Happy Holidays from Zootennis.com!

photo via philbo at unsplash.com

I'm taking a couple of days off for the Christmas holiday, but will be back to look at the draws for the first big tournaments of 2026: the USTA Winter Nationals, which begin December 28 in Orlando for the 16s and 18s and San Antonio for the 12s and 14s.

Have a very merry christmas!

My Thoughts on the Orange Bowl's New Venue; Talking D-I Fall Season and the NCAA Move to November on the Great Shot Podcast

I want to preface these observations with my amazement at how much was accomplished in the 12 months since I first visited the Jimmy Evert Tennis Center at Holiday Park in Fort Lauderdale. 

On our way to the airport after the 2024 Orange Bowl, the final one at the Veltri Tennis Center 10 miles to the west, we stopped to scout out the JETC, which had not yet been publicly announced as the Orange Bowl's new home. It was not laid out for a major tournament that would draw crowds, with no viewing, just two rows of courts side by side by side. There were obvious positives however, with Holiday Park providing a huge and sports diverse setting, with plenty of field parking and the Florida Panthers practice facility on the premises serving as the flagship attraction.

The 9.5 million dollar transformation was impressive, with a new stadium court and walkways between most two-court pods, new fencing, concrete paths and a spot outside the clubhouse to congregate. Construction projects, particularly municipal ones, are notorious for delays and problems, but this one was completed, as planned, on schedule.

My comments below are meant as suggestions for the tournament for Year Two of what is a ten-year commitment to the site. I know that JETC director of tennis Scott Pukys, Orange Bowl tennis committee chair Doug Wiley and the USTA's Elissa Hill, the tournament director, are eager to continue to upgrade  the event.

Chris Evert receiving plaque commemorating her
Stadium Court naming from Orange Bowl Tennis chair Doug Wiley

The first day of the tournament's main draw was as exciting as any I can remember at an Orange Bowl, with Chris Evert on hand to dedicate the Stadium Court named in her honor. Hundreds of spectators turned out, with the city dignitaries, the Orange Bowl committee and the USTA providing perspectives on what Jimmy Evert and the Orange Bowl itself have meant to junior tennis.

Fortunately, the weather cooperated for that morning ceremony, but by mid-afternoon, the rain arrived and continued throughout the second day, a lengthy disruption that eventually resulted in day with two singles matches for all divisions but the boys 16s. Much of the momentum that was gained with Monday's ceremony was lost, and with the possibility of more rain, all the finals were scheduled for the same time on Sunday, which reduced the number and concentration of spectators.

The first problem identified by everyone I talked to on the first day was the lack of practice courts onsite.  At Veltri, there were enough courts to dedicate several to practice; at JETC all 20 courts were needed for matches, with practice courts 15 to 30 minutes away by car or shuttle. This led to either 6:30 a.m. warmups at JETC or trying to schedule an appropriate time for a warmup offsite. The rain meant this problem extended throughout the event, although by the later stages, another closer practice venue was introduced.

With the new world-class lighting on all courts, and, I hope, better weather next year, there should be two courts on-site for pre-match warmups. If that means 8 p.m. matches on the first few days, that might be a necessary compromise.

I can't overstate how rare this is, but I did not hear one negative comment about the courts themselves from players or coaches.

Court conditions were a major problem at Veltri, where the courts, which had surface watering systems, would dry out during the day and flood after even a brief heavy rain. 

The new subsurface watering system on the Har-Tru courts at the Jimmy Evert Tennis Center was a huge improvement and the courts also dried quickly despite all the rain.

Although there was viewing on most courts (it was impossible to watch matches on courts 1, 2 and 20 due to windscreens unnecessarily surrounding them), it was cramped, with not enough room for spectators to move from one end to the other due to the player benches and oversized umpire chairs.  The side widescreens should be removed and umpire chairs with smaller footprints should be used to provide a crucial couple of feet between courts.

The lack of any concessions on site was a problem. At Veltri, there was a vendor on site, grilling hamburgers and providing other meals and snacks. This year there was no place to buy food except the hockey arena concession, which is a quarter mile from the tennis center. A food truck located in the VIP parking lot could easily rectify this problem.

The hockey arena served as the site of player dining and the player lounge. The walk was lengthy, but there were electric shuttles that ran continuously that many players and officials made use of.

The player hotel, where the hospitality breakfast was served, was a 10-minute walk away, which was very convenient for those staying there, including me. Unfortunately, the cost was nearly double that of hotels in Plantation, so players who were traveling with parents were paying more, as the ITF hospitality policy requires two players per room to be free. Not much can be done about that, I guess, given the convenience, and the tournament rate is reasonable compared to the hotel's rack rate of over $300 per night.

iOnCourt stepped in at the last minute to provide the live scoring and on-site displays after long-time provider SMT bowed out. Although there were bugs and occasional app crashes, the team onsite was eager to help and to provide solutions as they refined the software.

iOnCourt also provided those updating the draw boards with a file that sped up the process, with very little lag time between completion of a match at its posting on the board. 

But one thing I missed from Veltri was the large board of past Orange Bowl champions, which was a focal point of players, spectators and media alike.

The JETC has a list of past Orange Bowl champions, but its permanent location underneath the clubhouse roof does not provide it with the same prominence as the draw boards. Having a display that is year-round is great, but I would like to see the other, larger display revived for the week of the tournament.

The USTA's former CEO Lew Sherr was invested in reviving the Orange Bowl at a new location, and although he left the organization before that became a reality, the first phase of that desire to elevate the status of the event has been accomplished. With more local and national marketing, the event can enhance its reputation as junior tennis's fifth major, with the investment the USTA, the Orange Bowl and the City of Fort Lauderdale have made a great start in that mission.

I joined Alex Gruskin, John Parsons and Chris Halioris on a Great Shot podcast recently, focusing on the move of the NCAA Division I individual championships to the fall. That change is likely to stick for reasons we discuss, but the four of us have differing opinions and whether that is a good thing.

You can listen to our conversation about that and the ITA fall season that leads up to it here, or wherever you get your podcasts.

My ITF J500 Orange Bowl Recap; Finalist Videos

 

My article on the first ITF J500 Orange Bowl at the Jimmy Evert Tennis Center in Fort Lauderdale is available today at the Tennis Recruiting Network, and the videos of the four finalists are below. I'm planning a post on my impressions of the first year at the new site soon, before many of the salient details fade. The 16s videos and all the IMG videos can be found at my tenniskalamazoo YouTube Channel. Still to come in January is a photo gallery from the Orange Bowl.

 Champion Xiran Sun

   

Finalist Kristina Liutova

 

Champion Thijs Boogaard

  

Finalist Jack Kennedy

 

Tien Sweeps Past Blockx to Claim Next Gen ATP Finals Title; Suresh Shines in World Tennis League; UTR Pro Tennis Tour Results Update

Learner Tien won the Next Gen ATP Finals today in Jeddah Saudi Arabia, beating Alexander Blockx of Belgium 4-3(4), 4-2, 4-1 in less than an hour of play. Blockx did not miss a first serve in the opening set, but Tien made 82% of his first serves, and was the steadier player in the tiebreaker. 

Tien had won the first set last year in the Next Gen final against Joao Fonseca of Brazil before Fonseca took the next three, but guarding against that this time, Tien made only six unforced errors in the next two sets and won going away.  

The former USC standout takes home his biggest pro check, $502,250.00, and avenges his loss to Blockx in the 2023 Australian Open boys final.

Tien joins fellow Southern Californian Brandon Nakashima(Virginia) as American champions of the event. Nakashima won the title in 2022 in Milan.

For more on the final, see this article from the ATP website.

There is very little tennis going on at the moment, but the World Tennis League was played in India this week, with Wake Forest senior DK Suresh demonstrating that his game is ready for the pros. The 25-year-old from India made news when he defeated Daniil Medvedev 6-4 earlier. Today he defeated Sumit Nagal of India 7-6(4) (all matches were one set) to deliver the title to his team, the Aussie Mavericks Kites.

For more on the WTL final, see this article from the Free Press Journal.

Below is the final update of 2025 results on the UTR Pro Tennis Tour in the United States. The PTT starts up again on the 27th of December, but those events will finish in 2026.

WOMEN:

Sept 29 Norman OK
Edda Mamedova d. Gloriana Nahum 6-0, 6-4

Oct 6 Champaign IL
Emily Welker d. Ariel Madatali 6-1, 7-5

Oct 6 Newport Beach CA
Veronika Miroshnichenko d. Kylie Mckenzie 6-3, 6-3

Oct 13 Boca Raton FL
Alina Shcherbinina d. Malkia Ngounoue 6-0, 6-3

Oct 20 Newport Beach CA
Selma Cadar d. Julia Seversen 6-0, 6-1

Oct 23 Knoxville TN*
Vanesa Suarez d. Leyla Britez Risso 6-3, 3-6, 6-3

Oct 27 College Station TX
Anastasia Gasanova d. Anna Perelman 6-1, 6-1

Nov 3 Newport Beach CA*
Veronika Miroshnichenko d. Maria Aytoyan 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-0

Nov 3 Fayetteville AR
Alina Shcherbinina d. Carolina Gomez Alonso 5-7, 6-4, 6-3

Nov 10 Boca Raton FL
Violet Apisah d. Stanislava Bobrovnikova 6-3, 6-0

Nov 10 Malibu CA DNF

Nov 17 Waco TX
Cristina Tiglea d. Alina Shcherbinina 7-5, 4-6, 6-4

Nov 30 Oxford MS
Emily Welker d. Alina Shcherbinina 6-3, 6-4

Nov 30 Dallas TX
Dalayna Hewitt d. Nadia Valdez 6-4, 3-6, 6-1

Dec 7 Boca Raton FL
Brooke Black d. Emma Jackson 1-6, 7-5, 7-5

Dec 7 Knoxville TN
Dalayna Hewitt d. Carlota Moreno 6-4, 6-0

Dec 8 Newport Beach CA
Veronika Miroshnichenko d. Sophie Suh 6-2, 6-4

Dec 15 Newport Beach CA
Alina Shcherbinina d. Eryn Cayetano 6-3, 6-3

*$12.5K Prize Money, All others $20K

MEN:

Sept 29 Norman OK

Ilias Worthington d. Alejandro Melero Kretzer 6-3, 6-4

Sept 29 Newport Beach CA

Maciej Rajski d. Karl Kazuma Lee 7-5, 7-5

Oct 6 Champaign IL

Sasha Colleu d. Jeremy Zhang 6-4, 2-6, 6-2

Oct 6 Clemson SC

Edoardo Cherie Ligniere d. Noa Vukadin 1-6, 6-3, 6-4

Oct 13 Nashville TN

Janmagnus Johnson d. Ondrej Horak 6-2, 6-3

Oct 13 Newport Beach CA

David Martirosian d. Iiro Vasa 6-0, 6-2

Oct 20 Baton Rouge LA*

Mitchell Sheldon d. Enzo Kohlmann De Freitas 6-4, 1-6, 6-3

Oct 23 Knoxville TN*

Clement Lemire d. Boruch Skierkier 6-4, 6-4

Oct 27 College Station TX

JC Roddick d. Tomas Pinho 6-1, 6-1

Oct 27 Newport Beach CA

Maciej Rajski d. Karl Kazuma Lee 6-1, 6-2

Nov 3 Fayetteville AR

Lukas Palovic d. Bozo Barun 6-1, 6-1

Nov 3 Tucson AZ

Alejandro Arcila d. Glib Sekachov 7-6(4), 6-2

Nov 2 Boca Raton FL

Hugo Car d. Youssef Kadiri Hassani 6-2, 4-6, 6-4

Nov 10 Stillwater OK*

Derek Pham d. Haydar Cem Gokpinar 6-2, 6-0

Nov 10 Tuscaloosa AL*

Andrii Zimnokh d. Vit Kalina 6-3, 4-6, 6-2

Nov 10 Malibu CA DNF

Nov 17 Ithaca NY

Rodrigo Fernandes d. Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar 6-2, 6-1

Nov 17 Waco TX

Tiago Pires d. Joaquin Benoit 7-6(3), 2-6, 7-6(5)

Nov 19 Newport Beach CA*

Gianluca Brunkow d. Matteo Huarte 4-6, 6-3, 6-1

Nov 30 Oxford MS

Stefano D'Agostina d. Benjamin Martin 7-5, 6-3

Dec 1 Tallahassee FL

Youcef Rihane d. Erik Schiessl 6-1, 6-3

Dec 1 Newport Beach CA

Peter Makk d. Aleksa Ciric 6-4, 4-6, 6-2

Dec 6 Honolulu HI

Theodore Dean d. Noah Zamora 6-4, 2-6, 6-4

Dec 7 Knoxville TN

Jose Garcia d. Alexander Kotzen 7-6(4), 6-1

Dec 13 Honolulu HI DNF

Dec 14 Boca Raton FL

Vignesh Gogeneni d. Matija Pecotic 6-3, 6-2

Dec 15 Newport Beach CA

Ilia Snitari d. Maciej Rajski 4-6, 6-2, 6-3

*$12.5K Prize Money, All others $20K

2023 Australian Boys Finalists Tien and Blockx Meet Again in Next Gen Finals; Catching Up on News I Missed While at IMG and Orange Bowl

Nearly three years after they met in the Australian Open boys final, top seed Learner Tien(USC) and No. 2 seed Alexander Blockx of Belgium will play in another big final at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah Saudi Arabia.

Tien returned to the Next Gen Finals championship match with a  4-2, 4-1, 4-3(3) win over Nishesh Basavareddy. Tien, who is now 4-0 in pro matches against the former Stanford star, appears to have found his form after a slow start Wednesday.  

Blockx is undefeated this week, advancing to the final with a 4-3(4), 4-3(8), 4-2 win over Nicolai Budkov Kjaer of Norway. His serve has been one of the best shots on display this week; Tien's return Sunday will be critical to his success.

Their 2023 Australian Open boys final was a thriller, with Blockx taking it 6-1, 2-6, 7-6(9). I covered that match (via the ESPN streaming) here. That was one of three consecutive exceptional AO boys finals, with Bruno Kuzuhara beating a cramping Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic 7-6(4), 6-7(6), 7-5 in 2022, and Rei Sakamoto of Japan defeating Jan Kumstat of the Czech Republic 3-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 in 2024.

For more on Sunday's NextGen ATP Finals final, see this article from the tournament website.

While I was in Florida, I didn't have the opportunity to keep tabs on what else was going on in tennis as the year wound down.

Below are several articles I ran across that pertain to college tennis, junior tennis, or both:

The ITA has announced the creation of an NCAA Division II Individual tournament, which will be played in the fall. The host, beginning in the fall of 2026 will be the Tuscaloosa Tennis Center in Alabama, which has a three-year commitment to the event. The NCAA Division II hasn't had a spring individual championship tournament in the 20 years I've been covering college tennis, while Divisions I and III have a long history in holding those competitions. This is not an NCAA event, but one organized by the ITA.

Great Britain's Julian Cash(Mississippi State, Oklahoma State) and Lloyd Glasspool(Texas) ended the season at No. 1 in the ATP rankings. The BBC website provided this look into their partnership and the doubles dynasty coach Louis Cayer has developed in the UK.

Ashleigh Barty has advice for 2024 ITF World Junior Champion Emerson Jones, 17, who will play the women's main draw of the Australian Open as a wild card for the second straight year next month.

2025 USTA National Indoor 14s champion Anna Kapanadze moved to number 1 in the USTA National rankings after her title earlier this month, and her hometown's Staten Island Advance featured her in this article.

And finally, there is a possibility of a settlement between Reese Brantmeier and the NCAA in her lawsuit, which is scheduled to go to trail in the fall of 2026. The Carolina Journal has the latest here.

My Orange Bowl 16s Recap, Videos of Finalists; Tien Meets Basavareddy in Next Gen ATP Finals Semifinal Saturday

Six days ago the first Orange Bowl champions of 2025 were crowned at the newly renovated Jimmy Evert Tennis Center, and my article on the singles titles won by Matias Reyniak and Priscilla Sirichantho and the doubles titles claimed by Emery Combs and Olivia De Los Reyes and Sean Peng and Filip Djokic(the only non-USA champion) can be found today at the Tennis Recruiting Network.

Below are the videos from the 16s Orange Bowl finals, which, due to a good weather forecast, were played back-to-back on the Chris Evert Stadium court rather than simultaneously, as was the case for the J500 finals the next day.

My article on the 18s will be available at the Tennis Recruiting Network Monday.

Girls 16s Finalist Daniela Del Mastro:

 

Girls 16s Champion Priscilla Sirichantho:

Boys 16s Finalist Daniel Malacek:

 

Boys 16s Champion Matias Reyniak:

The Next Gen ATP Finals conclude this weekend in Saudi Arabia, with two former collegians from the United States competing against each other in the semifinals.

Learner Tien(USC) defeated Nicolai Budkov Kjaer of Norway 3-4(2), 4-1, 4-2, 4-2 to win the blue group, although he, Budkov Kjaer and University of Virginia sophomore Rafael Jodar of Spain all finished with 2-1 records. Tien won the first tiebreaker, the percentage of sets won; Budkov Kjaer finished second after he and Jodar tied in set percentage, with the ultimate tiebreaker for the second semifinal position coming down to the head-to-head. 

Alexander Blockx of Belgium finished at 3-0 in the Red Group,  while Nishesh Basavareddy(Stanford) made the semifinals with a 2-1 record after beating Justin Engel of Germany 4-3(3), 4-2, 4-3(5) today.

Basavareddy and Tien will play in the semifinals, with Tien holding a 3-0 advantage in their professional head-to-head. Tien beat Basavareddy last year in the Bloomfield Hills Challenger final, later that year in semifinals of the Knoxville Challenger, and then this year in the first round of Wimbledon. 

In the other semifinal Saturday Blockx and Budkov Kjaer will be playing for the first time, which is somewhat surprising given both were top juniors and have been playing primarily on the ATP Challenger circuit in the past 18 months.

The tournament website's preview is here.

IMG Academy International 12s, 14s and 16s Videos; Wrapping Up Final Two Weeks of 2025 for Americans on ITF Junior Circuit: Budkov Kjaer and Blockx Undefeated After Day Two of Next Gen ATP Finals

I've been processing videos of the IMG Academy International Championships the past several days with videos of the champions in the 12s, 14s, and 16s available below. The links to the videos of the finalists are below each of the champion's videos.  I posted the videos from the finals of ITF J300 Bradenton on Tuesday.

G16s champion Adelina Iftime:

 

G16s finalist London Evans

Boys 16s champion Junseo Jang:

B16s finalist Artem Dmytrenko 

G14s champion Ayaka Iwasa:

G14s finalist Konstantina Volonaki

B14s champion Mohamed Genidy:

Boys 14s finalist Ignacio Mejias

G12s champion Fangqiao Zou:

G12s finalist Yoonseoi Choi 

B12s champion Rui He:

B12s finalist James Borchard

With all that was going on the past two weekends in Florida, I didn't have time to do my weekly post on the American champions on the ITF Junior Circuit's smaller events. With the year winding down, and the with the big events in Florida, there wasn't much to report, with just three Americans winning singles titles in those two weeks, not including Jordan Lee's title at the J300 in Bradenton.

At a J30 in Costa Rica, 17-year-old Brayden Campion won his first ITF singles title, a week after claiming his first doubles title at another J30 in Costa Rica. The unseeded Campion defeated qualifer Gabriel Wennhall of Sweden 6-0, 7-5 in the final. 

Fourteen-year-old Isabella Bosso followed the same pattern, winning her first ITF Junior Circuit title in doubles the last week of November and her first singles title the following week. Bosso defeated qualifier Sofia Mills, who was the No. 1 seed, 6-2, 6-2 in the final. Mills did win the doubles title with partner Maria Jose Gil Castillo of Mexico. The top seeds beat the unseeded team of Bosso and Mildalyn D'aguilar 7-5, 6-3 in the finals.

The third singles title came at last week's J60 in Zimbabwe, with 15-year-old Sydney Wright winning her third career singles title, all coming this year. Seeded No. 2, Wright defeated No. 3 seed Chenming Zhang of China 6-4, 6-3 in the final, while also reaching the doubles final.

At the J30 in Nicaragua, 13-year-old Alice Luiza Semenova won her first ITF Junior Circuit title, with Canadian partnery Evelina Nicolaeva. The unseeded pair defeated top seed Sienna Poma of El Salvador and Carla Rivera of Honduras 7-6(2), 3-6, 10-4 in the final.

Day two of the Next Gen ATP Finals in Saudia Arabia didn't clarify much regarding who the semifinalists will be, with only Alexander Blockx of Belgium securing a place in the Final Four. Tien won, Basavareddy and Jodar lost, so those three, plus Dino Prizmic are all 1-1. Nicolai Budkov Kjaer is the other player at 2-0, but he has not yet clinched a spot in the semifinals. Justin Engel and Martin Landaluce are 0-2, but not technically eliminated. All the scenarios are too complicated to go into here (why I generally am not a fan of round robin tournaments), but it will all be sorted Friday afternoon.

The schedule for Friday is here.

Ascenzo Claims Junior Orange Bowl 14s Title, Fan and Borchard Capture Second Straight 12s Doubles Championship; Australian Open Junior Championships Acceptances; Jodar Defeats Tien in First Day of Next Gen ATP Finals

Fourteen-year-old Texan Tristan Ascenzo broke through the domination of the IMG Academy International Championships at the Junior Orange Bowl, preventing a sweep by the IMG winners with a win over boys 14s top seed Mohamed Genidy of Egypt this morning in Coral Gables Florida.

Ascenzo, a Dallas resident, lost to eventual IMG champion Genidy 7-5, 6-2 in the semifinals in Bradenton; today's final at the Biltmore Tennis Center was a battle, with Ascenzo taking it 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-2.

The other three champions from 11 days ago in Bradenton captured the Florida version of the Sunshine Double.

Girls 14s champion Ayaka Iwasa wasn't given the Junior Orange Bowl top seed, as the other three IMG champions were, but the No. 7 seed came through with a 7-6(4), 7-6(2) win over No. 4 seed Isabella Yan of Canada.

In the boys 12s, Rui He of China, who was unseeded in Bradenton, but the top seed in Miami, defeated a different American for his title today. After taking down James Borchard in the IMG final and the again in the semifinals yesterday, He beat No. 3 seed Evan Fan 6-2, 6-4 in the championship match.

It was a sweep for China in the 12s and a sweep for top seed Fangiao Zou, who beat unseeded Xiaoke Li  5-7, 6-2, 7-5 in the singles final and partnered American Inie Toli for the doubles title. No. 3 seeds Zou and Toli beat top seeds Lucy Dupere(USA) and Seungyeo Seo(AUS) 6-2, 6-0 in today's fina, earning Zou three titles in the past 17 days.

Borchard and Fan also joined the repeat winners club today, with the IMG 12s doubles champions winning the Junior Orange Bowl. The top seeds defeated unseeded Cheng-en Tsai(TPE) and Taigo Nagashima(JPN) 6-3, 2-6, 10-4 in the final.

Genidy finished as a runner-up in doubles as well as singles, with No. 8 seeds Alden Yu and Ilya Sherifali of Canada defeating No. 6 seeds Genidy and partner Evan Giurescu of France 3-6, 6-3, 11-9. 

In the girls 14s doubles final, played Tuesday, No. 3 seeds Christina Li and Kyndall Noel of the United States defeated No. 8 seeds Tanvi Pandey(USA) and Srishti Kiran(IND) 6-4, 3-6, 10-5.

The acceptances for the 2026 Australian Open Junior Championships were released today, with seven US boys and five US girls on the entry lists.

The US boys entered are Jack Kennedy, Keaton Hance, Jack Secord, Gavin Goode, Ryan Cozad, Tanishk Konduri and Roshan Santhosh. The US girls entered are Thea Frodin, Annika Penickova, Welles Newman, Capucine Jauffret and Melije Clarke. 

US boys in qualifying are Vihaan Reddy, Carel Ngounoue and Marcel Latak. US girls in qualifying are Nancy Lee, Carrie-Anne Hoo, Ishika Ashar, Jordyn Hazelitt, Anita Tu and Kori Montoya. 

Kennedy and Thijs Boogaard both told me at the Orange Bowl they're not playing Australia, so I expect them to withdraw by next month's deadline. ITF World Junior champion and 2024 AO girls finalist Kristina Penickova had a brace on her left wrist at the Orange Bowl, so she may not be physically ready for competition to start the new year.

The cutoffs for Australia are not comparable to the other junior slams, with the rankings showing on the acceptance lists still including those who are not age eligible for Australia. It won't be until January 5, when those players drop out, that we'll get a full picture of the strength of the field, but with Ivan Ivanov, Kennedy, Niels McDonald and Boogaard not entered or not expected to play, it's not as good as it could be.

Girls eligible but not entered include Penickova, Julieta Pareja, Wimbledon champion Mia Pohankova, Hannah Klugman and Roland Garros champion Lilli Tagger.

The two players from the COSAT wild card playoff who received entry via the Junior Grand Slam Regional Reserved Exempt Trial are ITF No. 168 Sabrina Balderrama of Venezuela and No. 104 Leonardo Storck Franca of Brazil.

University of Virginia sophomore Rafael Jodar defeated top seed Learner Tien(USC) in group play today in the Next Gen ATP Finals in Saudi Arabia, saving four match points in his 1-4, 4-3(3), 1-4, 4-2, 4-3(4) victory. It's the first ATP Top 100 victory for the 19-year-old from Spain. For more on the match, see this article from the tournament website.

Nishish Basavareddy(Stanford) beat Dino Prizmic of Croatia 4-2, 4-3(7), 3-4(3), 4-2. The two other winners from today are Nicolai Budkov Kjaer of Norway and Alexander Blockx of Belgium.

Tomorrow's schedule for group play is here.

Reem Abulleil interviewed Tien prior to the start of the event for this Arab News feature, which focuses on the downs and mostly ups of the two-time Kalamazoo 18s champion's first full year on the ATP Tour.

Ascenzo and Fan Reach Junior Orange Bowl Finals; Tien, Basavareddy and Jodar Compete in Next Gen ATP Finals Wednesday; ITF J300 Bradenton Videos

Two Americans are through to Wednesday's finals of the Junior Orange Bowl in Coral Gables Florida, with Tristan Ascenzo competing in the 14s and Evan Fan in the 12s.

Ascenzo gave himself an opportunity to avenge his IMG Academy International semifinal loss to Mohamed Genidy earlier this month, while Fan has stepped up this tournament after a third round exit in Bradenton. Fan has also advanced to doubles final with James Borchard.

All four of the IMG Academy International champions will be playing for their second straight titles Wednesday.

SINGLES SEMIFINAL RESULTS:

B12s:

Rui He[1](CHN)* d. James Borchard[4](USA) 7-5, 6-3

Evan Fan[3] d. Oliver Baker[1](AUS) 6-2, 6-3

B14s:

Mohamed Genidy[1](EGY)* d. Siyun Kim[4](KOR) 1-6, 6-0, 6-3

Tristan Ascenzo[2](USA) d. Smyan Thuta(USA) 1-6, 6-3, 6-1

G12s:

Fangqiao Zou[1](CHN*) d. Jiru Yang(CHN) 6-1, 6-2

Xiaoke Li(CHN) d. Annie Tan(USA) 6-3, 6-3

G14s:

Isabella Yan[4]CAN) d. Nikol Davletshina[1](USA) 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-5

Ayaka Iwasa[7](JPN)* d. Konstantina Volonaki(GRE) 6-2, 6-1

*Won IMG Academy International titles earlier this month.

One doubles title was decided today, with Americans Christina Li and Kyndall Noel taking home the G14s championship trophies.

DOUBLES FINALS:

B12s

Cheng-en Tsai(TPE) and Taigo Nagashima(JPN) v Evan Fan and James Borchard[1](USA)

B14s

Mohamed Genidy(EGY) and Evan Giurescu(FRA)[6] v Alden Yu and Ilya Sherifali(CAN)[8]

G12s

Lucy Dupere(USA) and Seungyeo Seo(AUS)[1] v Inie Toli(USA) and Fangqiao Zou(CHN)[3]

G14s

Christina Li and Kyndall Noel(USA)[3] d. Tanvi Pandey(USA) and Srishti Kiran(IND)[8] 6-4, 3-6, 10-5

The Next Gen ATP Finals begin Wednesday in Saudi Arabia, with three recent collegians and five recent junior slam singles champions among the eight competitors. 2024 Next Gen runnerup Learner Tien[USC] is the top seed; he made two junior slam singles finals (and won the Australian Open boys doubles title), losing to Alexander Blockx of Belgium in the 2023 AO boys final. Blockx is making his Next Gen debut this year. 

Nishesh Basavareddy[Stanford], who, like Tien, was in the field last year, won the 2022 US Open doubles title. The other four junior slam winners are Dimo Prizmic of Croatia (Roland Garros 2023), Martin Landaluce of Spain (US Open 2022), Nicolai Budkov Kjaer of Norway(Wimbledon 2024 and Roland Garros doubles 2024), and Rafael Jodar[Virginia] of Spain(US Open 2024). Justin Engel of Germany, a late addition after the withdrawal of Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic, is the only participant who has not won a junior slam title. The 18-year-old has played only one junior slam, qualifying for the Australian Open in 2024 and losing in the first round.

The schedule for Wednesday's group play:

Dino Prizmic[2](CRO) v Nishesh Basavareddy[6](USA)
Alexander Blockx[2](BEL) v Justin Engel[8] (GER)
Learner Tien[1](USA) v Rafael Jodar [7](ESP)
Martin Landaluce [4](ESP) v Nicolai Budkov Kjaer[5](NOR)

The ATP preview is here.

I've started the lengthy task of processing the videos from the IMG Academy International and Orange Bowl finals, with the first three below. There are individual videos of the girls finalists, who were not able to play on the Stadium Court as is customary, with the chance of rain leading to simultaneous finals. 

USA's Penickova, Bulgaria's Ivanov End Year as ITF World Junior Champions; All Four IMG Academy International 12s and 14s Champions Reach Semifinals at Junior Orange Bowl

The ITF has released the 2025 year-end junior rankings, with American Kristina Penickova and Bulgaria Ivan Ivanov finishing at the No. 1 spot.

Penickova won two junior slam doubles titles this year, and finished as runnerup at the Australian Open Junior Championships, but her biggest singles title in 2025 was the J300 in San Diego, back in March. She barely beat out US Open singles and World Junior Tennis Finals champion Jeline Vandromme of Belgium, with less than 110 points separating the two in the rankings. Wimbledon girls finalist Julieta Pareja, at No. 5, is the other American in the Top 10 in the year-end rankings.

Penickova was at the Orange Bowl supporting twin Annika, with a wrist brace on her left hand; she is the right-hander of the sisters.

Kristina Liutova is up to 41 in the last ITF junior rankings of 2025 after reaching the Orange Bowl final, but she does not appear in the year-end rankings, as she did not play enough events to qualify. 

Here's the rule to receive a year-end ranking: To be eligible for a 2025 year-end ranking a junior must have played in a minimum of six individual junior singles tournaments, including at least three Grand Slam and/or J500 tournaments and including at least three ranking tournaments outside his/her own country. Each Grand Slam or J500 tournament won will count as two tournaments played. Each Grand Slam or J500 tournament won will further count as one foreign tournament played.

Ivanov won both the Wimbledon and US Open boys titles, so he finished more than 500 points ahead of ITF World Junior Finals champion Max Schoenhaus of Germany. Jack Kennedy and Benjamin Willwerth are the two Americans in the year-end Top 10 rankings, at 6 and 7. The Top 10 is especially significant for the boys, as it qualifies them for main draw Challenger wild cards in 2026.

Andy Johnson and Michael Antonius do not appear in the year-end rankings, although they are 28 and 29 in the final rankings, because they did not play enough slams or J500s this year.

The semifinals are tomorrow at the Junior Orange Bowl, the annual South Florida tournament for the 12s and 14s, and all four of the winners of the IMG Academy International Championships earlier this month have advanced to the Final Four.

The top four seeds will face off in the boys 12s, with a rematch of the IMG final between Rui He and James Borchard coming a round earlier this year.

The girls 12s semifinals have only one seed, with IMG champion and top seed Fangqiao Zou of China looking to earn back-to-back titles.

The IMG 14s champions Mohamed Genidy of Egypt and Ayaka Iwasa of Japan are also still alive in Coral Gables. Iwasa will take on Konstantina Volonaki of Greece, with Volonaki hoping to avenge her loss to Iwasa in the IMG final.

Junior Orange Bowl quarterfinal results:

B12s:

Rui He[1](CHN) d. Yeseong Lee(KOR) 6-3, 6-1

James Borchard[4](USA) d. William McGugin[5](USA_ 6-3, 6-2

Evan Fan[3](USA) d. Ethan Wang[6](AUS) 6-3, 6-1

Oliver Baker[1](AUS) d. Minchan Kwon(KOR) 3-6, 6-4, 6-4

B14s:

Mohamed Genidy[1](EGY) d. Agui Nanato(JPN) 6-2, 6-4

Siyun Kim[4](KOR) d. Denis Karabulut(CAN) 6-2, 6-4

Smyan Thuta(USA) d. Akhmadi Makhanov(KAZ) 4-6, 6-1, 6-4

Tristan Ascenzo[2](USA) d. Max Neumann(USA) 6-3, 6-1

G12s:

Fangqiao Zou[1](CHN) d. Inie Toli[6](USA) 6-1, 6-1

Jiru Yang(CHN d. Seungyeon Seo(AUS) 6-2. 6-2

Xiaoke Li(CHN) d. Yoonseol Choi(KOR) 6-0, 6-2

Annie Tan(USA) d. Mio Ohta(JPN) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4

G14s:

Nikol Davletshina[1](USA) d. Olivia Lin[5](USA) 4-6, 6-4, 6-0

Isabella Yan[4](CAN) d. Yerin Lim[6](KOR) 6-4, 6-0

Konstantina Volonaki(GRE) d. Tanvi Pandey[3](USA) 3-6, 1-0 ret. inj

Ayaka Iwasa[7](JPN) d. Isha Manchala[2](USA) 7-5, 3-0 ret. inj.

The doubles semifinals have not yet been decided, with some quarterfinal matches scheduled for Tuesday morning before the semifinals in the afternoon.

The draws for singles and doubles can be found here.

Boogaard Defeats Kennedy for Orange Bowl Title; Sun Turns Tables on Liutova to Earn Girls Championship

©Colette Lewis 2025--

Fort Lauderdale FL--

Thijs Boogaard of the Netherlands and Xinran Sun of China closed out a successful green clay swing in South Florida Sunday, becoming the first players from their countries to win prestigious Orange Bowl 18s titles in the tournament's 79th year.

Spectators were required to choose which of the six 9 a.m. finals to watch at the newly renovated Jimmy Evert Tennis Center at Holiday Park, with the threat of rain compressing a week's worth of effort into a few hours.

No. 11 seed Boogaard and No. 2 seed Jack Kennedy received the Chris Evert court assignment, and the hundred or so spectators were definitely in the American's corner, but they were unable to help the New Yorker when Boogaard's serve and forehand began clicking after a ragged first six games of the match.

Boogaard held at love, then allowed Kennedy only one point in his service game to take a 5-3 lead and was able to draw an error from Kennedy at 40-30 to take the first set.

Kennedy went up 2-0 in the second set, but Boogaard got the break back for 2-1 and again accelerated midway through the set, winning the final four games to join countryman Paul Dogger, the 1987 16s champion, on the list of Orange Bowl champions.

For Boogaard, who had struggled with his fitness in the months since a lengthy battle with mononucleosis, his win today was not only his biggest junior title, but an indication that he was physically ready for a sustained run against the top juniors in the world.

"It was a tough match today," said the 17-year-old, who lost in the semifinals last week at the ITF J300 in Bradenton but did not drop a set this week as he grew more comfortable on the green clay. "Jack is an incredible player and he gets behind every ball and he fights for it like it's his last point. So it was very tough today with the conditions, but I think I managed it well. I was very happy with my level today, and to win this tournament is an even better feeling."

Kennedy did not mince words in his assessment of his level in the final.

"He just kind of went for his shots a bit more than I did," said the 17-year-old, whose only junior event since the US Open was October's  ITF World Junior Finals in Chengu. "He played a bit more freely, played more to win. He deserves this title, 100 percent, was the better player today, but I'm looking forward to playing a couple of matches against him next year."

This is Boogaard's first Florida December trip since he reached the Junior Orange Bowl 14s quarterfinals in 2021.

"It was a great experience for me," said Boogaard, who trains with his longtime coach Bjorn Graven at the Mouratoglou Academy in France. "It's such a prestigious tournament, so if you're able to play it it's unbelievable. To win it now is a great feeling."

Kennedy echoed Boogaard's regard for the Orange Bowl.

"I think the Orange Bowl is a tournament where you've got to bring your best every point," said Kennedy, who reached the Junior Orange Bowl 14s final in 2022 and the semifinals here last year. "You know you're playing the best juniors in the world, because they want to win this tournament, because it's so prestigious. For Americans it's even more special, with the home court advantage. The Orange Bowl has always had a special place in my heart; this may be my last year to play it, but we'll see what the future holds."

Kennedy has secured the coveted ITF Top 10 year-end junior ranking that earns him 10 main draw Challenger wild cards in 2026, so his schedule will not include the Australian Open Junior Championships, where he reached the quarterfinals last year.

Boogaard is also skipping the Australian Open juniors, which he played in 2024, so he can participate in the ATP 500 in Rotterdam in early February, where he has twice competed in the qualifying.

"I'll play some pro tournaments in January and then Rotterdam," Boogaard said. "It's one of the biggest tournaments in the Netherlands, in one of my favorite cities in the world. I've been going there since I was young, and to be able to play it already is incredible."

Boogaard avenged his second round 2025 Roland Garros loss to Kennedy today, but Xinran Sun had even more motivation when she faced Kristina Liutova in the girls final, played on court 11.

Sun lost to Liutova in the semifinals of the ITF J300 in College Park in August 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 and last week in the quarterfinals of the ITF J300 in Bradenton 6-1, 7-6(10), after holding a 5-1 lead in the second set, so her routine 6-4, 6-1 victory over her fellow 15-year-old was especially satisfying.

In the opening set, Sun won a three-deuce game to break Liutova for a 5-3 lead, but was unable to serve out the set. She took her chance in her next return game, however with Liutova making an unforced backhand error at 15-40. Wary of another Liutova comeback, Sun kept her focus, and with her backhand close to invincible, she quickly built a 5-0 lead. Liutova finally held to force Sun to serve out the match, which she confidently did on her first match point.

"I was so ready," Sun said of her motivation in again facing Liutova. "Before the match we talk tactic and are so ready to play against Kristina."

Sun, who did not lose a set in her six victories this week, said her level improved each day.

"Especially this week, I played my tennis and I feel really good," said Sun. "One day I had two matches, it was really tough, but every time I gave one hundred percent. I'm feeling ok, but just so tired, but of course now I can rest."

Sun, who has been training in Serbia since she was eight years old, has been coached there by Goran Zivotic the past two years. 

"It's been such a good journey so far," said the 23-year-old from Serbia. "Last year she won an ITF J60 and this year she wins Orange Bowl and we are extremely proud of that. I have to say it's well-deserved. She's a really hard worker."

Zivotic said the two previous losses to Liutova provided both motivation and instruction.

"We made slight changes in tactics, but she sticked to the plan, that was most important," Zivotic said. "I think she reached a higher level in semifinal and final than maybe the first two or three matches, but that's how it usually is with her. We came to this tournament prepared, came back from Egypt, where she won two professional titles, which was also a big success for us."

Sun, who joins last year's 16s champion Xiaotong Wang as Orange Bowl winners from China, will return to Belgrade for a few days of rest before starting her preparations for the Australian Open Junior Championships.

The unseeded Liutova, who won the Junior Orange Bowl 12s title in 2022, fought back tears as last week's Bradenton champion sought to gather her thoughts on the end of her 11-match winning streak these past two weeks in Florida.

"She had a great level, much higher than mine. I have nothing to complain about," said the Russian-born Washington state resident, who trains at the Gorin Academy in Seattle. "She deserved the win. Second place is always tough."

In her remarks after the match, Liutova was generous in her praise of Sun and thanked the tournament organizers, the ballrunners, her Academy and her mother Elena, taking time to compose herself as the tears flowed.

"I'm proud of our work and I'm very grateful for everything to help me improve," Liutova said. "It's tough to finish the year this way, but I'll come back stronger, I promise."

The doubles championships were also decided in straight sets, with No. 6 seeds Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico and Ziga Sesko of Slovenia beating the unseeded American team of Marcel Latak and Tanishk Konduri 6-3, 6-3.

"We showed a good level throughout the whole tournament and really combined our games well," Sesko said. "We're having fun on court, with good energy, so good things happen."

Alvarez and Sesko partnered for the first time in Bradenton, where they reached the final, with their status as teammates on the ITF Grand Slam Development Touring Team a key to their pairing.

"We were in Mexico with the Team and our coach suggested we could play well together," Sesko said. "So we decided to try at the Eddie Herr and it ended up well.  Finals at Eddie Herr and now this, nine out of 10, that's a pretty solid streak."

Alvarez is now a two-time Orange Bowl doubles champion, having hoisted the winners' crystal bowl of oranges with Ryan Cozad in the 16s division in 2023.

Both Alvarez and Sesko are traveling to Melbourne next month with the ITF Touring Team for the Australian Open, but they are not playing with each other there.

The ITF Touring Team picked up another doubles title in the girls final, with Anastasija Cvetkovic traveling with the group for this North American clay swing. Cvetkovic and partner Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi of India, the No. 3 seeds, defeated No. 8 seeds Alyssa James of Jamaica and Annika Penickova of the United States 7-5, 6-1.

Cvetkovic had played in both finals at the J300 in Bradenton, reaching the doubles final with another partner, but after those 11 matches and ten more this week, Rajeshwaran Revathi said she would have understood if Cvetkovic had withdrawn after her three set loss to Liutova Saturday.

"Because she went far last week and went far this week as well, I knew she was dead physically," said the 16-year-old, who trains at the Nadal Academy. "I was telling my mom, if she decides to retire, I'd really support the decision, because she deserves it, but I'm really happy that she pushed through."

Playing together for the first time, the pair did not overwhelm their opponents, needing match tiebreakers in three of their victories, but they meshed well. 

"Today was our best match," said the 17-year-old Cvetkovic, who had her right thigh heavily wrapped for the final. "We play so good, so aggressive. We knew what we had to do, and tried to do this and it's all good, I'm proud."

The ITF World Junior Championship Wheelchair singles finals also were played this morning, with Charlie Cooper defeating Tomas Majetic 6-2, 7-5 in the all-USA boys final between unseeded players. 

The girls champion is top seed Luna Gryp of Belgium, who beat Seira Matsuoka of Japan 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(2) in the final.

Sun and Liutova Meet Again for ITF J500 Orange Bowl Title; Kennedy and Boogaart Reach Boys Final; Sirichantho and Reyniak Claim 16s Titles; Thirty-Point Tiebreaker Decides G16s Doubles Title

©Colette Lewis 2025--

Fort Lauderdale FL--

Kristina Liutova had let one match point slip by, hitting a backhand wide at 5-3, 40-15 in the third set in her Orange Bowl semifinal match Saturday with No. 6 seed Anastasija Cvetkovic of Serbia. The second match point ended with a long rally and a mark check on the far sideline by the chair umpire with Cvetkovic pleading that Liutova's ball was wide. After staying out of the conversation for a minute, with the umpire not convinced the ball was out, Liutova told him the ball was out, conceding the point to Cvetkovic. Cvetkovic thanked her, the crowd around court 10 applauded Liutova, and the game continued.

At deuce, Cvetkovic missed a drop shot attempt, but saved a third match point with a volley winner. But a blistering backhand gave Liutova a fourth match point, with Cvetkovic sailing a backhand long to give Liutova a 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory.

Asked why she conceded such a crucial point in such a hard-fought battle, Liutova said she saw the ball out and did not want the match to end with that knowledge.

"Tennis is fair play," said the 15-year-old Seattle-area resident, who was born in Russia. "I'd rather lose the game or whatever, but play fair; that shouldn't be a problem. I was stuck in the moment, just watching, but if I knew it was out and I take it, it's not fair."

Liutova had been pushed by Cvetkovic into an unfamiliar position after beating the 17-year-old Serbian 6-3, 6-0 in the ITF J300 Bradenton final six days ago.

"She stepped in in the first set, was very aggressive," said Liutova, who did not drop a set in Bradenton or this week until today. "I was a little nervous, but she played a very great level and I just had to accept it, continue the work, not thinking about what's been already."

Liutova will face No. 12 seed Xinran Sun of China for the third time in the past four months, after Sun defeated top seed Victoria Barros of Brazil 6-2, 6-3.

"She's a great player, and I just want to enjoy the competition in the final," said Liutova, who defeated Sun in the semifinals of the J300 in College Park in August and last week in the Bradenton J300 quarterfinals.  "Of course I will have some patterns and strategy with my team, but the most important thing is to just let myself play, be myself and go for my shots."

Sun, also 15, said she will "of course" make some changes in her third attempt to beat Liutova.

"Last two times she played really good," said Sun, who has not dropped a set this week. "I just hope I can play my tennis. My movement is good and my backhand is too."

Sun said she had practiced with Barros and was familiar with her game, although they had not played until today.

"I know she is so good player, has so good experience," said Sun, who trains in Belgrade Serbia. "Today I gave 100 percent and played my tennis."

The boys semifinals were both completed in straight sets, with No. 2 seed Jack Kennedy beating unseeded Tanishk Konduri 6-4, 6-3 and No. 11 seed Thijs Boogaard defeating top seed Yannick Alexandrescou of France 7-5, 6-1.

Boogaard, who reached the semifinals of the J300 in Bradenton, is beginning to feel more comfortable now on green clay.

"It's one of the first times I've played on green clay and it's definitely a bit different to the red clay we're used to in Europe,
 said the 17-year-old from the Netherlands. "Last week before the Eddie Herr Bradenton tournament, I took a bit of time to adjust to it, and I think I managed it well. I'm playing better and better on these clay courts and I'm starting to understand it more. The bounces are less high, which I'm a fan of, and the movement, everything is a bit more slippery."

Boogaard was out for many months with mononucleosis and has found the road back to top physical condition a rough one.

"After Wimbledon, we decided to take some time off to really build on my body," said Boogaard, who lost in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. "I felt I was not able to push myself every time, which was very frustrating for the last, what was it, one and a-half, two years. After Wimbledon I decided, together with my team, that I don't want to do this anymore and we've building ever since. We feel like we're back on the right path again. Just getting some match rhythm again, keep building, because it's still going to take a while until I'm back to 100 percent."

Boogaard has taken confidence from all the matches he's won these two weeks, with his win over Alexandrescou especially encouraging.

"He's an unbelievable player, he has great strokes," Boogaard said. "I knew I had to push myself every point, to go for it and attack. Otherwise he would grind me out. So I tried to push myself, go to the net, play aggressive, which is also my game style, and at the end, it worked perfectly."

Kennedy had to make an adjustment or two after falling behind against Konduri in their first meeting.

"I went down an early break 4-1," said the 17-year-old from New York, who was a semifinalist at this tournament last year. "He was playing really well, serving really well, but I was having chances to break back. I knew if I kept mentally solid and stayed present in the moment, I'd get my chance. I did, at 4-3, and I won the set."

The second set remained on serve until Kennedy broke for 4-3, and Konduri's game began to fade at that stage.

"After the break I think he lost a little bit of belief, and I countered that and took control of the match," Kennedy.

Boogaard and Kennedy played in the second round at Roland Garros this year, with Kennedy posting a 4-6, 6-0, 6-4 victory.

"It was a tight match," Boogaard recalled. "He's a great player, one of best guys right now on the junior circuit. It's going to be a good test and we'll see what's going to happen tomorrow."

Two of the semifinalists who lost today managed to rebound in the doubles, with Konduri and partner Marcel Latak advancing to the boys final, and Cvetkovic and partner Rajeshwaran Revathi of India reaching the girls doubles final.

The unseeded Konduri and Latak defeated No. 8 seeds Emanuel Ivanisevic of Croatia and Johan Oscar Lien of Norway 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 and will face No. 6 seeds Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico and Ziga Sesko of Slovenia. Alvarez and Sesko defeated No. 7 seeds Ryan Cozad and Gavin Goode 3-6, 6-4, 10-2.

Cvetkovic and Rajeshwaran, seeded No. 3, beat No. 5 seeds Thea Frodin and Welles Newman 3-6, 6-2, 10-5. They will face No. 8 seeds Alyssa James of Jamaica and Annika Penickova, who defeated the unseeded team of Giselle Guillen of Australia and Alisa Terentyeva 6-4, 6-3.

Due to the possibility of rain Sunday, all six finals, which include both ITF World Junior Wheelchair Championships singles finals, are scheduled to begin at 9 a.m.

The 16s champions were crowned today in all-USA finals, with No. 2 seed Matias Reyniak defeating No. 7 seed Daniel Malacek 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 and Priscilla Sirichantho beating Daniela Del Mastro 6-4, 6-1.

Reyniak appeared tentative at the start of the match, with both players struggling with nerves and a bit more wind than had been the norm during the week. Reyniak briefly took the lead, with a break at 3-all, but two breaks later, Malacek had secured the set.

Reyniak found his form in the middle of the second set and was able to concentrate at the task at hand, rather than begin a premature celebration, when he took a 3-0 lead in the third set.

"That's the number one thing you're fighting," said the 16-year-old from New York, who trains in Spain with coach Gilad Bloom, a four-time participant in the Orange Bowl. "When you're on the court, the number one person that you're playing is yourself. If I can keep my level, I'm confident I can finish this out. Being down 0-3 in the third, they're just going to start going for it, and that's what he did, started ripping shots and started making them. So you just have to keep the pressure on, keep doing what you're doing; never change a winning strategy."

 

Malacek said Reyniak was able to take advantage of his opportunities in the second and third sets.

"He was able to capitalize on easy-ish balls more than Colter (Amey) was yesterday," said the 16-year-old from Seattle. "I had to go for more, take more risk to be gritty and I started missing a little bit, especially when I got a little tired."

Malacek counts the week as a success despite his loss in the final.

"It was a great experience; first Orange Bowl, I made the final, that's good," said Malacek, who will play the USTA 16s Winter Nationals after Christmas. "I'm going to keep trying to learn to play the clay game and play more clay tournaments, because I think I'm actually pretty good on it."

Reyniak has been playing the ITF Junior Circuit all year, primarily in Europe, but thought this trip back to the United States would be beneficial. 

"We came here wanting to win, but no expectations," said Reyniak, who will spend the holidays in New York. "Look, just come here, have fun, a little bit of Florida sun, who doesn't want that?" 

"And now I go back to New York, see my big brother, my dad and my dog Lola, and I'm really excited to see her; that's the real prize."

As for a celebration, Reyniak had a chilly one in mind.

"An ice bath, that's my thing," Reyniak. "A big long ice bath when I get home."

The girls 16s final, played after the boys on the Chris Evert Stadium Court, turned on the final game of the first set, with Priscilla Sirichantho breaking Daniela Del Mastro for a 6-4 lead. 

The 14-year-old left-hander dropped her serve in the opening game of the second set, but then reeled off six straight for a 6-4, 6-1 victory.

"It felt like impossible to break her in the beginning," said Sirichantho, who trains at the Solaris Racquet Club in Stamford and also has a weekly coaching session with Brian Barker, James Blake's former coach, at Tennis Club of Trumbull. "But I just held my ground and kept holding until I got my chance. That kind of switched the trajectory of the match, I think."

Sirichantho, who had lost to Del Mastro in their only meeting last fall, was pleased with her performance.

"I'm proud of how I played," said Sirichantho, who will move up to the 18s next year. "I've been playing less tournaments, practicing a lot, and I've had a lot of great coaches help me. I just worked on a lot since losing to her a year ago."

Del Mastro credited Sirichantho for playing well, while expressing disappointment with her own level in the final.

"Today was definitely not my day, but Priscilla played an unbelievable match," said the 14-year-old from Minnesota. "It's been a very memorable week, a very positive week. I played very well the whole week and before this, I wasn't as confident on clay. Now I'm a lot more confident."

The match of the tournament was today's girls 16 doubles final, with top seeds Emery Combs and Olivia de Los Reyes saving five match points in their 2-6, 6-3, 16-14 win over No. 6 seeds Sylvana Jalbert and Reiley Rhodes.

Combs and de Los Reyes, both 14, won three straight ITF J100 title this fall, but that winning streak was in jeopardy throughout the match tiebreaker, after they failed to secure their match point at 9-8.

They saved match points at 10-9, 11-10, 12-11, 13-12 and 14-13, all with winners: a forehand putaway, three volley winners, and drop volley winner. 

Combs and de Los Reyes earned their second match point with a great first serve from de Los Reyes, with Combs putting away the weak return and Rhodes missed a backhand to finally put an end to all the drama.

Comfortable at the net and unwilling to play passively, Combs and de Los Reyes stuck to their game plan despite the two-back strategy of Rhodes and Jalbert.

"It's nice to know we have the skills to do it our way," said Combs, from Conway South Carolina. "We both have good hands, so as long as we are intense and stay positive, we're able to do whatever we want on court."

In addition to commitment and intensity, Combs and de Los Reyes are also determined to enjoy their matches.

"Whenever we have fun on court, it's straightforward," said de Los Reyes, a New Yorker. "Laughing helps a lot." 

Combs and de Los Reyes, who won the Orange Bowl 14s doubles title last year after playing together for the first time at the 2024 Easter Bowl, don't do a lot of signaling or talking during a match, no matter how pressure-packed the point is.

"We just know each other," de Los Reyes said. "And I just go fo my shots," Combs said. "I know my strengths and my weaknesses and I just adjust."

"In pressure moments, I just play what I practice," de Los Reyes said. "And I know I can rely on that."

The boys doubles champions also saved match points in winning the title, although their Houdini act came in the quarterfinals, and unlike the girls, they were playing together for the first time.

"In the quarters, we saved four match points," said Filip Djokic of Serbia, who teamed up with Sean Peng of Texas at the suggestion of a mutual friend and player who was aging out of the 16s. 

"I told him after our quarterfinal match (a 4-6, 7-6(12), 10-4 win over James Ross and Mason Vaughan) that if we could get through our quarters we'd have the confidence to get the title," Peng said.

Against the unseeded team of Rafael Pawar and Zesen Wang, the No. 5 seeds saved a set point at 6-5 in the second set tiebreaker, winning the next three points to secure the 6-3, 7-6(6) win and the champions' crystal bowl of oranges.

"I came over just for this tournament," said Djokic, who lives and trains in Serbia. "This is one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world, and my brother also played it eight years ago, so I wanted to come and see the best level of tennis."

The ITF Junior Wheelchair Championships are being held in conjunction with the Orange Bowl, and after round robin play for three days, the singles finals are Sunday. Those matches, and the results of today's doubles finals are below.

Boys WC doubles final:
Charlie Cooper(USA) and Tomas Majetic(USA) d. Marijn Bruinooge(NED) and Arlo Shawcross(AUS)[4] 6-1, 6-3

Girls WC doubles final:
Luna Gryp(BEL) and Lucy Heald(USA)[1] d. Emma Gjerseth(SWE) and Seira Matsuoka(JPN)[2] 6-0, 7-6(3)

Boys WC singles final:
Charlie Cooper(USA) vs Tomas Majetic(USA)

Girls WC singles final:
Luna Gryp(BEL)[1] vs Seira Matsuoka(JPN)

My ITF J300 Bradenton Recap; Kennedy's Comeback Leads to All-USA Orange Bowl Semifinal; Sirichantho and Del Mastro Reach Girls 16s Final; Malacek and Reyniak Meet Saturday for B16s Title

©Colette Lewis 2025--
Fort Lauderdale FL--

The Orange Bowl is heading into its championship weekend, but if you missed any of last week's daily coverage of the ITF J300 in Bradenton, you can find my recap of the titles for Jordan Lee and Kristina Liutova today at the Tennis Recruiting Network. 

A third straight jam-packed day of tennis was on the menu at the Jimmy Evert Tennis Center, but when the final doubles match was completed after 7:30 p.m., the Orange Bowl was back on schedule, with the 16s finals and the ITF J500 semifinals set for Saturday.

The weather was perfect again Friday, with low humidity, temperatures in the 70s, and little breeze. That was fortunate for the 18s tournament; with both the third round singles and the quarterfinals of singles and doubles on the schedule, no one needed more challenges from the elements.

The boys semifinals will feature a European section and an American section, with top seed Yannick Alexandrescou of France facing No. 11 seed Thjis Boogaard of the Netherlands and No. 2 seed Jack Kennedy of New York playing unseeded Tanishk Konduri.

Alexandrescou defeated wild card Safir Azam 6-3, 6-4 in the third round and got past unseeded Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico 6-1, 3-6, 6-2 in the quarterfinals. Boogaard had a much less taxing day, getting a third round win when Bradenton finalist Dimitar Kisimov of Bulgaria retired with an elbow injury at after the 6-1 first set, then beating No. 16 seed Andy Johnson for the second time in two weeks, 6-2, 6-2.

Konduri also kept his court time to a minimum, with a 6-0, 6-2 win over unseeded Oliver Sanders of the Czech Republic in the third round and a 6-4, 6-3 win over wild card Marcel Latak in the quarterfinals.

"I felt more fresh today," said the 16-year-old from Cupertino California. "Oliver definitely wasn't at his full ability, but it ended up working out for me. I played a pretty long match yesterday afternoon, and I'm just happy to get through both matches. It's never easy playing two singles matches in a day, everyone is so explosive, so intense that even short matches are physically tiring."

Konduri trailed 4-2 in the first set of his quarterfinal match with his doubles partner, but began to take control of the match then.

"He started really strong," Konduri said. "I got my rhythm a little bit, got a feel for how he plays, what rhythm he plays at and I just tried to make it difficult for him. I felt very confident in my serve today, felt I could hold, maybe not comfortably, but get a solid hold every time, and I started to ease into the match."

Despite picking up just one win in the previous two weeks in Merida Mexico and Bradenton, Konduri did not lose faith in his game.

"The last two weeks I really didn't have the results that I wanted or expected," Konduri said. "But because I finished early last week, I had almost a full week to prepare for this week, and I know my level's there. I'm very confident in my game and I'll let my racquet do the talking."

Kennedy had a much less routine pair of wins to reach his second consecutive Orange Bowl semifinal. Down 3-0 to Carel Ngounoue in the third round, Kennedy won 13 of the next 16 games for a 7-5, 6-1 win.

Next up in the quarterfinals was No. 7 seed Jamie Mackenzie of Germany, who was motivated to beat Kennedy after losing to him 6-3, 6-4 in a J300 in Italy this spring.

Kennedy took a 4-2 lead in the first set, but lost four straight games, and then fell behind 1-4 serving at 15-40. If there was ever a reason to be pessimistic that was it, but Kennedy didn't succumb to that temptation.

"I tried my best just not to think of the score," said Kennedy, who went on a 4-6, 7-6(1), 6-4 victory. "It was really helpful to stay positive and just play my game. Everyone is going to get nervous when you get close to the finish line; I think he gave me a point or two and I came up clutch with my serving."

Although Kennedy held and got the break back, Mackenzie held for a 5-4 lead and Kennedy had to save two match points in that game. Mackenzie made errors on both, and although he held quickly for a 6-5 lead, Kennedy had new life, and the momentum, dropping only two points in the next two games.

Another comeback was necessary in the third set, with Kennedy down 4-2, but he won the last four games of the two-hour and 45-minute match to get the victory.

"The way Jamie was playing, I felt that I had to bring my best in the big moments," Kennedy said. "He came out playing well, his forehand was great, his serve was obviously great, his kick serve was unbelievable. It was a roller coaster of a match, a lot of ups and downs, a very physical match obviously, but I'm happy to get through it. It was a real test."

Mackenzie left the court, but didn't go far, taking out the frustrations of his missed opportunities on his racquet, with the unmistakable sound of a racquet hitting the concrete echoing throughout the grounds.

Both boys semifinals will be first-time meetings.

One of the girls semifinals will feature rematch of a recent meeting with Kristina Liutova defeating Anastasija Cvetkovic of Serbia in the ITF J300 Bradenton final on Sunday 6-3, 6-0.

Liutova continued her march through the green clay swing, with two more straight-sets victories today, beating No. 9 seed Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi of Argentina 6-1, 6-3 and Anita Tu 6-2, 6-2. Tu had beaten No. 3 seed Ruien Zhang of China 6-4, 6-2 in the third round.

The sixth-seeded Cvetkovic posted a 6-3, 6-2 win over No. 11 seed Nadia Lagaev of Canada in the third round, but was extended to almost three hours of tennis by 15-year-old qualifier Sarah Ye. Down 5-1 in the first set, Ye came back to take the first set in a tiebreaker, but cramping derailed her upset bid in the middle of the second set.

"I led 5-1 and I had one set point and she just started to play, hit the ball, hit some lines, and she didn't miss any balls," said the 17-year-old, who is traveling with the ITF's Grand Slam Development team on this trip to North America."

Cvetkovic led 3-0 in the second set, with Ye making another comeback to 3-all, but said she told herself "not again, not again."

Aided by the cramps Ye could not be treated for with a medical timeout, Cvetkovic took control, with the six matches Ye had already won in the past seven days no doubt a factor.

Cvetkovic, who played 11 matches in singles and doubles last week in Bradenton, reaching both finals, is in the semifinals in both this week, and she's not hiding that fatigue.

"Honestly yes I'm so tired," Cvetkovic said. "But this is tennis. I have to play and I have to give my best."

Cvetkovic wasn't ready to assess what she might change in order to revere the outcome of last week's final.

"I have to play doubles today, so I will think about singles later," Cvetkovic said. "But first of all, doubles."

Cvetkovic and partner Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi of Inida, the No. 3 seed, defeated unseeded Capucine Jauffret and Ava Rodriguez 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, and will play another US team: No. 5 seeds Thea Frodin and Welles Newman. Frodin and Newman beat unseeded Masa Jankovic of Serbia and Tea Kovacevic of Bosnia 6-3, 6-3.

No. 8 seed Alyssa James of Jamaica and Annika Penickova beat unseeded Neolia Manta and Iva Marinkovic of Switzerland 6-1, 6-2 to advance to the semifinals against unseeded Giselle Guillen of Australia and Alisa Terentyeva. Guillen and Terentyeva defeated unseeded Carrie-Anne Hoo and Kaya Moe 7-6(1), 6-3.

In the other girls semifinal, top seed Victoria Barros of Brazil will play No. 12 seed Xinran Sun of China. Barros defeated No. 16 seed Allegra Korpanec Davies of Great Britain 6-4, 6-4 in the third round and unseeded Zhang-Qian Wei of China 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.

Sun took out wild card Lani Chang 6-3, 6-1 in the third round, and No. 14 seed Iva Marinkovic of Switzerland 6-2, 7-6(1) in the quarterfinals.

In boys doubles quarterfinal action under the lights, the top three seeds and three teams that won junior slams this year were eliminated.

No. 7 seeds Ryan Cozad and Gavin Goode defeated top seed Alexandrescou and Ryo Tabata of Japan 6-2, 6-1, repeating their win in the final of the J300 in College Park in August.

Cozad and Goode will play No. 6 seed Alvarez and Ziga Sesko of Slovenia, who beat the unseeded team of Kuan-Shou Cheng of Taiwan and Daniel Tazabekov of Kazakhstan 6-1, 6-3. Cozad and Alvarez won the Orange Bowl 16s doubles title in 2023.

Roland Garros and Wimbledon champions Oskari Paldanius of Finland and Alan Wazny of Poland, the No. 3 seeds, had a match point on a deciding point at 4-5 in the second set against unseeded Latak and Konduri, but did not convert it and lost 6-7(2), 7-6(2), 10-8. 

US Open champions Keaton Hance and Kennedy, the No. 2 seeds, lost to No. 8 seeds Emanuel Ivanisevic of Croatia and Johan Oscar Lien of Norway 6-3, 6-2.

The girls 16s final Saturday will feature two unseeded Americans, with Priscilla Sirichantho facing Daniela Del Mastro.

Sirichantho defeated unseeded Sasha Miroshnichenko of Texas 6-2, 6-2 in Friday morning's semifinal, while Del Mastro spent nearly an hour more on court in her 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 win over No. 14 seed Julia Seversen of California.

Both finalists have little experience on green clay, but they have adjusted quickly this week.

"I train on indoor hard," said the 14-year-old left-hander from Connecticut. "So I came in here just trying to have fun, because that's what my coach told me to do. I just came and tried my best; I had no idea what was going to happen."

After two singles matches and a doubles match Thursday, Sirichantho needed some help to be ready for her semifinal.

"I rolled out of bed, literally, I was so sore,"  Sirichantho said. "I have knees wrapped up, because I fell yesterday, and it was tough. I went to the physio and they gave me a little massage so now I'm all good."

It wasn't just the physical side either that Sirichantho needed to address.

"I came in pretty tight, but I talked to my dad a little bit and he kind of calmed me down," Sirichantho said. "He was in my corner the whole time, sitting in the coaches seat and giving me encouragement. But I got looser as the match went on and I'm happy with how it went."

Del Mastro won the Easter Bowl 14s title in March, so reaching the 16s Orange Bowl final puts an exclamation point on an eventful year.

"It's been a great year, I've had a lot of fun on court," said the 14-year-old from Minnesota. "In today's match she played very well and it was down to the wire. She's a great fighter, stays in the match the whole time and I had to play well to pull that out, and I'm happy that I did."

Del Mastro did play the Bradenton J300 as a wild card, but that one match was most of her experience on the green clay.

"I never play on green clay, ever," Del Mastro said. "The only time I hit on it is before a tournament."

Del Mastro knew she needed to make some changes to her strategy today after dropping the first set.

"She was playing very solid, so I was like, mix it up a little bit, try a couple of things," Del Mastro said. "The drop shot started working very well for me, so it was a good mixup."

Del Mastro and Sirichantho played last fall in the Les Petits As United States qualifying tournament, their only previous meeting.

"We've been friends for a long time, so I think it'll be a great match, it'll be really fun, Del Mastro said. "I ended up winning that match 6-1, 7-6, but it was great match and I'm looking forward to another one."

No. 2 seed Matias Reyniak and No. 7 seed Daniel Malacek will come into the boys 16s championship Saturday, with decidedly different perspectives.

Reyniak, who defeated No. 12 seed Gadin Arun of Arizona 6-4, 6-1, has been training on red clay in Spain for over a year, while Malacek, a 7-5, 6-4 winner over No. 14 seed Colter Amey, doesn't have any access to the surface to train on, but is adjusting his game to adapt.

"We have zero clay there," said the 16-year-old left-hander from Seattle." I'm more of a hard court player, most of the time. But I think I'm beginning to learn how to move on this clay, so I'm playing better and better."

Malacek also changed his mindset.

"I feel, because the ball's a little heavier, you can't really go for your shots as much," Malacek said. "So it's more of a grinding mentality. But I feel like I'm pretty fit, I can last, so I'm ok with it. It's not really how well you play, it's just that I've been more gritty."

Reyniak, originally from New York, found his commute to courts there to be so time consuming that he had to find an alternative.

"Everything in Spain is on red clay, and it's changed my game a lot," said the 16-year-old, who is at BTT Academy. "High bouncing, slow courts, really rich clay, unlike green clay, which is really like a hard court."

Despite playing mostly ITF Junior Circuit events in Europe, Reyniak believed he could contend for the title this week.

"I felt confident," Reyniak said. "I don't really know a lot of kids and I don't look at draws, it's not my thing, so I didn't know I was the No. 2 seed until I showed up. I just come and play, and see what happens, but I go to every tournament expecting to win."

The girls 16s doubles title will feature top seeds Emery Combs and Olivia de Los Reyes and No. 6 seeds Sylvana Jalbert and Reiley Rhodes.  Combs and de Los Reyes will be playing for their fourth consecutive title after winning three straight J100 titles this fall. Combs and de Los Reyes defeated unseeded Audrey Dussault and Evelynn Kwak in the semifinals 6-2, 6-2. Jalbert and Rhodes beat No. 7 seeds Alexandra and Natasha Jerkunica 2-6, 6-3, 10-7.

No. 5 seeds Filip Djokic of Serbia and Sean Peng will face unseeded Rafael Pawar and Zesen Wang in the 16s boys double final. Djokic and Peng defeated No. 2 seeds Griffin Goode and Nicolas Pedraza 7-6(4), 6-4 in the the semifinals, while Pawar and Wang beat No. 8 seeds Mikaeel Ali Baig of Pakistan and Atticus Kim 7-5, 1-6, 10-5.

Live streaming and live scoring can be found at the ustaorangebowl.com information page.