Kennedy and Tanguilig Win First Pro Circuit Singles Titles; Day Claims Third Title of 2026 at Boca Raton W35; Dostanic Falls in Sarasota Challenger Final; Virginia Women Earn No. 1 Seed in ACC Conference Tournament after Win Over NC State

Jack Kennedy won his first pro tournament today at the USTA Pro Circuit M15 in Boca Raton Florida, with the 17-year-old New Yorker, seeded No. 6, defeating No. 7 seed Andreja Petrovic(North Dakota, Florida State, Duke) 6-3, 6-4 in the final. 

Kennedy, who had reached the semifinals at four other USTA Pro Circuit tournaments since last May, is the fifth player born in 2008, and first American, to win a ITF men's World Tennis Tour singles title. Currently 864 in the ATP rankings, Kennedy should move into the ATP Top 750 for the first time when the points are added.

Kennedy will be playing the Tallahassee Challenger next week, after receiving a main draw spot via the ITF Junior Accelerator Program. 

Petrovic did come away with a title this week, taking the doubles title with partner Alex Kotzen(Columbia, Tennessee). The unseeded pair beat unseeded Will Grant(Florida) and Jeffrey Fradkin(UCLA) 3-6, 6-3, 10-2 in today's final.

At the women's W35 in Boca Raton, top seed Kayla Day won her third title of 2026, beating No. 2 seed Mary Stoiana(Texas A&M) 6-3, 6-1. The 26-year-old Day, who won a W35 in January and a W50 in February, will move up just a few spots in the WTA rankings with the title, going from 158 to around 150, but she boosts her total in the USTA's Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge after earning 25 points for qualifying at last week's WTA Charleston 500, she now has 60 points with three weeks remaining in the race.

Carson Tanguilig, early in her first full year of professional tennis following an All-American career at North Carolina, won her first singles title today at the W15 in Bonita Springs Florida. The unseeded 22-year-old from Georgia, who won the 2023 NCAA doubles title with Fiona Crawley, defeated No. 6 seed Ellie Schoppe(Furman, Florida State), 7-5, 6-4 in today's singles final, after claiming the doubles title on Saturday.

At the ATP Challenger 75 in Sarasota(Bradenton), top seed Yibing Wu of China defeated unseeded Stefan Dostanic(USC, Wake Forest) 6-1, 4-6, 6-3 in this afternoon's final. Dostanic fought back in the second set and was even at 3-all in the third against the ATP No. 115, but dropped the next three games.

With this final, Dostanic is up to a career-high ATP ranking of 270 and the 44 points will earn him contender status in the USTA's Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge, which continues for three more weeks. Dostanic is entered in the ATP Challenger 75 in Tallahassee, where he is scheduled to play No. 4 seed Daniil Glinka of Estonia in the first round.

The conclusion of the regular season for the SEC, ACC and Big 12 conferences was scheduled for today, although rain has forced several of the conference matches scheduled for this afternoon into the evening. The final weekend of Big 10 competition is next week.

The ACC women did complete their schedule, with the University of Virginia claiming the regular season championship and the top seed in the next week's conference tournament with the No. 8 Cavaliers beating No. 14 NC State 4-2 today in Charlottesville. Virginia, who had never won an outright ACC regular season title, went 12-0 in conference play this year, with a win over North Carolina elevating them above the Tar Heels in the final standings.

North Carolina is No. 2, NC State No. 3 and Duke No. 4 in the ACC conference tournament seedings, with those teams getting byes into the quarterfinals. The full schedule for the tournament, again held in Cary North Carolina, is available here.

The other conference tournament brackets have not been posted, but should be available in by Monday at ACC men's tennis, SEC men's tennis, SEC women's tennis, Big 12 men's tennis, and Big 12 women's tennis.

Kennedy Reaches First Pro Circuit Final; Dostanic Plays for Second Challenger Title; All-USA Finals in Women's USTA Pro Circuit Events; Behrmann and Wobker Claim J500 Cairo Titles; USA Falls to Belgium in BJK Cup

Since last spring, Jack Kennedy had made four USTA men's Pro Circuit semifinals, but had not made an appearance in a final at those three M15s and one M25 tournament. That streak ended today at the Boca Raton M15, with the University of Virginia recruit, seeded sixth, beating fellow 17-year-old Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico, who was competing in his first pro event this week, 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3. 

Kennedy will face No. 7 seed Andreja Petrovic(North Dakota, Florida State, Duke) of Norway, who beat No. 8 seed Jacob Brumm(Cal, Baylor) 5-7, 6-2, 6-2, and will also be playing for his first pro title.

Petrovic also won his doubles quarterfinal match today, and is still on the schedule to play his semifinal, with partner Alex Kotzen(Columbia, Tennessee) tonight. Due to rain early in the week, the first round of doubles wasn't completed until yesterday.

At the ATP Challenger 75 in Sarasota(Bradenton), unseeded Stefan Dostanic advanced to his second Challenger final with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Andy Andrade(Florida) of Ecuador today at the IMG Academy. The former USC and Wake Forest All-American, who won his first Challenger title in February and claimed an M25 title late last month in Greece, will face top seed Yibing Wu of China in the final. Wu defeated reigning Kalamazoo 18s champion Darwin Blanch 6-3, 7-5 in the other semifinal.

The doubles title went to the unseeded team of Martin Damm and Czech Hynek Barton, who beat unseeded Garrett Johns(Duke) and Theo Winegar(Columbia, Duke) 6-2, 6-1 in today's final.

The top two seeds will decide the title at the women's W35 in Boca Raton, with No. 1 seed Kayla Day facing No. 2 seed Mary Stoiana(Texas A&M). Day defeated No. 3 seed Claire Liu 6-4, 6-1, her fourth consecutive win over her fellow Southern Californian on the pro circuit, although the first since 2019.  

No. 2 seed Stoiana defeated unseeded Madison Sieg(USC) 7-6(5), 6-3 to reach her first final of the year. Day beat Stoiana 6-3, 0-6, 7-6(4) in the quarterfinals of February's W50 in Orlando, which Day went on to win.

The doubles semifinals and finals were played today, with No. 3 seeds Savannah Broadus(Pepperdine) and Abigail Rencheli(NC State) defeating No. 2 seeds Sofia Cabezas(Iowa State, Tennessee) of Venezuela and Anna Rogers(NC State) 6-4, 3-6, 10-3 in the final. It's the ninth pro doubles title for Broadus, 23, all with different partners, and the 11th for Rencheli, with 10 different partners.

At the W15 in Bonita Springs, former UNC All-American Carson Tanguilig will play in her second career singles final, with the unseeded 22-year-old taking on 24-year-old Ellie Schoppe, a former standout at Furman and Florida State.  Schoppe, 24, beat No. 1 seed Gergana Topalova of Bulgaria 2-6, 6-2, 7-5 to reach her first Pro Circuit final; Tanguilig beat unseeded Margaux Maquet of Belgium 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals. 

Tanguilig already has captured a title, winning the doubles today with Kylie Collins(Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State). The No. 3 seeds defeated the wild card pairing of juniors Nadia Valdez and Carlota Moreno 6-2, 6-3 in the final. Tanguilig now has three pro doubles titles, with Collins, 23, picking up her sixth.

The J500 in Cairo Egypt concluded today, with No. 2 seed (and qualifier) Thilo Behrmann of Austria defeating No. 12 seed Valentin Gonzalez-Galino of Spain 6-2, 6-3 for the boys title and No. 3 seed Ida Wobker of Germany beating No. 7 seed Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas 7-5, 6-4 for the girls title. 

No. 8 seeds Jakub Kusy of Czechia and Vincent Reisach of Germany won the boys doubles title, beating No. 6 seeds Connor Doig of South Africa and Oluwaseun Peter Ogunsakin of Nigeria 7-6(2), 6-3 in the final.

Top seeds Tereza Hermanova of Czechia and Sonja Zhenikhova of Germany won the girls doubles title, beating No. 7 seeds Maja Pawelska of Poland and Polina Skliar of Ukraine 6-2, 7-5 in the final.

The USA Billie Jean King Cup Team will not be playing in the finals this fall in China, after losing to Belgium 3-1 in Belgium in this weekend's qualifying round.

The USTA release from this weekend's competition:

Billie Jean King Cup Qualifying

Friday 

Hanne Vandewinkel (BEL) d. Iva Jovic (USA), 7-6(3), 6-3

Elise Mertens (BEL) d. McCartney Kessler (USA), 7-6(3), 2-6, 3-3, ret.

 

Saturday

Caty McNally/Nicole Melichar-Martinez (USA) d. Mertens/Magali Kempen (BEL), 6-4, 6-2

Greet Minnen (BEL) d. Iva Jovic (USA), 7-5, 6-3

 

The U.S. Billie Jean King Cup team fell to Belgium, 3-1, in its Qualifying tie played Friday and Saturday on indoor red clay in Ostend, Belgium. An untimely injury to McCartney Kessler that forced her to retire while deadlocked in the third set vs. Elise Mertens and inspired performances from Hanne Vandewinkel and Greet Minnen led the Belgians to advance to the 2026 Finals in front of their home crowd inside the Coretec Dome. 

 

The American team will next play in the Playoff round the week of November 16 with the goal of returning to the Qualifying pool for 2027. Nations competing in the home-and-away Playoffs include the seven losing nations from this weekend's Qualifying -- including Japan, Australia, Slovenia, Canada and Poland -- and the seven best-performing nations from regional Group I events also being played this weekend.

 

The USA's opponent and site for the November playoff will be determined via draw held Thursday, April 23, at 6 a.m. ET. 

Blanch and Dostanic Reach Sarasota Challenger Semis; All-American Final Four at W35 in Boca Raton; Kennedy vs Alvarez at M15 Boca Raton; Britton and Ceban Claim LTA 18s Titles; Oklahoma Beats No. 2 Texas A&M; USA Trails 2-0 in BJK Cup

Americans have advanced to the semifinals of all four USTA Pro Circuit tournaments this week, with an all-USA final guaranteed in one event and a possibility in the other three.

The sure thing is at the W35 in Boca Raton, where all four semifinalists are Americans. Top seed Kayla Day had to complete her second round match and play her quarterfinal today after rain the previous two days; she defeated unseeded Katarina Jokic(Georgia) of Serbia 7-6(4), 6-2 to advance to a fifth Pro Circuit meeting with No. 3 seed Claire Liu, although it's the first since 2019. Liu had to complete her second round match over 15-year-old qualifier Hannah Ayrault before reaching the semifinals with a 7-5, 6-2 win over unseeded Tatiana Pieri of Italy.

No. 2 seed Mary Stoiana(Texas A&M) had won her second round match yesterday, so her 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 win over Angela Fita Boluda of Spain was her only match of the day. She will face unseeded Maddy Sieg(USC), who beat No. 7 seed Akasha Urhobo 6-4, 6-1 to advance to her second straight W35 semifinal, having reached the semis at the W35 in Argentina last week.

At the ATP Challenger 75 in Sarasota(Bradenton), unseeded Americans Darwin Blanch and Stefan Dostanic(USC, Wake Forest) beat seeds to advance to the semifinals.

Blanch, the 2025 Kalamazoo 18s champion, continued his impressive run on the green clay at the IMG Academy, defeating No. 3 seed Hugo Dellien of Bolivia 6-1, 7-5 in today's quarterfinals. Blanch will face top seed Yibing Wu of China, who beat Daniel Dutra da Silva of Brazil 6-5, 7-6(4) this evening.

Dostanic, the 2025 NCAA Team Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, advanced to the semifinals when No. 8 seed Nishesh Basavareddy(Stanford) retired at 5-7, 6-2.  Dostanic will play unseeded Andy Andrade(Florida) of Ecuador, who beat No. 6 seed Daniil Glinka of Estonia 6-4, 6-2.

A couple of hours down the road in Bonita Springs, two former collegians are through to the W15 semifinals, with unseeded Carson Tanguilig, a recent North Carolina graduate, winning a three-hour battle with No. 8 seed Bella Payne, a Georgia recruit, 6-4, 6-7(5), 7-6(6). She will face unseeded Margaux Maquet of Belgium, who beat wild card Carlota Moreno 6-0, 6-1.

Top seed Gergana Topalova of Bulgaria will face No. 6 seed Ellie Schoppe(Furman, Florida State), who beat No. 3 seed Kyle Collins(Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State) in another three-hour-plus match 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-6(5).

At the M15 in Boca Raton, No. 6 seed Jack Kennedy reached his fifth USTA Pro Circuit semifinal with a 6-2, 1-6, 6-2 win over friend Keaton Hance. Kennedy, a Virginia recruit, will be trying to reach his first Pro Circuit final when he plays Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico, who has made the semifinals in his first appearance in a Pro Circuit tournament. Alvarez, a Georgia recruit, advanced when Benjamin Willwerth retired trailing 2-3 in the first set of the quarterfinals.

The top half semifinal will feature No. 8 seed Jacob Brumm and No. 7 seed Andreja Petrovic(North Dakota, Florida State, Duke) of Norway. Petrovic beat top seed Ignacio Monzon of Argentina 6-4, 6-4, while Brumm defeated No. 3 seed Mwendwa Mbithi 7-5, 7-5.

The LTA National Championships concluded today in Great Britain, with Daniela Britton, last week's 16s champion, adding the 18s title and top seed Mark Ceban, the 2024 16s champion, taking the boys title.

Britton, the No. 2 seed, beat No. 5 seed Tegan Bush 6-1, 6-3 in the final, with Bush having taking out top seed Hollie Smart 6-4, 6-1 in the quarterfinals. Ceban defeated No. 4 seed Joshua Craze 6-4, 6-1 to earn a Wimbledon men's qualifying wild card; Britton will receive a women's qualifying wild card for Wimbledon.

The draws can be found here.

The Division I women's NCAA picture continues without a clearcut favorite, but the University of Oklahoma women are certainly making their case, with the No. 7 Sooners beating No. 2 Texas A&M 4-1 last night in Norman for their 12th straight win. Oklahoma took the doubles point and got wins at lines 2, 3 and 5, with A&M's sole point coming from Lucciana Perez at No. 1. Oklahoma faces No. 6 Texas on Saturday again at home, on senior day.

The USA's Billie Jean King Cup team is down 2-0 to host Belgium after Iva Jovic lost to Hanne Vandewinkel 7-6(3), 6-3 and McCartney Kessler(Florida) retired against Elise Mertens at 7-6(3), 2-6, 3-3. For more on the remaining doubles and singles, and Kessler's injury, see this article from the BJK Cup website.

Jovic Kicks Off Billie Jean King Cup Qualifying vs Belgium Friday; Kennedy vs Hance in Boca Raton M15 Quarterfinals, Alvarez Beats No. 2 Seed Grant; Dostanic and Basavareddy Meet in Sarasota Challenger

Iva Jovic will make her Billie Jean King Cup debut tomorrow in the qualifying tie with Belgium, but the 18-year-old from Southern California is a veteran of ITF team competitions, having helped the USA win the Junior Billie Jean King Cup titles in 2022 and 2023.

Alanis Hamilton, Tyra Grant, Iva Jovic, Captain Tom Gutteridge (photo courtesy ITF)

Jovic was on the 2022 team as its youngest player and she didn't see much action, but she played No. 1 on the 2023 team and won every match in straight sets, with Tyra Grant, now representing Italy, and Alanis Hamilton the other team members.

Tomorrow Jovic, up to a WTA career-high of 16, will face Hanne Vandewinkel, currently 94 in the WTA rankings. McCartney Kessler(Florida) will play the second singles match against Elise Mertens, with Caty McNally and Nicole Melichar-Martinez expected to be the doubles team. 

Tennis Channel will provide coverage beginning at 10 a.m. EDT.

For the USTA's release from today, click here.

The Boca Raton M15 and M35 are still trying to get back on schedule due to all the rain this week, but one of the quarterfinals is set in the men's event, with No. 6 seed Jack Kennedy set to face good friend Keaton Hance. Kennedy and Hance, who won the 2024 Junior Davis Cup title and last year's US Open boys doubles championship, have played twice in the past year, with Kennedy winning 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 in the semifinals of the ITF J300 in Indian Wells last March and 6-0, 6-1 in the second round of the M15 in Orlando last November.

Kennedy had the tougher second round match, beating Jerrid Gaines Jr. 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, while Hance beat qualifier Adam Lynch(Barry) 6-2, 6-4. 

Puerto Rico's Yannik Alvarez, playing in his first Pro Circuit tournament, defeated No. 2 seed Will Grant(Florida) 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-0 to reach the quarterfinals. He will play the winner of tonight's second round match between Benjamin Willwerth and No. 5 seed Dragos Cazacu(Tennessee) of Romania. 

At the women's tournament in Boca Raton, No. 2 seed Mary Stoiana, No. 7 seed Akasha Urhobo and Madison Sieg(USC) have advanced to the quarterfinals, with Sieg facing Urhobo Friday.

The other side of the state has seen less impact from rain, with the quarterfinals set at both the W15 in Bonita Springs and ATP Challenger 75 in Sarasota(Bradenton). 

Seventeen-year-old wild card Carlota Moreno is through to the quarterfinals after beating No. 7 seed Ava Markham(Wisconsin) 7-5, 6-4; the Tennessee recruit will play unseeded Margaux Maquet of Belgium, who beat Georgia recruit Ava Rodriguez 6-1, 6-4.  Eighteen-year-old Bella Payne, who has signed with Georgia, defeated Allegra Korpanec Davies of Great Britain, a Florida signee 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and will face former North Carolina All-American Carson Tanguilig, who beat No. 4 seed Ana Grubor of Canada 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-4.

No. 3 seed Kylie Collins(Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State) and No. 6 seed Ellie Schoppe(Furman, Florida State) are the other two Americans in the quarterfinals and they will play each other on Friday, with the winner facing either top seed Gergana Topalova of Bulgaria or No. 5 seed Daria Egorova.

Three Americans are through to the quarterfinals at the Sarasota Challenger, with 2025 Kalamazoo 18s champion Darwin Blanch earning his spot today with a 6-1, 6-2 win over Duje Ajdukovic of Croatia. He will face No. 3 seed Hugo Dellien of Bolivia Friday.

The bottom quarterfinal will feature two recent former college stars, with No. 8 seed Nishesh Basavareddy(Stanford) taking on unseeded Stefan Dostanic(USC, Wake Forest), in what I believe is their first meeting. Basavareddy beat Hynek Barton of Czechia 6-1, 7-6(6) Wednesday and Dostanic defeated Alex Rybakov(TCU) 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 Wednesday night. 

ITF J300 Tucson Videos; Reddy and Alvarez Earn First ATP Points in M15 Boca Raton, Wild Card Saffar Wins in Pro Circuit Debut at W35 in Boca Raton; Top Seeds Fall at J500 Cairo; SoCal Pro Series Begins Fifth Season Next Month

The videos from last month's finals at the ITF J300 in Tucson are below, with more to come in the next few weeks from the ITF in San Diego and the Easter Bowl. For many more videos from major junior events in the United States going back more than a decade, see the tenniskalamazoo YouTube channel.

 

 

Rain has again been a problem in Boca Raton, with some first round matches postponed until Thursday, but others were completed earlier today, with several juniors getting memorable results.

Sixteen-year-old wild card Vihaan Reddy, who had just one win in the two J300s out west last month, earned his first ATP point today at the M15 in Boca Raton, beating 18-year-old qualifier Adam Farag-Cao of Canada 6-3, 7-5. He will play No. 8 seed Jacob Brumm(Cal, Baylor) in the second round. ITF Junior Reserve entrant Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico also claimed his first ATP point, beating 20-year-old qualifier Segundo Goity Zapico of Argentina 6-2, 6-3. He will face No. 2 seed Will Grant(Florida) in the second round. 

Other teenagers advancing are wild cards Nick Stoot and Jerrid Gaines Jr.,  No. 6 seed Jack Kennedy, who plays Gaines next, and two Australian Open boys finalists, Benjamin Willwerth(2025) and Keaton Hance(2026), both of whom received main draw spots via the Junior Reserve program.

At the W35 in Boca Raton, 17-year-old Yael Saffar, who has been playing on the ITF Junior Circuit in Central and South America all year, received a wild card into her first Pro Circuit tournament and today won her debut, beating fellow teenage wild card Natalie Oliver 7-5, 3-6, 6-2.  No. 2 seed Mary Stoiana(Texas A&M) did finish her first round match, beating qualifier Savannah Broadus 6-3, 7-5.

Teens advancing to the second round of the W15 in Bonita Springs are Ava Rodriguez, wild card Carlota Moreno, No. 8 seed Bella Payne, No. 5 seed Daria Egorova, 14-year-old Sofia Bielinska of Ukraine and Allegra Korpanec Davies of Great Britain, the latter two after receiving Junior Reserved entries.

Both No. 1 seeds were beaten in the third round today at the ITF J500 in Cairo Egypt. Unseeded Vincent Reisach of Germany defeated Nikita Belozertsev of Uzbekistan 6-4, 6-4 and No. 16 seed Alena Kharchenko rebounded to beat Sonja Zhenikhova of Germany 0-6, 6-4, 6-2. Carel Ngounoue, who defeated No. 4 seed Savva Rybkin 6-4, 6-3 in the second round, lost to No. 16 seed Jan Sadzik of Poland 6-4, 6-1 today. 

The dates for this year's SoCal Pro Series, the seven-week block of $15,000 tournaments for men and women at various locations in the area, have been announced. Below is the release, which also includes information on the prequalifying events, which begin early next month.

APRIL 8, 2026 – The SoCal Pro Series, USTA Southern California’s swing of International Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis Tour events, returns for its fifth consecutive year this summer. The series provides a critical pathway for the region’s best junior and collegiate talent, offering players the opportunity to earn ATP and WTA world ranking points needed to transition onto the professional tour.

 

The SoCal Pro Series features seven straight weeks of men’s and women’s tournaments at premier tennis facilities across Southern California. Each $15,000-purse event is part of the USTA Pro Circuit and ITF World Tennis Tour. The series spans Los Angeles, Orange, and San Diego counties and makes its Inland Empire debut this year in Claremont.

 

The 2026 SoCal Pro Series’ tournament dates and locations are:

• May 25-31 – Lakewood Tennis Center, Lakewood
• June 1-7 – Lakewood Tennis Center, Lakewood
• June 8-14 – Jack Kramer Club, Rolling Hills Estates
• June 15-21 – Racquet Club of Irvine, Irvine
• June 22-28 – Biszantz Family Tennis Center, Claremont
• June 29-July 5 – Barnes Tennis Center, San Diego
• July 6-12 – Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club, Rancho Santa Fe

 

“The SoCal Pro Series has always been about giving our junior and college players a real opportunity to test themselves,” said Trevor Kronemann, USTA Southern California Executive Director. “What’s been exciting to see is how they’re not just stepping into bigger events, they’re springboarding into them. They’re building belief, earning points, and proving they belong on the ATP and WTA tours. Having seven straight weeks of competition back on our calendar is huge for our section and for the players chasing that next level.”

 

Through the first four years of the SoCal Pro Series, 36 women and 21 men—who are either Southern California residents or played collegiate tennis in Southern California— have earned their first WTA/ATP world ranking point through the circuit, including seven women and five men in 2025.

 

Notable alumni who have used the series to catapult onto the professional tour include:

• Learner Tien (Irvine): Current ATP No. 22; 2026 Australian Open Quarterfinalist.
• Alex Michelsen (Aliso Viejo): Current ATP No. 35.
• Iva Jovic (Torrance): Current WTA No. 16; 2026 Australian Open Quarterfinalist.
• Local Standouts: Zach Svajda (Pacific Beach): Current ATP No. 84; Tristan Boyer (Altadena): Current ATP No. 242; Brandon Holt (Rolling Hills Estates): Current ATP No. 252; Julieta Pareja (Carlsbad): Current WTA No. 368; and Katherine Hui (San Diego): 2023 US Open Girls’ Singles Champion.

 

“The SoCal Pro Series was vital for my transition to the pro tour,” explained Jovic. “It was my first professional event [in 2022] and a great starting point. I really appreciate USTA SoCal’s commitment to giving wildcards and opportunities to local kids. SoCal has a great tennis community, with talented players and coaches, and that level of guidance and professionalism is incredible. Having professional events in our section—and a whole series of them—is something many other sections don’t have. It’s a huge advantage and exposure for SoCal kids.”

 

SoCal Pro Series’ main draw and qualifying wildcards are available to U.S. citizens who are either legal Southern California residents or full-time college students in the region.

 

Southern California players can register to play in pre-qualifying events for a chance to earn their way into the main draw as wild cards. The upcoming pre-qualifying schedule includes: May 9-11, Jack Kramer Club; May 15-19, Lakewood Tennis Center; May 22-24, Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club; May 29-June 2, Racquet Club of Irvine; June 6-8, Barnes Tennis Center; June 12-14 The Claremont Club. SoCal players can register for pre-qualifying events at: https://ustasocal.com/proseries/#pre-qualifying.

Another Week, Another No. 1 in D-I Men's Tennis; Frodin and Ayrault Qualify for W35, Syed Advances at M15 in Boca Raton; UTR Pro Tennis Tour Update

For the fourth week in succession, a different team has taken over the top spot in the ITA Division I men's rankings, with Texas reaching No. 1 for the first time this season, despite their National Team Indoor title in February. The Longhorns, who have lost seven six matches this year including two in SEC play, have one more conference match left, at home against Florida this Friday. The SEC men's conference tournament begins April 15th in College Station.

There's also a new No. 1 in men's singles, with Virginia's Dylan Dietrich returning to the top spot after Trevor Svajda of SMU suffered his second loss of the season to Viktor Markov of Clemson 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(1). Dietrich beat Svajda in their conference match; Dietrich's sole loss of the dual match season came to Aidan Kim in the semifinals of the Team Indoor Championships.

I'm including the Top 16 this week rather than the Top 10, with the race to host the first two matches of the NCAAs a significant benefit of earning that ranking. The results at the conference tournaments will be included, so we're not close to having the Top 16 determined, (or the Top 8, who are Super Regional hosts if they win their first two match), but it's something to keep an eye on in these final weeks. The link in the heading goes to the full list; to see who is on the cutline for the NCAAs, see Collegetennisranks.com.

Men's ITA Division I Rankings, April 7, 2026

Team

last week's ranking in parentheses

1. Texas (2)

2. Ohio State (1)

3. Virginia (4)

4. TCU (5)

5. LSU (7)

6. Mississippi State (6)

7. Wake Forest (3)

8. Texas A&M (10)

9. Oklahoma (11)

10. Arizona (8)

11. Baylor (9)

12. South Carolina (13)

13. Georgia (12)

14. Illinois (14)

15. UCF (15)

16. San Diego (16)

Top 10 Singles:

1. Dylan Dietrich, Virginia

2. Trevor Svajda, SMU

3. Sebastian Gorzny, Texas

4. Jay Friend, Arizona

5. Benito Sanches Martinez, Mississippi State

6. Duncan Chan, TCU

7. Devin Badenhorst, Baylor

8. Max Dahlin, Michigan

9. Michael Zheng, Columbia

10. Petar Jovanovic, Mississippi State

Top 5 Doubles:

1. Cosme Rolland De Ravel and Duncan Chan, TCU

2. DK Suresh and Andrew Delgado, Wake Forest

3. Brandon Carpico and Nikita Filin, Ohio State

4. Benito Sanchez Martinez and Petar Jovanovic, Mississippi State

5. Theo Papamalamis and Togan Tokac, Texas A&M

The women's Top 10 hardly changed, with Georgia and Texas A&M remaining at No. 1 and No. 2, which was the norm for several years, but was not expected to continue in 2026.

Women's ITA Division I Rankings, April 7, 2026

Team

1. Georgia (1)

2. Texas A&M (2)

3. Ohio State (3)

4. Auburn (4)

5. North Carolina (5)

6. Texas (6)

7. Oklahoma (8)

8. Virginia (9)

9. Pepperdine (7)

10. Southern California (12)

11. Arizona State (14)

12. LSU (13)

13. Vanderbilt (11)

14. NC State (10)

15. Michigan (17)

16. UCLA (18)

Top 10 Singles:

1. Lucciana Perez, Texas A&M

2. Reese Brantmeier, North Carolina

3. Carmen Herea, Texas

4. Teah Chavez, Ohio State

5. Luciana Perry, Ohio State

6. Bridget Stammel, Vanderbilt

7. Piper Charney, Michigan

8. Aysegul Mert, Georgia

9. Savannah Dada-Mascoll, Appalachian State

10. Evialina Laskevich, Oklahoma

Top 5 Doubles:

1. Roisin Gilheany and Gloriana Nahum, Oklahoma

2. Gabriella Broadfoot and Victoria Osuigwe, NC State

3. Ava Esposito and DJ Bennett, Auburn

4. Deniz Dilek and Aysegul Mert, Georgia

5. Reese Brantmeier and Alanis Hamilton, North Carolina

Rain was a problem today in Florida, where all four of this week's USTA Pro Circuit tournaments are being played. The two doubles matches on today's schedule at the ATP Challenger 75 in Sarasota were postponed, but the singles first round continued, with Nishesh Basavareddy(Stanford), Darwin Blanch, Garrett Johns(Duke) and Strong Kirchheimer(Northwestern) earning victories today. Last night, Alex Rybakov(TCU) defeated No. 2 seed Martin Damm 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-3.

Also on the gulf side of the state is a women's W15 in Bonita Springs, with qualifying just finishing up now. Americans advancing to the main draw are Emma Jackson(Duke), Jenna Dean and 18-year-old Oklahoma recruit Sara Shumate, who beat two seeds to reach the main draw.

Wild cards were given to Jaedan Brown(Michigan), Nadia Valdez, Carlota Moreno and Sarah Ye, with Brown playing Valdez and Moreno facing Ye in the first round. 

Maggie Sohns received an ITF junior reserved entry, as did Ukraine's Sofia Bielinska.

Gergana Topalova of Bulgaria is the top seed, with Emily Appleton of Great Britain the No. 2 seed.

Boca Raton has a W35 and an M15 this week, with a rain confining the play today to qualifying.

2025 USTA National 16s champion Hannah Ayrault, who trains in the Boca Raton area, qualified for the W35 there in November of last year and the 15-year-old has done it again, winning two match tiebreakers after dropping the opening set to qualify against Malkia Ngounoue and Italy's Anastasia Bertacchi.

Thea Frodin, 17, didn't drop a set in advancing to the main draw, where she'll play 19-year-old Akasha Urhobo, who received a wild card, but is the No. 7 seed. 

Other Americans advancing to the main draw are Salma Ewing(USC, Texas A&M), Savannah Broadus(Pepperdine) and Jamilah Snells(Louisville).

Wild cards were given to Claire Liu, who is the No. 3 seed, high school senior Natalie Oliver and high school junior Yael Saffar. Oliver and Saffar will play each other in the first round.

Kayla Day and Mary Stoiana(Texas A&M) are the top two seeds.

The Boca Raton M15 features many juniors, with Jack Kennedy the No. 6 seed, and junior reserved spots going to Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico, Keaton Hance and Benjamin Willwerth. Wild cards were awarded to American teens Nick Stoot, Vihaan Reddy and Jerrid Gaines Jr, along with Australian Patrick Kotan(North Florida). 

Qualifiers include Jerry Roddick(UCF, Texas A&M), Adam Lynch(Barry), Ilija Palavestra(Ohio State) and 16-year-old qualifying wild card Sulaiman Syed, who is playing in just his second USTA Pro Circuit tournament.

Ignacio Monzon of Argentina is the top seed, with Will Grant(Florida) the No. 2 seed.

It's been two months since my last UTR Pro Tennis Tour results update, which was in early February. Many of the same names reach the finals week after week; some obviously are using the PTT to fund their ITF Pro Circuit travels, others don't play regularly except on the PTT.

MEN:

February 1 Boca Raton FL

Martin Katz d. Alexander Baez 6-0, 6-4

February 9 Houston TX

Tomas Pinho d. Petro Kuzmenok 7-6(1), 6-3

February 9 Newport Beach CA

Maciej Rajski d. Antreas Djakouris 4-6, 7-5, 6-0

February 16 Berkeley CA

Tiago Silva d. Paris Pouatcha 7-5, 6-4

February 23 Las Vegas NV

Mitch Stewart d. Zachary Cohen 6-1, 6-1

March 2 Boca Raton FL

Martin Katz d. Adrien Burdet 7-5, 6-2

March 9 Newport Beach CA

Gianluca Brunkow d. Lucca Liu 7-5, 6-3

March 16 Newport Beach CA

Karl Kazuma Lee d. Andrew Li 6-1, 7-6(4)

March 16 Moraga CA

Joaquin Benoit d. Reece Falck 7-6(3), 7-5

March 23 Boca Raton FL

Aleksa Ciric d. Riccardo Trione 7-5, 6-4

March 29 Newport Beach CA

Tej Bhagra d. Miles Clark 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(1)

March 31 Nashville TN*

Aleksa Ciric d. John Patrick Popowich 6-3, 6-3

*$12.5K prize money

WOMEN:

February 9 Boca Raton FL

Sydney Jara d. Khrystyna Vozniak 6-3, 6-1

February 9 Newport Beach CA

Alina Shcherbinina d. Savannah Broadus 7-6(1), 6-3

February 23 Las Vegas NV

Isabella Krueger d. Iulia Andreea Ionescu 7-5, 6-1

February 23 Boca Raton FL

Victoria Bervid d. Jada Robinson 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-4

March 9 Newport Beach CA

Veronika Miroshnichenko d. Kailey Evans 6-3, 1-6, 6-4

March 16 Boca Raton FL

Emma Jackson d. Katerina Shabashkevich 6-1, 6-2

March 16 Newport Beach CA

Hanna Chang d. Veronika Miroshnichenko 6-3, 6-1

March 29 Newport Beach CA

Alina Shcherbinina d. Veronika Miroshnichenko 6-3, 6-3

March 31 Nashville TN*

Khrystyna Vozniak d. Cristina Elena Tiglea 6-7, 6-4, 6-1

*$12.5 Prize Money

March Aces; Chang Sweeps Titles at ITF J200 in Paraguay; Few Surprises in Sarasota Challenger Qualifying; Urhobo, Dali Blanch Lead After Week One of USTA's Roland Garros Wild Card Race

The March edition of my monthly Tennis Recruiting Network column featuring the top performances of juniors, collegians and former collegians is available today, with 18 players featured. I've had to drastically reduce my coverage of titles at M15s and W15s because of the sheer number of those events won by junior and collegians, but I make exceptions here and there, including in March. 

There was only one singles title for an American on the ITF Junior Circuit last week, with 15-year-old Lani Chang winning the biggest title of her junior career at the J200 in Paraguay.  No. 3 seed Chang, the daughter of Michael Chang and Amber Liu(Stanford), didn't drop a set all week, beating No. 8 seed Scarlett Fagan 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals and unseeded Maria Eduarda Carbone dos Santos of Brazil 6-1, 6-4 in the final. Carbone dos Santos had defeated No. 7 seed Londyn McCord in the first round and top seed Sofia Meabe of Argentina in the quarterfinals.

Chang and Ana Avramovic, seeded No. 2, claimed the doubles title with a 3-6, 6-4, 10-6 decision over No. 4 seeds Fagan and McCord.

Izyan Ahmad won the boys doubles title with Felipe Mamede of Brazil; the No. 4 seeds defeated top seeds Alvaro Ariel Frutos Alonso of Paraguay and Felipe Vazquez of Uruguay 6-0, 6-3 in the final.

At the J60 in the Dominican Republic, 15-year-old Adriana Khomyakova won the girls doubles title with Valentina Garcia Rojas of Colombia. The top seeds defeated No. 2 seeds Julianny De La Cruz Champagne of the Dominican Republic and Sasha Miroshnichenko 6-3, 7-6(6) in the final. Audrey Dussault reached the singles final, losing to De La Cruz Champagne 4-6, 6-0, 7-6(1). 

The other American title was in boys doubles at the J30 in Gaudeloupe, with 15-year-old Ved Vanga winning his first title on the ITF Junior Circuit.  Vanga and partner Emryk Crete of Canada, the No. 2 seeds, beat top seeds Ilia and Timofey Dobrovolsky of Canada 5-7, 7-6(5), 10-7 in the final.

Qualifying concluded today at the ATP Sarasota Challenger 75, which this year is being held at the IMG Academy in Bradenton.  Five of the top 6 seeds in qualifying advanced to the main draw, including No. 1 Liam Draxl(Kentucky) of Canada, who must have entered late, as he would have been a top 4 seed in the main draw. Unseeded in the main draw, he will play No. 8 seed Nishesh Basavareddy(Stanford) for the second time in two weeks, with Basavareddy beating Draxl, a qualifier, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 in the first round of the ATP 250 in Houston.

The other qualifiers are Garrett Johns[2](Duke), Killian Feldbausch[3] of Switzerland, Strong Kirchheimer[9](Northwestern), Reda Bennani[5] of Morocco and Bruno Kuzuhara[6].

Yibing Wu of China is the top seed, with Martin Damm the No. 2 seed. Kei Nishikori of Japan received a wild card, as did Cannon Kingsley(Ohio State) and JJ Wolf(Ohio State).

Five first round matches were on today's schedule, with Damm, who trains at IMG, playing the night match against Alex Rybakov(TCU).  Wolf lost to No. 6 seed Daniil Glinka of Estonia 6-3, 7-6(4) today; Tyler Zink(Georgia, Oklahoma State) beat No. 4 seed Colton Smith(Arizona), Stefan Dostanic(USC, Wake Forest) defeated Saba Purtseladze of Georgia 6-2, 6-3 and Hynek Barton of the Czech Republic defeated Mitchell Krueger 6-4, 6-4.

The USTA's Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge began last week, with Dali Blanch and Akasha Urhobo leading the race after the first of five weeks players have to put up their three best results on any clay tournament at the 25-level and above. Urhobo, 19, qualified and won her first WTA main draw match at the Credit One Charleston Open to earn 57 points. Varvara Lepchenko, on the other end of the age spectrum at 39, reached the quarterfinals of the W250 in Colombia to earn 54 points.

Blanch, 23, reached his first ATP Challenger semifinal above the 50 level last week at the 100 in Spain as a qualifier, earning 29 points, putting him four points ahead of Basavareddy and Mackenzie McDonald, who both advanced to the second round of the ATP 250 in Houston. 

Women's Standings
(Player's current ranking in parentheses)

1. Akasha Urhobo (233) -- 57
2. Varvara Lepchenko (148) -- 54
T3. Alycia Parks (93) -- 32
T3. Ashlyn Krueger (108) -- 32

Men's Standings
(Player's current ranking in parentheses)

1. Dali Blanch (349) -- 29
T2. Nishesh Basavareddy (181) -- 25
T2. Mackenzie McDonald (126) -- 25

Belozertsev and Zhenikhova Top Seeds at ITF J500 Cairo; Johnson Claims Title at W35 in Jackson MS; Jodar Captures First ATP Title in Morocco; Paul and Pegula Win on US Clay; LTA National 16s Champion Britton No. 2 Seed in This Week's 18s Tournament

The ITF J500 in Cairo begins Monday, with Nikita Belozertsev of Uzbekistan the top seed in the boys draw and Sonja Zhenikhova of Germany No. 1 in the girls draw. Seeds don't play in the first round, but all four Americans will be in action on the North Africa clay.

Ireland O'Brien faces qualifier Jana Mohamed Elsayed of Egypt, who did not have to win a match to reach the main draw. Only two girls qualifying matches were played, the other four qualifiers received walkovers. Camille Allegre faces Judy Tawila of Egypt, the only Egyptian girl of the 11 in the main draw who received direct entry into the main draw.

Zavier Augustin will face wild card Ahmed Ibrahim of Egypt in the first round, with Carel Ngounoue playing lucky loser Ali Sherif Abdellatif of Egypt.

The USTA Pro Circuit is going to be a whole lot busier next week, with four tournaments, including a Challenger 75 in Sarasota(Bradenton, actually), but only one tournament this week, the women's W35 in Jackson Mississippi.  Former Old Dominion All-American Sofia Johnson of Great Britain, who won her first ITF women's World Tennis Tour title at a W15 in Florida in February, won her second today. Johnson, a qualifier, defeated No. 4 seed Aran Teixido Garcia(Memphis, LSU) 7-5, 6-1 in the fina. The 21-year-old, who is now training at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park, has a template to follow in Old Dominion's Yulia Starodubtseva, who was Johnson's teammate in the 2021-22 season.

Starodubtseva, who lost to top seed and defending champion Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-2 today in the WTA 500 Credit One Charleston Open, is now up to a career-high 53 in the WTA rankings.

The doubles title in Charleston was won by Caty McNally and Desirae Krawczyk(Arizona State), who beat Anna Bondar of Hungary and Magdalena Frech of Poland 6-3, 6-2 in the final.

Nineteen-year-old Rafael Jodar won his first ATP title today at the 250 in Marrakech Morocco, defeating qualifier Marco Trungelliti of Argentina 6-3, 6-2. The 2025 ITA Rookie of the Year while at the University of Virginia, Jodar is the first teenager to win an ATP title in 2026. The 2024 US Open boys champion is now up to 57 in the ATP rankings.

Former Ohio State Buckeyes Robert Cash and JJ Tracy made it a former-collegian sweep, taking the doubles title in Morocco. The No. 4 seeds defeated unseeded Vasil Kirkov and the Netherlands' Bart Stevens 6-2, 6-3 in the final. It's the second ATP title for the 2024 NCAA doubles champions.

Another former junior slam champion won an ATP title today, with 2015 Roland Garros boys champion Tommy Paul winning his first ATP title on clay at the ATP 250 US Men's Clay Court Championships in Houston. Paul was down 5-3 in the third set and saved three match points before overtaking unseeded Roman Burruchaga of Argentina 6-1, 3-6, 7-5 for his fifth ATP title. 

Former University of Florida teammates Ben Shelton and Andres Andrade won the doubles title today in Houston as wild cards, beating top seeds Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos of Brazil 4-6, 6-3, 10-6. It's the first ATP title for both Shelton and Andrade.

The LTA's National Championships for 16s concluded last week, with the 18s tournament beginning Monday. Top seed Daniella Britton won the girls 16s title with a 6-4, 6-3 win over No. 2 seed Annabel Wong to secure her Wimbledon Junior Championships wild card (she received one last year as well and won a round). Wild card Isaac Sallu won the boys 16s title, beating top seed Eric Lorimer 7-6, 6-4. Links to the 16s draws are here; an article on the 16s finals is here.

ITF No. 54 Hollie Smart, who has competed often here in the United States including last month in the Las Vegas and Tucson ITFs, is the top seed in the 18s. Britton is the No. 2 seed; with these tournaments back-to-back, rather than concurrent, players are allowed to compete in both. ITF No. 30, Mark Ceban, is the top boys seed, with ITF No. 57 Rhys Lawlor the No. 2 seed. 

A Wimbledon qualifying wild card goes to the winner of the 18s championships.

Links to the 18s draws are here; an 18s preview, with a promise of live streaming, is here.

Stanford Christens New Facility with Upset of Wake Forest; Auburn Women Blank Texas; Teixido Garcia and Johnson Reach W35 Final in Mississippi; Jodar, Starodubtseva Advance to First Tour Finals; 12s Division Added to Upcoming Ojai Tournament

The Stanford women played the first match at Stanford's new Arrillaga Tennis Center (a drone overview can be viewed here), beating Virginia Tech 4-0 in an ACC conference match, but it was the men's team who made the facility's opening an especially memorable one, coming from 3-0 down against No. 3 Wake Forest to claim their best win of the season. After Wake Forest took the doubles point and posted straight-sets wins from Luca Pow at line 3 and DK Suresh at line 1, Stanford went to work, getting a straight-sets win from Alex Razeghi at line 2.  The matches at 4, 5, and 6 all went to third set, with Alex Chang making it 3-2 with a win at 5 and Hudson Rivera tying it up with a win at 4. Freshman Jagger Leach, who had been playing as high as 3 in the lineup earlier this season, trailed Joaquin Guilleme 5-2 in the third set at line 6, but fought back and won the third-set tiebreaker 6-4, 6-7(2), 7-6(4) to complete the comeback.  

Currently ranked 25, Stanford, which has struggled with health issues all season (Kyle Kang had yet to make an appearance), is now up to 20 in the projected rankings and will have an opportunity to improve on that ranking in the ACC conference championships in Cary NC in two weeks, where they are the defending champions.

After falling 4-3 to the second-ranked Texas A&M women in College Station Thursday, No. 4 Auburn will leave Texas on a high note after posting a 4-0 win over No. 6 Texas in Austin today. The Tigers took the doubles point and got straight-sets wins at lines 2, 5 and 6 for the shutout. Ashton Bowers, who played for Texas last season picked up Auburn's third point with a 6-3, 6-2 win over freshman Elizabeth Ionescu at line 5.

The final of the USTA Pro Circuit women's W35 in Jackson Mississippi will feature two former collegians, with qualifier Sofia Johnson of Great Britain facing Aran Teixido Garcia of Spain.

Johnson, an All-American at Old Dominion in 2024, faced her first seed today, beating No. 5 Mio Mushika of Japan 6-1, 6-1, while No. 4 seed Teixido Garcia, who played at Memphis and LSU, took out No. 2 seed Victoria Hu(Princeton) 6-2, 7-5. Teixido Garcia beat Johnson in the first round of qualifying in this tournament in 2024, 6-4, 6-2.

In today's doubles final between two unseeded teams, Kailey Evans(Texas Tech, San Diego) and Mio Mushika defeated Kylie Collins(Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State) and Carson Tanguilig(UNC) 7-6(5), 2-6, 12-10. It's the second pro doubles title for Evans and the fourth for Mushika. 

It was a great day for another Old Dominion All-American, with Yulia Starodubtseva reaching her first WTA final with a 6-1, 6-4 win over No. 5 seed Madison Keys at the WTA 500 Credit One Charleston Open. Starodubtseva, a 26-year-old from Ukraine who was an All-American in singles and doubles in 2022, will face top seed and defending champion Jessica Pegula, who won her fourth consecutive three-set match, beating No. 4 seed Iva Jovic 6-4, 5-7, 6-3.

Another All-American from a Virginia school, Rafael Jodar, also reached a first tour final, with the former UVA star advancing to the final of the ATP 250 in Morocco.  The unseeded 19-year-old from Spain defeated unseeded Camilo Ugo Carabelli of Argentina 6-2, 6-1 in his first ATP semifinal and will face 36-year-old qualifier Marco Trungelliti of Argentina for the title. Trungelliti is the oldest player to reach his first ATP final and to enter the ATP Top 100, which he will do on Monday, regardless of the outcome.

Tommy Paul will also face an surprise Argentine finalist on Sunday, at the ATP 250 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championship in Houston. Paul, the No. 4 seed, defeated No. 2 seed Frances Tiafoe 7-5, 4-6, 7-6(7) in a rain-interrupted semifinal and will play unseeded Roman Burruchaga for the title Sunday. Burruchaga, who just reached the ATP Top 100 for the first time in February, at the age of 24, defeated compatriot Thiago Tirante 6-1, 6-1 in the day's first semifinal.

The 124th Ojai Tennis Tournament is just a few weeks away, and in keeping with the event's commitment to growing tennis, the 12s division is being added to the USTA Level 5 junior competition. The registration deadline is a week from tomorrow, April 12th, so don't wait until the last minute to enter. An opportunity to play in one of the most legendary events in US tennis should be a priority for any junior in the area.

My Easter Bowl 16s and 18s Recap; US Teams Named for World Junior Tennis and Junior Davis and Billie Jean King Cup Qualifying; No. 2 Texas A&M Women Defeat Auburn 4-3; Jovic Advances to Charleston WTA 500 Semifinals; Jodar Reaches ATP 250 Semi

The final recap of my March trip out West is available today at the Tennis Recruiting Network. Congratulations to Easter Bowl 16s and 18s champion Rishvanth Krishna, Anay Kulkarnia, Ellery Mandell and Shristi Selvan for winning the singles titles in the sweltering conditions last week at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. If you weren't able to follow my daily coverage, this is an ideal way to get up to speed on the players who will be contenders for this summer's titles on the USTA Junior Circuit.

While I was in California, I heard the names of some of the juniors who were going to be competing in the North and Central American qualifying this month in Canada for the ITF World Junior Tennis (14-and-under) and ITF Junior Davis Cup and Junior Billie Jean King Cup(16-and-under) this summer and fall.

Although this is subject to change, with last-minute injuries always a possibility, I now have a complete list of those selected for the event, scheduled for April 15-17 in Montreal. 

World Junior Tennis:

Girls, Captain Celeste Frye:
Isha Manchala

Anna Kapanadze

Nadia Poznick

Boys, Captain Jon Glover

Nathan Lee

Max D Smith

Rex Kulman

Junior Davis Cup, Captain Sylvain Guichard

Izyan Ahmad
Teodor Davidov
Gadin Arun

Junior Billie Jean King Cup, Captain Thierry Champion

Janae Preston

Jordyn Hazelitt

Welles Newman

These are the players selected for the qualifying, but changes for the finals are to be expected, as those competitions are four or more months out.

With only a couple of more weekends before several conferences begin their conference tournaments, the Division I seedings for the NCAAs are beginning to take shape. In a Top 4 battle last night in College Station, second-ranked Texas A&M defeated No. 4 Auburn 4-3, with the match coming down to No. 6 singles.

Texas A&M, playing without their usual No. 3 Ilinca Amariei, won the lost the doubles point, and trailed 2-0 after Merna Refaat beat Violetta Martinez 6-1, 6-1 at line 4. After a win by Mia Kupres at line 2, Texas A&M went down 3-1 when Angella Okutoyi beat Lexington Reed at line 3 6-4, 6-1, but wins by Daria Smetannikov at 4 and Lucciana Perez at 1 tied it up. The only match to go three sets was at No. 6, with two players who haven't been in the lineup regularly. It was Aggie freshman Anna Perelman who got the win, coming back to beat Alice Battesti 4-6, 62, 6-4 to clinch the win for Texas A&M. 

Texas A&M, now 11-1 at alone at the top of the SEC conference, will host No. 16 Florida Saturday.

2024 USTA National 18s champion Iva Jovic is through to the semifinals of the WTA 500 tournament in Charleston South Carolina, with the 18-year-old from Southern California, seeded No. 4, defeating No. 8 seed Anna Kalinskaya of Russia 6-3, 6-4 in this afternoon's quarterfinals. She will face top seed and defending champion Jessica Pegula, who pulled off another comeback in the quarterfinals, her third this week, beating Diana Schnaider(NC State) of Russia 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

For more on Jovic's win, see this article from the WTA website.

Last year at this time, Rafael Jodar was competing as a freshman for the University of Virginia. Today, the 19-year-old from Spain reached his first ATP semifinal, advancing when Alexandre Muller of France retired trailing 6-2, 2-0 at the ATP 250 in Morocco. Jodar, the 2024 US Open boys champion, will face unseeded Camilo Ugo Carabelli of Argentina in Saturday's semifinals.

Four Americans Among Entries for Next Week's ITF J500 Cairo; SMU's Feisel Sues NCAA; Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Men and Women Stay No. 1 in Latest D-III Team Rankings; Update on Zootennis Daily Email Issues

The second ITF J500 of the year, just three weeks after the first one in Brazil, is scheduled for next week in Cairo Egypt. Four Americans have made the trip, with two of them also in Cairo for this week's J300.  Both Carel Ngounoue and Tucson ITF J300 champion Camille Allegre, a qualifier, lost in the second round this week, although Ngounoue is through to the doubles final with partner Alejandro Mateo Berge Nourescu of Romania.

Allegre is currently only two spots out of the main draw of the J500, which is a 48-draw, not a 32-draw like the J300, and will probably move into the main draw. The other US girl in the acceptances is Ireland O'Brien; the other US boys in the acceptances is Zavier Augustin.

The two ITF Top 20 boys in the acceptances are Nikita Belozertsev of Uzbekistan, 14, and ITF J300 Bradenton finalist Dimitar Kisimov of Bulgaria, 19. There are no Top 20 girls, with Germans Sonja Zhenikhova, 22, and Ida Wobker, 32, with the highest rankings.

The ITF Junior site has provided this preview.

SMU women's tennis student-athlete Gina Feistel has filed a lawsuit against the NCAA, contending that the rule denying eligibility to players competing in organized competition after the age of 20 unlawfully restrains that labor market. The 23-year-old, who has not competed for SMU but is on the roster this season as a senior, is seeking a temporary restraining order. Feistel, who was born in Germany, but represents Poland on the ITF Circuit, has been playing ITF women's tournaments all semester and won a W15 title last month in Mexico.

The link to the filing is here.

The latest ITA Division III team rankings came out yesterday, with both the men's and women's teams at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps retaining the No. 1 spots, which they assumed after winning the Team Indoor Championships. The men suffered their first loss of the season 4-3 to No. 2 Tufts on March 21 at the Stag-Hen Invitational in Claremont, but kept the No. 1 ranking. The women's only loss was their first match of the year, to Division I UC-Riverside. 

I've been experiencing technical problems with the email signup form in the past few days, and for two days, in the email itself being distributed. It appears the distribution is back on schedule, but I'm still trying to work through several issues with securing the form from spam bots. If you have not received emails the past few days, please sign up again. The form no longer fits the site properly on all browsers, but I believe it is fully functional.

My Tennis Recruiting Recap of 12s and 14s Easter Bowl; Preston Advances over Top Seed at W35 in Mississippi; West Florida Men, Barry Women Top Division II Rankings

My article on the Easter Bowl championships for the 12s and 14s divisions is up today on the Tennis Recruiting Network. Congratulations to Chloe Anthony, Dimitriy Flyam, Nadia Poznick and Michael Chervenkov for capturing their titles in the record heat that accompanied the event throughout its six days in the Coachella Valley. 

My article on the Easter Bowl 16s and 18s divisions will be posted on Friday, and I'll be working on processing the videos from the two ITF J300s and the Easter Bowl finals the rest of this month.

At the USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Jackson Mississippi, 15-year-old qualifier Janae Preston has advanced to the second round after top seed Diletta Cherubini of Italy retired at 1-6, 7-5, 3-0. Preston, who also qualified for a W35 in January and won a round before claiming three consecutive ITF J300 titles, will face former Pepperdine All-American Savannah Broadus in the second round Thursday.

Other Americans to advance to the second round so far are Carson Tanguilig(North Carolina), Kylie Collins(Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State), North Carolina recruit Alexis Nguyen, wild card Emma Jackson(Duke), qualifier Mary Lewis(Arizona, MSU) and Ava Markham(Wisconsin).

The new ITA Division II rankings are out today, with West Florida holding on to the top spot in the men's rankings after taking over for Barry on March 18th.  Click on the headings to go to the full lists.

Division II Top 10 Men's rankings:
April 1, 2026

Team:
1. West Florida
2. Barry
3. Flagler
4. Saint Leo
5. Columbus State
6. UT-Tyler
7. Embry-Riddle
8. Rollins
9. Lee
10. Washburn

Singles:

1. Yan Kodjoed, Barry

2. Diego Duran, West Florida

3. Sebastian ROndon, West Florida

4. Pedro Liborio, North Georgia

5. Kelly Giese, Lubbock Christian

6. Lawson Prather, Rollins

7. Mario Garoz, Florida Southern

8. Lukas Janousek, Cameron

9. Samuel Antwi, UT-Tyler

10. Jose David Segovia Perez, Saint Leo

The Barry women, who are undefeated, moved to No. 1 on March 18, displacing West Florida, and they have continued to occupy that position for the past two weeks.

Division II Top 10 Women's rankings:

April 1, 2026

Team:

1. Barry

2. West Florida

3. Embry-Riddle

4. Nova Southeran

5. West Alabama

6. Florida Southern

7. Mississippi College

8. Rollins

9. Catawba

10. Findlay

Singles:

1. Kristyna Hranacova, Nova Southeastern

2. Emily Buchanan, Mississippi College

3. Salma Djoubri, Lynn

4. Alyssa Novoa, Rollins

5. Natasha Sengphrachanh, Grand Valley State

6. Selin Sepken, Midwestern State

7. Carlota Verdu, West Florida

8. Dana Heimen, Barry

9. Elena Ondobo, Flagler

10. Melissa Yakup Pour, Auburn Montgomery

Georgia Women Stay No. 1 Despite Loss, Ohio State Men Return to Top Spot in Latest ITA Rankings; Perez Moves to No. 1 in D-I Women's Singles; Preston Qualifies at W35 in Jackson MS

After three weeks with very little time to follow college results, it's time to catch up, with the latest ITA Division I team and singles and doubles rankings coming out today.

The Georgia women have been No. 1 all season and despite their fourth loss Sunday, 4-1 to Oklahoma in Norman, the Bulldogs stay in the top spot. Virginia's wins over Duke and North Carolina last weekend boosted their ranking into the Top 10, with LSU falling out of the Top 10 with their losses to Texas and Texas A&M. Click on the heading to view the entire list of 75 ranked teams.

Top Ten of Women's Division I Team Rankings, March 31, 2026
(Last week's ranking in parentheses)
1. Georgia (1)
2. Texas A&M (3)
3. Ohio State (4)
4. Auburn (2)
5. North Carolina (5)
6. Texas (7)
7. Pepperdine (6)
8. Oklahoma (8)
9. Virginia (13)
10. NC State (9)

Either Reese Brantmeier of North Carolina and Carmen Herea of Texas have occupied the top spot in singles all season, but there's a new No. 1 this week: undefeated Lucciana Perez of Texas A&M. Perez, the 2023 Roland Garros girls finalist, has lost one set in her 19 dual match wins, to Vanderbilt's Bridget Stammel, and has reached No. 1 without playing the fall season. Learning to excel on hard courts is a major selling point for US college tennis for European and South American players, and the 20-year-old junior from Peru has certainly demonstrated her progress on the surface after playing mostly at line 4 her freshman year.

Women's Singles Top 10:

1. Lucciana Perez, Texas A&M

2. Reese Brantmeier, North Carolina

3. Carmen Herea, Texas

4. Teah Chavez, Ohio State

5. Luciana Perry, Ohio State

6. Piper Charney, Michigan

7. Aysegul Mert, Georgia

8. Ange Oby Kajuru, North Carolina

9. Savannah Dada-Mascoll, Appalachian State

10. Evialina Laskevich, Oklahoma

Women's Doubles Top 10:
1. Roisin Gilheany and Gloriana Nahum, Oklahoma
2. Gabriella Broadfoot and Victoria Osuigwe, NC State
3. Reese Brantmeier and Alanis Hamilton, North Carolina
4. Ange Oby Kajuru and Susanna Maltby, North Carolina
5. Sophia Webster and Celia-Belle Mohr, Vanderbilt

Wake Forest, Virginia and Ohio State have all been No. 1 this season, with Ohio State returning to the top spot this week, after Wake and Virginia had held it the previous two weeks. Texas, which has six losses, is .01 of a point behind the Buckeyes, so the top position is likely to change hands again as the regular season begins to wind down.

Top Ten of Men's Division I Team Rankings, March 31, 2026

(Last week's ranking in parentheses)

1. Ohio State (2)

2. Texas (3)

3. Wake Forest (1)

4. Virginia (4)

5. TCU (5)

6. Mississippi State (6)

7. LSU (7)

8. Arizona (9)

9. Baylor (8)

10. Texas A&M (10)

NCAA finalist Trevor Svajda of SMU briefly lost the No. 1 ranking to Dylan Dietrich of Virginia, the only player to beat him in a dual match, but he returned to the top spot two weeks ago and remains there this week. 

After two weeks with only men's events on the USTA Pro Circuit, the women have this week to themselves, at the W35 in Jackson Mississippi.

Qualifying concluded today, and among the five American qualifiers is 15-year-old Janae Preston. Preston, who did not compete in the J500 Banana Bowl two weeks ago due to her visa not being approved in time, will face top seed Diletta Cherubini of Italy in the opening round Wednesday. The other Americans to qualify are Kolie Allen(Ohio State), Mary Lewis(Arizona, Michigan State), Brandy Walker(Northern Arizona) and Jenna Dean.

Wild cards were given to 17-year-old Mississippi resident Briley Rhoden and former Duke standout Emma Jackson. Victoria Hu(Princeton) is the No. 2 seed.

While their are no men's USTA Pro Circuit events, there is an ATP tournament, the 250 on clay in Houston. The top five seeds and seven of the eight are Americans: Ben Shelton(Florida)[1], Frances Tiafoe[2], Learner Tien(USC)[3] and Tommy Paul[4], Brandon Nakashima(Virginia)[5], Alex Michelsen[7] and Jenson Brooksby[8]. Nakashima beat Martin Damm in the first round today 7-6(0), 6-2, while defending champion Brooksby lost 6-4, 6-2 to Mackenzie McDonald(UCLA) in the first round. The top four seeds have byes.

USTA Names Grassroots Tennis Award Winners; McCord Claims ITF J100 in Argentina; Urhobo Earns First Top WTA 100 Win in WTA Charleston

After three weeks on the road covering junior tennis, I'm back home and in need of some rest, so this post will be brief. But first I want to thank those of you who approached me at last week's Easter Bowl to tell me that you read Zootennis every day and value the content. Those comments always give me a boost when my  energy level might be dropping, and I appreciate hearing that what I'm doing has value to the junior tennis community.

The USTA announced its Grassroots Tennis Award winners at the recent annual meeting in Orlando, with a release coming out today. Although I don't most of them personally, I do know Ray Benton, the recently retired Junior Tennis Champions Center CEO, and am happy to see him recognized for his role in promoting tennis for everyone.

And congratulations to one of my longtime sponsors, Sportime Randall’s Island/John McEnroe Tennis Academy, for being named Member Organization of the Year.

USTA NAMES RECIPIENTS OF GRASSROOTS TENNIS AWARDS

 

ORLANDO, Fla., March 30, 2026 – The USTA today announced its annual national awards recipients, honored for their dedication and contributions to growing the sport of tennis both locally and nationwide. The awards were bestowed at the USTA Annual Meeting & Conference in Orlando, Fla.

 

The award winners are listed below:

 

Adaptive Tennis Award -- HERO New York (New York City)

The Adaptive Tennis Award recognizes a program or program leader who has demonstrated continued excellence, dedication, and service in tennis for an adaptive tennis community.

 

Barbara Williams Service Award -- Laura Canfield (Feasterville, Pa.)

Established in 2003, this award recognizes a female volunteer who, through her leadership and by her example, has encouraged and inspired others to become volunteers and assume leadership roles at the community, section, and/or national levels of the USTA.

 

Brad Parks Award -- Jim Tierney (Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.)

The Brad Parks Award was established in 2002. It recognizes outstanding contributions to the game of wheelchair tennis and was named after Brad Parks, the sport’s chief pioneer and the first wheelchair tournament champion, who has been instrumental in the development of wheelchair tennis around the world.

 

Eve Kraft Community Service Award -- Jennifer Edmonson (Baton Rouge, La.)

The Eve Kraft Outstanding Service Award honors volunteer tennis leaders for significant contributions made to tennis development in their respective communities.

 

Family of the Year -- The Meyer Family (Rockport, Maine)

The award is awarded annually to the family who, in recent years, has done the most to promote amateur tennis, primarily on a volunteer basis. All members of the family should participate in some way, either as players or by offering their services in running programs or tournaments, or in junior development activities.

 

Janet Louer JTT Organizer of the Year -- Shane Cashen (Kaneohe, Hawaii)

The Janet Louer Junior Team Tennis Organizer of the Year Award is presented to an individual who delivers USTA Junior Team Tennis to their community and embodies the true meaning of having a positive impact on children. The award is named after Janet Louer, who was instrumental in the development of junior tennis during her lifetime.

 

League Organizer Award -- Kathy Hinrichs (Destrehan, La.)

The award, established in 2015, recognizes and honors the many volunteers who have provided leadership and have made significant contributions to the growth and enhancement of USTA Leagues, both in their section and nationally.

 

Member Organization of the Year -- SPORTIME Randall’s Island/John McEnroe Tennis Academy (New York City)

This award was instituted in 1981 and is given to the organization that best exemplifies service to the community, service to its members through junior and adult programs and service to the game of tennis.

 

NJTL Founders’ Service Award -- Ray Benton (College Park, Md.)

Established in 2010, the NJTL Founders’ Service Award recognizes an individual who has demonstrated a longstanding commitment to positive youth development through tennis and education, delivers outstanding service to young people from under-resourced communities with free or low-cost tennis, and provides education and life-skills programming. The NJTL network serves as the flagship program supported by the USTA Foundation.

 

NJTL of the Year Award -- Portland Tennis & Education (Portland, Ore.)

The NJTL of the Year Award is given to chapters that positively impact young people from under-resourced communities through the powerful combination of tennis, education and mentorship. Founded in 1969 by Arthur Ashe, Charlie Pasarell, and Sheridan Snyder, the NJTL network is a nationwide group of more than 270 community organizations. Supported by the USTA Foundation through financial grants, scholarship opportunities, curricula, technical assistance, and training, the NJTL network provides free or low-cost tennis and education programming to more than 230,000 young people nationwide.

Some of the lower level ITF Junior Circuit results from the past several weeks may have escaped my notice, but I wanted to recognize Shristi Selvan for sweeping the titles at the J60 in Puerto Rico the week of the Tucson ITF J300 I was covering. Seeded No. 5 in the new round robin/knockout format, Selvan defeated unseeded Bela Martinez Rivero of Puerto Rico 6-3, 6-4 in the final. It was the first ITF singles title for the 16-year-old from Maryland, who just completed her sweep of the Easter Bowl 16s titles yesterday in Indian Wells. The top seed in doubles with Carolina Castro of Puerto Rico, who won the silver ball in girls 18s doubles yesterday at the Easter, Selvan and Castro beat No. 3 seeds Audrey Dussault and Puerto Rico's Aurora Lugo 6-2, 6-2 in the final.

Londyn McCord, who has stuck to the South American clay this winter and spring, won her fourth ITF Junior Circuit singles title, all coming this year, at the J100 last week in Argentina. Seeded No. 4, the 16-year-old from Atlanta defeated Clara Coura of Brazil 6-3, 6-0 for the title, giving her two J30s, a J60 and a J100 title all on South American red clay. She also partnered with Scarlett Fagan for the doubles title, with the No. 2 seeds beating unseeded Zoe Doldan of Paraguay and Luciana Luna of Peru 6-4, 6-4 in the final. McCord is now up to 156 in the ITF Junior rankings.

Today at the WTA 500 in Charleston South Carolina, 19-year-old Akasha Urhobo recorded her first WTA Top 100 win in her first main draw WTA match, beating No. 65 Solana Sierra of Argentina 7-5, 3-0 retired. Urhobo, who qualified with wins over Whitney Osuigwe and Louisa Chirico, will play No. 13 seed Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic next.

Former Texas A&M All-American Mary Stoiana also qualified for the main draw of a WTA event for the first time by beating collegiate rival Dasha Vidmanova(Georgia) in the final round 6-2, 7-6(2).