic budget cuts to the department, which were brought to light be a scathing email by former Director of Coaching Jose Higueras.

The Player Development Advisory Council, announced in August, is mentioned below; I don't believe they've had their first meeting, but this would seem like the ideal time to seek their input as the USTA begins its search for new leadership. With head of women's tennis Kathy Rinaldi and head of men's tennis Kent Kinnear continuing in those positions, they should also be valuable sources when it comes to finding candidates who understand the scope and intricacies of this new department.

There's no denying that the USTA has now lost decades of institutional knowledge with the departures of Malmqvist and Blackman, making the experience and dedication of a new leader of utmost importance. The full USTA release: 

USTA CREATES SINGLE COHESIVE DEPARTMENT TO ENHANCE SUPPORT 

FOR PLAYERS AT ALL LEVELS OF THEIR COMPETITIVE PATHWAY 

 

Combines Player Development, Pro Circuit, Team Events, Collegiate and Junior Competition Teams to Optimize Resources and Support for Elite Athletes 

 

Current General Manager of Player Development Martin Blackman to Step Down; Search for a Leader of the Newly Combined Team Now Underway 

 

ORLANDO, Fla., October 21, 2024 – The USTA today announced that it is reorganizing to better support players at all levels of their competitive pathway with Player Development, Pro Circuit, Team Events, Collegiate and Junior Competition teams now combined into a single cohesive department. The intent is to improve internal collaboration and enable the USTA to strategically  direct resources where they are needed most for the benefit of the most competitive junior and  professional players. 

 

With these organizational changes, Martin Blackman has decided to leave the organization. While stepping down from his current position as General Manager of Player Development today, Blackman has agreed to stay on as a Special Advisor through the end of the year to ensure a smooth transition. 

 

“It has been an honor and a privilege to serve American tennis in this role for the last ten years and I am grateful to the USTA for giving me that opportunity. The work that our Player Development team has done, in partnership with the private sector and the USTA Sections, has been a labor of love,” said Blackman. “I am proud that we were able to build a pathway that has supported the resurgence of American tennis, the credit for which goes first and foremost to our amazing players, and the teams surrounding them, whose commitment and work ethic have driven this progression and success. The opportunity now exists to align our amazing growth at  the grassroots level with our success at the top of the professional game and expand the pathway  for juniors of all levels, and to amplify that growth and expansion with the USTA's increased  emphasis on coaching. I wish the USTA, my amazing Player Development team and all of my  colleagues in the private sector and Sections the best as they grow and promote the sport that  we all love.” 

 

Over the past two decades, Blackman has had two separate stints at the organization — including  the past ten years as the head of USTA Player Development. In this role, he played a key part in revitalizing U.S. tennis, bringing it to a level of prominence not seen in decades, as evidenced by the historic performance of American players at the 2024 US Open. 

 

“On behalf of the entire USTA family, I want to thank Martin for his many years of dedication to American players. We appreciate the contributions he has made to further the success of our athletes during his tenure, and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors,” said Lew Sherr, USTA Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director. “Thanks to years of effort and dedication from Martin and so many others, a new era of American tennis is clearly upon us. Our challenge now is to build on that achievement. The USTA will continue to support elite athletes on their  journey, while working to find new and better ways to provide the resources players need for  ongoing and future success.” 

 

The USTA is also creating a new, more expansive position to lead the newly transformed department. A search for this leader will begin soon. Kent Kinnear and Kathy Rinaldi will continue to lead men’s and women’s tennis, respectively, under the leadership of this new position. 

 

Along with these important organizational changes, the USTA’s recently announced Player  Development Advisory Council — a powerhouse group of current and former players, parents,  coaches, USTA Section leaders, and tournament operators — will help guide the organization’s  path forward. The group remains in the early stages of its work and is expected to provide recommendations for how the USTA can further enhance its support for high-performance American players later this year.

The International Tennis Federation announced today that off-court coaching will no longer be prohibited, as the lower levels of the sport now fall in line with the ATP and WTA beginning in 2025. Coaching has been allowed at the slams for juniors for several years (my Tennis Recruiting Network article last fall on coaching at the junior level is here), and it never made sense to me to restrict coaching at the junior level, where it is obviously more pertinent to a player's development, while allowing it for the top pros. I know enforcement of the rule is nearly impossible in juniors, particularly with so few matches chaired; very few officials will be sad to see that part of their jobs disappear.

From my understanding of this decision, the USTA can continue to have its own rules regarding coaching, which now allows it only between the second and third sets, and I expect they will, but I think the ITF events in the United States will allow it now.

The article on the ITF's decision to allow off-court coaching can be found here.

This is the final week of the women's Australian Open Wild Card Challenge, and Ann Li has moved into second place with her finals appearance last week at the W100 in Macon Georgia. With Hailey Baptiste and Bernarda Pera likely to get in based on their current WTA rankings, Li is the most likely recipient, although Iva Jovic and Mary Stoiana, both playing the W100 in Tyler Texas this week, are still in the running, as is Sofia Kenin, who is competing in the main draw of the  WTA 500 in Tokyo after receiving a wild card. Jovic and Stoiana, who are in the same quarter, would need a semifinal appearance to catch Li, who is not in the Tyler draw. (UPDATE: Li is playing the WTA 125 in Mexico this week).

The current top of the women's standings in the Final Week (player's current ranking in parenthesis):
1. Hailey Baptiste (80) -- 230
2. Ann Li (108) -- 104
3. Bernarda Pera (79) -- 95
4. Mary Stoiana (316) -- 79
5. Iva Jovic (248) -- 76
6. Sofia Kenin (155) -- 71

The field at the ITF J60 in Lexington South Carolina was not as strong as usual, with Hurricane Milton preventing many Florida-based juniors from traveling to the tournament. There was no girls qualifying, and many of the boys in qualifying did not have to play a match to advance to the main draw. 

But the boys 64-player main draw was full and the girls had 62-players in the main draw, and first-time champions were crowned on Saturday.  Sixteen-year-old Gavin Goode won his first ITF Junior Circuit singles title, with the No. 2 seed defeating top seed and doubles partner Mason Taube 6-1, 6-4 in the final. Goode and Taube, the top seeds in doubles, had taken that title Friday, beating unseeded Tej Bhagra and Chase Kelley 6-2, 6-2 in the all-USA final.

Sixteen-year-old Kaia Giribalan won the girls singles title, her first ITF Junior Circuit title, with the No. 12 seed beating No. 14 seed Janae Preston 6-2, 1-6, 7-6(2) in the final.  No. 5 seeds Ellery Mendell and Ireland O'Brien won the girls doubles title, beating No. 7 seeds Ariana Ikwueme and Caroline Manzi 6-2, 6-0 in another all-USA final. 

This week's ITF Junior Circuit event in the United States is a J60 in Rome Georgia, with James Weber and Jordan Lee the top two boys seeds, and Olivia Traynor the top girls seed. Weber lost his opening round match today to Anthony Dry 6-3, 6-4.

The Lexington titles were the only two for Americans in singles, but two US girls did advance to finals at higher level tournaments. 

Thirteen-year-old Hannah Ayrault, who was unseeded, reached the singles final at the J100 in Mexico, retiring down 6-0 to top seed Hikara Yamamoto of Japan. Ligaya Murray and Mexico's Marianne Angel won the doubles title, with the top seeds defeating No. 4 seeds Hadley Appling and Yamamoto 2-6, 6-3, 10-8 in the final. 

At the J200 in Bolivia, 15-year-old Nancy Lee reached the singles final, with the fifth seed falling to top seed Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi of Argentina 6-2, 6-1 in the championship match. Lee also made the doubles final, with Welles Newman; the No. 6 seeds lost to top seeds Larraya Guidi and Agustina Grassi of Argentina 7-6(9), 6-4 in the final. Nischal Spurling reached the boys doubles final with Cesar Cruz of El Salvador. 

The only other title for an American last week came at the J30 in Ethiopia, with 18-year-old Kashish Kant earning her first ITF Junior Circuit title in doubles, with partner Presha Shanthamoorthi of India. The top seeds defeated Batriz Dias and Bruna Liotto de Carvalho of Brazil 6-2, 6-1 in the final.

Fourteen-year-old Jana Kovackova defeated her older sister Alena, the top seed  6-4, 6-2, to win her second consecutive J300 title, this past week in Spain. Unseeded, Kovackova beat the top three seeds in straight sets en route to her 10th straight win at the J300 level. She is now up to 23 in the ITF junior rankings, and is the only player, boy or girl, born in 2010 in the Top 100.