Big Upgrades to ITF Junior Circuit in US; Smith's ITF Winning Streak Reaches 13 in Winston-Salem M25; Three Americans and Andreescu Advance to W35 Bradenton Semis; Jovic Plays for Hobart Title

As I mentioned earlier this month, I had an opportunity to speak with the USTA's Dan Holman and Tracy Davies about the newly regionalized ITF Junior Circuit here in the United States and the five new J200s, in Las Vegas, Sumter, Nashville, Cincinnati and Delray Beach, that are part of that restructuring.

I wrote this article for the Tennis Recruiting Network about the philosophy behind this restructuring, which will continue in 2027 and 2028, and the financial commitment from the USTA that these J200s represent. The US had lagged its global counterparts at that particular level, primarily because it includes hospitality, which obviously increases expenses for the organizers.

The two J200s on red clay this spring are an interesting development, as are the many J30s and J60s that will be adopting the round robin/knockout format introduced this year by the ITF.

Here is the USTA's updated National Junior Calendar for 2026.

The semifinals at the USTA Pro Circuit tournaments this week, the M25 in Winston-Salem NC and the W35 in Bradenton FL, feature seven Americans and one former women's US Open champion.

In North Carolina, last week's Winston-Salem M25 champion Keegan Smith(UCLA) extended his ITF winning streak to 13 matches with a nearly three-hour 6-7(5), 7-5, 7-5 victory over former Wake Forest No. 1 Stefan Dostanic in today's quarterfinals.

The fourth-seeded Smith, who won an M15 title in New Zealand last month, will face unseeded Quinn Vandecasteele(Oregon), who beat qualifier Alex Kotzen(Columbia, Tennessee) 6-3, 7-5. Smith defeated Vandecasteele 6-1, 6-1 in the second round last week.

The top half semifinal will feature qualifier Will Grant(Florida) and recent NC State graduate Braden Shick. Grant beat Karl Poling(Princeton, UNC) 6-1, 6-2 and Shick defeated Wake Forest freshman Mees Rottgering 7-6(5), 6-4. 

In tonight's doubles final, last week's champions Shick and Dan Milavsky(Harvard), the No. 2 seeds, made it two in a row, beating unseeded Wake Forest teammates Dominick Mosejczuk and Poland's Kacper Szymkowiak 6-4, 6-3.

In Bradenton, rain Thursday forced a majority of the competitors to play both their round of 16 and quarterfinal matches today. 

2019 US Open champion Bianca Andreescu of Canada, the top seed, was one who posted two victories today. She beat Great Britain's Ella McDonald, a recent addition to the LSU roster, 6-4, 6-3 in the round of 16 and No. 8 seed Tatiana Pieri of Italy 6-2, 6-1.

Andreescu's semifinal opponent Saturday will be No. 6 seed Lea Ma, who beat the rain Thursday, so needed only one win today to reach the semifinals. The former Georgia All-American defeated Ena Koike of Japan 6-1, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. Andreescu and Ma met in the ITF Juniors way back in 2014, with Andreescu winning their second round match at the J60 in Atlanta 6-2, 7-6(3).

In the bottom half, No. 5 seed Vivian Wolff (Georgia, UCLA) beat wild card Olivia Lincer(UCF, Oklahoma State) 6-3, 1-6, 6-1 and No. 3 seed Kajsa Rinaldo Persson of Sweden 7-6(1), 6-3. Wolff will play No. 2 seed Hina Inoue, who battled through two lengthy three-setters to reach the semifinal. She defeated Kylie Collins(Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State) 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 6-4 in the round of 16 and qualifier Shilin Xu of China 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals.

Eighteen-year-old Iva Jovic will play for her second WTA title Saturday(tonight in the US), at the WTA 250 in Hobart Australia. Jovic, the No. 3 seed, defeated Australian wild card Taylah Preston 4-6, 6-4, 6-1 in the semifinals Friday. She will face qualifier Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy, who beat unseeded Antonia Ruzic of Croatia 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the final.

Five Qualifiers Among 38 Americans in Australian Open Draws; Baker's Dozen of US Juniors Begin ITF Australian Swing in Traralgon; Kudla Joins Coaching Staff at JTCC

Qualifying for the Australian Open concluded Thursday in Melbourne, with four US men and one US woman advancing to the main draw.

Columbia's two-time NCAA champion Michael Zheng had to save a match point after taking a 7-1 lead in the third set tiebreaker against Lukas Klein of Slovakia, but the 21-year-old from New Jersey will make his ATP and slam main draw debut after a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(10) victory.

Former Stanford All-american Nishesh Basavareddy, who is now working with Daniil Medvedev's former coach Gilles Cervara (see Ben Rothenberg's Substack article on his recent hire by Basavareddy), won a second consecutive match from a set down, beating George Loffhagen of Great Britain 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Zachary Svajda will join fellow two-time Kalamazoo champion Learner Tien in the main draw, with the 2019 and 2021 18s champion getting through qualifying for the first time at a major with a 7-6(5), 6-2 win over Kimmer Coppejans of Belgium.  (The other two Kalamazoo 18s champions in the draw are 2018's Jenson Brooksby and 2015's Frances Tiafoe).

2018 Kalamazoo 16s champion Martin Damm will playing in his first slam main draw outside the United States after the 22-year-old left-hander defeated 2022 ITF World Junior Champion Gilles Arnaud Bailly(Texas) of Belgium 7-5, 7-5.

The sole US woman to advance is veteran Sloane Stephens, who defeated Lucia Bronzetti of Italy 6-1, 7-5. Stephens, who hadn't won three matches in a row since April of 2024, had last qualified for a major in 2011, when she was 18.

Rafael Jodar of Spain, who recently announced he was not returning to Virginia for his sophomore year, qualified with a 6-3, 0-6, 6-1 win over Luca van Assche of France. Other qualifiers with collegiate backgrounds are Arthur Fery(Stanford) of Great Britain, Liam Draxl(Kentucky) of Canada and Yuliia Starodubtseva(Old Dominion) of Ukraine.

Final round qualifying results of Americans:

Michael Zheng d. Lukas Klein[28](SVK) 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(10)
Liam Draxl[20](CAN) d. Mackenzie McDonald[6] 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-2
Nishesh Basavareddy d. George Loffhagen(GBR) 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
Zachary Svajda[29] d. Kimmer Coppejans(BEL) 7-6(5), 6-2
Yibing Wu(CHN) d. Tristan Boyer 6-3, 6-2
Martin Damm d. Gilles Arnaud Bailly(BEL) 7-5, 7-5

Sloane Stephens d. Lucia Bronzetti[2](ITA) 6-1, 7-5
Guiomar Maristany Zuleta De Reales(ESP) d. Elvina Kalieva 7-5, 4-6, 6-4
Storm Hunter[WC](AUS) d. Taylor Townsend[11] 7-6(6), 6-2
Linda Fruhvirtova[20](CZE) d. Carol Lee 5-7, 6-2, 6-4
Nikola Bartunkova[16](CZE) d. Whitney Osuigwe 6-1, 6-0

The men's and women's draws were also revealed overnight, with the 38 American competitors the most since 1997, when there were 39.  

There were no matches between Americans throughout the qualifying tournament, but that unlikely occurrence will not continue in the main draw, where there are five all-USA first round matches: Zheng vs Sebsastian Korda, Tommy Paul vs Aleks Kovacevic, Learner Tien vs Marcos Giron, Iva Jovic v Katie Volynets and Sofia Kenin vs Peyton Stearns.

The Australian Open begins on Sunday, Saturday night in the US, with ten Americans in action(this information courtesy of Rothenberg):

Zachary Svajda[Q] v Yannick Hanfmann(GER)

Michael Zheng[Q] v Sebastian Korda

Jenson Brooksby v Alexander Bublik[10]

Frances Tiafoe[19] v Jason Kubler[Q](AUS)

Patrick Kypson[WC] v Francisco Comesana(ARG)

Emilio Nava v Kyrian Jacquet[WC](FRA)

Caty McNally v Himeno Sakatsume[Q](JPN)

Venus Williams[WC] v Olga Danilovic

Hailey Baptiste v Marketa Vondrousova[32](CZE)

The brief Australian swing on the ITF Junior Circuit begins Friday (tonight in US) at the J300 in Traralgon, with seven US boys and six US girls in the draws.

The US boys are Keaton Hance[3], Jack Secord[10], Gavin Goode[11], Ryan Cozad[13], Roshan Santhosh, Tanishk Konduri and Carel Ngounoue.  Yannick Alexandrescou of France is the top seed.

The US girls are Thea Frodin[7], Capucine Jauffret, Anita Tu, Melije Clarke, Carrie-Anne Hoo and Nancy Lee.

Annika Penickova withdrew earlier this week, although she is still among the acceptances for the Australian Open Junior Championships, which begin Saturday January 24. 

Alena Kovackova of the Czech Republic is the top seed.

The order of play for the first round can be found here.

I had an opportunity to speak with former USTA General Manager of Player Development Martin Blackman this morning about his new position as the Chief Executive Officer of the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park Maryland. (JTCC is a long-time sponsor of Zootennis). 

Blackman, who was the JTCC's Director of Tennis from 2004-2008, took over for the retiring Ray Benton this past fall and he told me he was excited about this opportunity to be more hands on than he was able to be in his position at the USTA.

"My former position as General Manager of Player Development, I loved every day of that job as well, but I was a little removed from the action." Blackman said. "I didn't really get into the action unless I went to a junior tournament or a pro tournament. Here every day I'm a part of it. I walk the courts, in the morning, in the afternoon, at lunch. I try to get on the court a couple of times a week for practices, so getting that feeling again and also being able to talk directly to the kids and the parents in the program, that's really energized me."

JTCC has a full range of programs: for young children, for those training after school, for adult beginners, for veterans, for Special Olympians and for wheelchair and para-standing competitors in keeping with its mission of Tennis for Everyone. Yet it's the non-profit organization's High Performance program that has garnered the most attention. 

That program will have a full-circle moment with the announcement that Denis Kudla, one of the first players who trained at JTCC to embark on a professional career, is returning as a coach.

"He retired (from ATP tennis) and had a really good year with (coaching) Reilly (Opelka)," Blackman. "He has a young little baby and he wanted to have more time. We started talking back in November, and he said, yeah, I would love to come back, so we kept talking and figured out a way to make it happen."

Blackman said that its High Performance program serves as an important beacon for the JTCC.

"The way I see it, I look at it as 99/1," Blackman said. "Ninety-nine percent of our young players, juniors, we want them using tennis as a vehicle to get to a great university, where they can have a great experience and thrive, and that's the bulk of the mission."

"But when you have that one percent, like Frances(Tiafoe), and Robin(Montgomery) and Hailey(Baptiste), you kind of get both. You get that aspirational excellence at the top and you leverage that excellence to grow and add resources to the bottom. So having Frances and Denis and Hailey and Robin has helped us bring so much visibility to the program and to raise money for the program. I think it's a really good balance; if we tried to over focus on developing professional players I think we'd hurt our mission. But there's definitely room for both, and that's the goal."

"It's very important to our board that our High Performance program is the best in the world, or striving to be the best in the world," Blackman said. "That was very important to our founder, Ken Brody. So it's really building on that strong foundation."

JTCC President Vesa Ponkka, who has been at JTCC since its inception in 1999, will work alongside Blackman in this initiative to strengthen the High Performance program.

"The High Performance program had a really strong foundation," Blackman said. "So the bones and the structure was there. But strategically, and this is every CEO's prerogative, the emphasis wasn't on high performance, the way it was up until four years ago. And that's something that's very important to our board, that it's our flagship."

For more on the new JTCC High Performance leadership, see this article from their website.

Eleven Americans Advance to Final Round of Australian Open Qualifying; Smith Continues Winning Ways at Winston-Salem M25; USTA's Lake Nona Campus Expansion Plans Approved

Twenty-four Americans were in the Australian Open qualifying draws when the week began, and nearly half have made the final round, which begins in a few hours Thursday(tonight in the USA) in Melbourne.

Six of the nine US men and five of the seven US women in action Wednesday in the second round advanced, with Nishesh Basavareddy(Stanford) having the most dramatic win. Basavareddy, whose ATP ranking plunged after he did not defend his semifinal points at the ATP 250 in Auckland last year at this time, trailed No. 19 seed Sebastian Ofner of Austria 7-1 in the final set tiebreaker.

Ofner, apparently forgetting that all slam tiebreakers now require winning 10 points, not seven, celebrated and began walking toward the net for the handshake when the umpire informed him the match was not over. Basavareddy won eight of the next nine points to reach match point, but he was not able to convert that one, and Ofner had match points at 10-9 and 11-10, which he did not convert, with Basavareddy taking the final three points to advance.

Basavareddy won the USTA's Australian Open Wild Card challenge in 2025, allowing him to play the Auckland tournament, which is going on now. Eliot Spizzirri(Texas) is through to the quarterfinals there as qualifier; he defeated No. 8 seed Nuno Borges(Mississippi State) 7-6(6), 6-4 in the second round. The other two Americans in the quarterfinals also were collegiate stars: Marcos Giron(UCLA) and top seed Ben Shelton(Florida).

Wednesday's second round Australian Open qualifying results:

Dusan Lajovic[13](SRB) d. Murphy Cassone 7-5, 6-3

Giulio Zeppieri(ITA) d. Brandon Holt[5] 6-7(4), 7-5, 6-4 

Nishesh Basavareddy d. Sebastian Ofner[19](AUT) 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(11)

Michael Zheng d. Tomas Barrios Vera[4](CHI) 6-4, 6-7(5), 6-2

Martin Damm d. Titouan Droguet(FRA) 6-4, 6-3

Mackenzie McDonald[6] d. Hugo Grenier(FRA) 7-6(4), 6-1

Rei Sakamoto(JPN) d. Colton Smith[32] 6-4, 6-4

Tristan Boyer d. Francesco Passaro[27](ITA) 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2

Zachary Svajda[29] d. Jurij Rodionov(AUT) 6-1, 6-4

Sloane Stephens d. Olivia Gadecki 3-6, 6-3, 6-3

Lucia Bronzetti[2](ITA) d. Mary Stoiana 7-6(7), 1-6, 6-4

Carol Lee d. Elena Micic[WC](AUS) 6-2, 6-2

Maddison Inglis(AUS) d. Claire Liu 7-6(6) 2-6, 6-4

Taylor Townsend[11] d. Jazmin Ortenzi(ARG) 6-4, 6-4

Whitney Osuigwe d. Lucrezia Stefanini[26](ITA) 7-5, 6-2

Elvina Kalieva d. Ye-Xin Ma(CHN) 6-4, 6-2

Thursday's final round Australian Open qualifying matches featuring Americans:

Michael Zheng v Lukas Klein[28](SVK)

Mackenzie McDonald[6] v Liam Draxl[20](CAN)

Nishesh Basavareddy v George Loffhagen(GBR)

Zachary Svajda[29] v Kimmer Coppejans(BEL)

Tristan Boyer v Yibing Wu(CHN)

Martin Damm v Gilles Arnaud Bailly(BEL)

Sloane Stephens v Lucia Bronzetti[2](ITA)

Elvina Kalieva v Guiomar Maristany Zuleta De Reales(ESP)

Taylor Townsend[11] v Storm Hunter[WC](AUS)

Carol Lee v Linda Fruhvirtova[20](CZE)

Whitney Osuigwe v Nikola Bartunkova[16](CZE)

This week's second M25 in Winston-Salem, has, like the first one, been on an afternoon and evening schedule, so all of the first round matches have not yet finished.

Last week's champion Keegan Smith(UCLA) has extended his winning streak to 11 matches. The 27-year-old from Southern California, who won an M15 in New Zealand last month, defeated wild card Marcel Latak, the reigning Kalamazoo 16s champion, 6-3, 6-2.

Last week's finalist Shunsuke Mitsui(Tennessee) of Japan lost today, falling to former teammate Alex Kotzen(Columbia, Tennessee), a qualifier, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(5). 

Wild card Matt Forbes, a sophomore at Michigan State, breezed past No. 7 seed DK Suresh 6-1, 6-1. The Wake Forest senior reached the quarterfinals of the ATP Challenger in India last week, that travel may have been a factor. 

Wake Forest newcomer Aryan Shah of India was the top seed, but he was beaten 6-1, 4-6, 6-0 today by surging Wake Forest junior Luca Pow of Great Britain, who reached the semifinals last week, also as a wild card.  No. 2 seed Daniel Milavsky(Harvard) lost Tuesday to Quinn Vandecasteele(Oregon) 6-3, 6-3 and No. 3 seed Raphael Perot(Texas A&M) of France lost to Wake Forest freshman Mees Rottgering of the Netherlands 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 Tuesday. That leaves Smith, at No. 4, as the highest seed remaining.

The fourth wild card went to Wake Forest sophomore Charlie Robertson of Great Britain, who lost to Alan Magadan(UT-San Antonio) of Mexico 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

Jack Kennedy, a semifinalist last week, lost to Strong Kirchheimer(Northwestern) 2-6, 7-6(2), 6-1 Tuesday.

Over a year ago, when the NCAA announced that the USTA's National Campus had been awarded a 10-year bid to host the Division I team event beginning in 2028, that announcement was accompanied by a promise by the USTA that improvements to infrastructure would be undertaken. The first step in those improvements, which include six additional indoor courts, with seating for all 12 of the indoor courts, shade for the outdoor courts and permanent scoreboards, came this week, when Orlando's Development Review Committee approved the USTA's plans.

“We are pleased with the outcome of today’s DRC meeting and are looking forward to the next steps in the permitting/approval process as we move toward commencement of construction in Q1 of this year,” USTA National Campus General Manager Joe Wilkerson said. “Our goal is to complete this expansion by

the end of 2027, to support our 10-year commitment to host the NCAA NationalChampionships on our National Campus, commencing in the spring of 2028.”

For more on the plans, see this article from Growthspotter.com. 

Winter Nats Champion Nguyen Posts First W35 Win in Bradenton; Sixteen Americans Reach Australian Open Qualifying Second Round; Two US Juniors in ITF J300 Traralgon Qualifying

The first women's USTA Pro Circuit tournament of the year is a W35 at the Inspiration Academy in Bradenton Florida, with qualifying concluding today and four first round matches played.

USTA Winter Nationals 18s champion Kenzie Nguyen didn't miss a beat after her title in Lake Nona earlier this month, receiving a wild card into this event and beating Victoria Hu(Princeton) 6-3, 7-6(5). Although Hu is not seeded this week, she is 372 in the WTA rankings, while Nguyen, a Columbia recruit, is 1477, based on her three wins in the nine W15s she played last summer and fall. This is her first win above the W15 level.

In qualifying today, five Americans advanced to the main draw: Malkia Ngounoue(Kansas), Rachel Gailis[3](Florida), Maya Iyengar[11], Kylie Collins[6](Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State) and 15-year-old Janae Preston[16].

Ngounoue will face top seed Bianca Andreescu of Canada, the 2019 US Open women's singles champion, in the first round Wednesday. Preston will play wild card Usue Arconada, with the other wild cards going to Juliana Singeorzan, a 17-year-old Inspiration Academy student and Oklahoma State junior Olivia Lincer. 

Lincer defeated Sara Daavettila(UNC) in the first round 6-4, 6-3, while Singeorzan lost to 26-year-old University of Florida newcomer Emily Seibold of Germany 6-4, 6-0.

Hina Inoue is the No. 2 seed, with Julieta Pareja seeded No. 7.

The second round of Australian Open qualifying Wednesday (tonight in the United States) will feature 16 Americans: nine men and seven women. Once again all will be facing non-Americans.  In Day Two of the first round, American men suffered their only two losses, with Michael Mmoh withdrawing due to an injury. The US men went 9-2 in the first round, US women 7-5.

Tuesday's results and Wednesday's matchups:

Michael Zheng d. Cruz Hewitt[WC](AUS) 6-3, 6-3
Mackenzie McDonald[6] d. Dmitry Popko(KAZ) 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-5
Vilius Gaubas[17](LTU) d. Nicolas Moreno de Alboran 7-5, 6-3
Zachary Svajda[29] d. Hady Habib(LBN) 6-1 6-3
Yibing Wu(CHN) d. Mitchell Krueger 7-5, 6-4

Elvina Kalieva d. Sijia Wei(CHN) 4-6, 6-2, 3-2 ret.

Ye-Xin Ma(CHN) d. Varvara Lepchenko[32] 6-1, 6-3

Yue Yuan[25](CHN) d. Louisa Chirico 3-6, 6-1, 6-2

Claire Liu d. Tara Wuerth(CRO) 6-3, 6-4

Carol Lee d. Hanne Vandewinkel[15](BEL) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

Whitney Osuigwe d. Anastasija Sevastova(LAT) 6-2, 6-0

Murphy Cassone v Dusan Lajovic[13](SRB)

Brandon Holt[5] v Giulio Zeppieri(ITA)

Nishesh Basavareddy v Sebastian Ofner[19](AUT)

Michael Zheng v Tomas Barrios Vera[4](CHI)

Martin Damm v Titouan Droguet(FRA)

Mackenzie McDonald[6] v Hugo Grenier(FRA)

Colton Smith[32] v Rei Sakamoto(JPN)

Tristan Boyer v Francesco Passaro[27](ITA)

Zachary Svajda[29] v Jurij Rodionov(AUT)

Sloane Stephens v Olivia Gadecki

Mary Stoiana v Lucia Bronzetti[2](ITA)

Carol Lee v Elena Micic[WC](AUS)

Claire Liu v Maddison Inglis(AUS)

Taylor Townsend[11] v Jazmin Ortenzi(ARG)

Whitney Osuigwe v Lucrezia Stefanini[26](ITA)

Elvina Kalieva v Ye-Xin Ma(CHN)

All qualifying matches are streamed on the ESPN+ app.

The warmup to the Australian Open Junior Championships begins with the first round of qualifying Wednesday at the ITF J300 in Traralgon. The 32-player draws did not fill, with the top eight seeds receiving byes in the boys qualifying and the top three seeds in the girls qualifying getting byes. 

Two Americans are in the draws, meaning they will no doubt be trying to qualify for the Australian Open Juniors as well. Ford McCollum is the No. 9 seed in the boys qualifying at Traralgon; Ciara Harding is unseeded in the girls qualifying.

Malacek Sweeps Titles at Costa Rica's ITF J60; US Men Go 6-0 on First Day of Australian Open Qualifying, Stoiana Saves Match Points in Women's AO Qualifying

Last week's ITF J60 in Costa Rica, the first of three events in that country that will conclude with the J300 Coffee Bowl, produced three titles for Americans, including a sweep for Orange Bowl 16s finalist Daniel Malacek. 

The tournament used the ITF's new format, with results in round eight round robin groups determining the quarterfinalists. American boys won six of those groups, and Malacek, the 16-year-old left-hander from Washington state, went on to defeat Orange Bowl 16s semifinalist Gadin Arun 7-6(6), 6-0 in the final. There are no seeds on the draws, so you have to determine them by their positions in the draws (noted on page 32 in the ITF Junior Rules and Regulations), with Malacek and Arun the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds respectively.

The standard draw format is used for the knock-out only doubles, with the conventional seeding system. Malacek and partner Ryan Bedwick, the No. 3 seeds, defeated top seeds Arun and Robert McAdoo 4-6, 6-2, 10-5 in the final. 

In the girls singles, Emery Combs was one of six US girls to reach the quarterfinals, but the top seed lost in the semifinals to No. 3 seed Teaghan Jou An Keys 6-4, 6-4. Keys then lost to 16-year-old Canadian Charlize Celebrini, the younger sister of NHL San Jose Sharks star Macklin Celebrini, 6-2, 7-6(2).

Combs got her revenge in doubles, with the 14-year-old partnering with Sasha Miroshnichenko for the title. The No. 3 seeds defeated No. 2 seeds Keys and Aleksandra Jerkunica 6-2, 6-4. Combs, the Orange Bowl 16s doubles champion, is 20-0 in doubles competition since a loss at the ITF J300 in Texas back in October.

A second J60 in Costa Rica, also featuring a round robin component, is underway this week, with Malacek and Celebrini among those competing.

The American men had a perfect first day of qualifying Monday at the Australian Open, with all six of them posting victories. The remaining five men are in action Tuesday (tonight in the USA), after Michael Mmoh withdrew due to an injury suffered in Hong Kong last week.

The US women went 3-3 on the first day, with former Texas A&M star Mary Stoiana getting the most dramatic of the three wins. The 22-year-old from Connecticut saved five match points and won the final five games of the match to defeat Nuria Brancaccio of Italy 7-5, 4-6, 7-5. Stoiana's only other slam win was as a wild card in the first round of qualifying of the US Open in 2024.

Monday's Australian Open first round qualifying results of Americans:

Brandon Holt[5] d. Lukas Neumayer(AUT) 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
Colton Smith[32] d. Luka Pavlovic(FRA) 7-6(4), 6-1
Nishesh Basavareddy d. Alexis Galarneau(CAN) 6-4, 6-2
Tristan Boyer d. Alex Barrena(ARG) 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-2
Murphy Cassone d. Yu Hsiou Hsu(TPE) 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
Martin Damm d. Gauthier Onclin(BEL) 6-3, 3-6, 6-4

Mary Stoiana d. Nuria Brancaccio(ITA) 7-5, 4-6, 7-5

Sloane Stephens d. Barbora Palicova(CZE) 6-1, 7-5

Despina Papamichail(GRE) d. Sachia Vickery 6-3, 7-5

Viktoriya Tomova[18](BUL) d. Bernarda Pera 1-6, 6-4, 6-0 

Maja Chwalinska(POL) d. Madison Brengle 7-6(3), 6-3

Taylor Townsend[11] d. Nao Hibino(JPN) 6-7(3), 6-0, 7-5

Tuesday's Australian Open first round qualifying matches featuring Americans:

Michael Zheng v Cruz Hewitt[WC](AUS)

Mackenzie McDonald[6] v Dmitry Popko(KAZ)
Nicolas Moreno de Alboran v Vilius Gaubas[17](LTU)

Zachary Svajda[29] v Hady Habib(LBN)
Mitchell Krueger v Yibing Wu(CHN)

Elvina Kalieva v Sijia Wei(CHN)

Varvara Lepchenko[32] v Ye-Xin Ma(CHN)

Louisa Chirico v Yue Yuan[25](CHN)

Claire Liu v Tara Wuerth(CRO)

Carol Lee v Hanne Vandewinkel[15](BEL)

Whitney Osuigwe v Anastasija Sevastova(LAT)

At this week's ATP 250 in Auckland, qualifier Eliot Spizzirri(Texas) picked up his best win by ranking in his career. The 24-year-old from Connecticut, a two-time ITA Player of the Year, defeated ATP No. 68 Adrian Mannarino of France 6-4, 6-3 in the first round.

Orange Bowl Gallery; Smith Claims Second M25 Title in Winston-Salem; Australian Open Qualifying Begins with 12 US Men and 12 US Women Competing for Main Draw

The last entry in my review of last month's Orange Bowl is my Tennis Recruiting Network photo gallery of the 16s tournament. It features all the players from the United States (plus a couple who train here but compete for other countries) who won a round in the singles event. I focus on the 16s for this tournament in order to feature some new faces; many of those playing the 18s appeared in the US Open Juniors or Pan American Closed ITF J300 galleries.

Keegan Smith won his second career M25 title today at the USTA Pro Circuit tournament in Winston-Salem North Carolina, but it wasn't easy. 

The 27-year-old former UCLA All-American, seeded No. 5, needed three hours and 18 minutes to get past recent University of Tennessee standout Shunsuke Mitsui of Japan 7-6(5), 6-7(4), 6-3 in today's final. Smith should move to around 350 when the 25 points are added.

A second M25 begins Monday in Winston-Salem, with most of the same players, including Smith and Mitsui, entered. 

Qualifying for the Australian Open begins Monday(this evening in the United States), with 12 US men and 12 US women aiming to win three matches to reach the main draw.

Below are the first round matchups featuring Americans; there are no first round matches between players from the United States, which is quite unusual.

The men's qualifying draw is here; the women's qualifying draw is here.

Michael Zheng v Cruz Hewitt[WC](AUS)
*Brandon Holt[5] v Lukas Neumayer(AUT)
*Colton Smith[32] v Luka Pavlovic(FRA)
Mackenzie McDonald[6] v Dmitry Popko(KAZ)
Michael Mmoh v Vitaliy Sachko(UKR)
Nicolas Moreno de Alboran v Vilius Gaubas[17](LTU)
*Nishesh Basavareddy v Alexis Galarneau(CAN)
Zachary Svajda[29] v Hady Habib(LBN)
Mitchell Krueger v Yibing Wu(CHN)
*Tristan Boyer v Alex Barrena(ARG)
*Murphy Cassone v Yu Hsiou Hsu(TPE)
*Martin Damm v Gauthier Onclin(BEL)

*on Monday's schedule

*Mary Stoiana v Nuria Brancaccio(ITA)

*Sloane Stephens v Barbora Palicova(CZE)

Elvina Kalieva v Sijia Wei(CHN)

Varvara Lepchenko[32] v Ye-Xin Ma(CHN)

Louisa Chirico v Yue Yuan[25](CHN)

*Sachia Vickery v Despina Papamichail(GRE)

*Bernard Pera v Viktoriya Tomova[18](BUL)

*Madison Brengle v Maja Chwalinska(POL)

*Taylor Townsend[11] v Nao Hibino(JPN)

Claire Liu v Tara Wuerth(CRO)

Carol Lee v Hanne Vandewinkel[15](BEL)

Whitney Osuigwe v Anastasija Sevastova(LAT)

*on Monday's schedule

2025 Australian Open boys champion Henry Bernet of Switzerland, who received a qualifying wild card, has drawn Pablo Llamas Ruiz of Spain.

ITF Junior No. 8 Ksenia Efremova of France, who received a reciprocal wild card into qualifying, plays No. 8 seed Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus Monday.

Brandon Nakashima lost in the final of the ATP 250 in Brisbane to top seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia 6-2, 7-6(1).

Poland won the United Cup with a 2-1 decision over Switzerland, thanks to the 6-4, 6-3 mixed doubles win from Katarzyna Kawa and the University of Georgia's 2017 NCAA doubles finalist Jan Zielinski.

Mitsui and Smith Reach Winston-Salem M25 Final; 14-Year-Old Dotsenko Claims First ITF J300 Title in India; Nakashima in Brisbane Final; Americans Claim Challenger Doubles Titles; Hannah Klugman Feature

Recent University of Tennessee graduate Shunsuke Mitsui of Japan advanced to his first M25 final with a 6-1, 6-3 win over 17-year-old wild card Jack Kennedy, who was seeking his first Pro Circuit final after losses in three M15 semifinals last year. The 23-year-old Mitsui, who has two M15 titles, will face No. 5 seed Keegan Smith, a former UCLA All-American, who defeated wild card Luca Pow, a junior at Wake Forest, 6-2, 7-6(7) in the bottom half semifinal of the first USTA Pro Circuit tournament of the year in Winston-Salem North Carolina.

Smith, 27, won an M25 title back in 2022, when he reached his career-high ATP ranking of 339. The 2019 NCAA doubles champion won three M15 titles last year, the most recent in December in New Zealand, and he could approach that career-high ranking with the title Sunday.

At the first ITF J300 of the year, No. 5 seed Ekaterina Dotsenko of Russia won the girls title, with No. 2 seed Flynn Thomas of Switzerland taking the boys championship.

Dotsenko, who didn't turn 14 until October, won the title at the Les Petits As last January and went on to post a 37-5 record on the ITF Junior Circuit in 2025. She won five titles, two of them at the J100 level, but she was playing in her first J300 this week in New Delhi India.  She did not lose a set all week, with the seven games she lost in today's 6-4, 6-3 win over unseeded Miku Kitaoka of Japan the most she dropped in any match.

The 17-year-old Thomas, whose only title last year was at a J100, claimed his first at the J300 level with a 6-2, 5-7, 6-0 win over No. 5 seed Arnav Paparkar of India. Both Thomas and Papakar are scheduled to compete in the J300 in Tralragon and the Australian Open Junior Championships, beginning late next week.

The defending champions United States lost in the semifinals of the United Cup Saturday, dropping a 2-1 decision to Poland. Taylor Fritz lost to Hubert Hurkacz 7-6(1), 7-6(2), Gauff pulled the USA even with a 6-4, 6-2 win over Iga Swiatek, but Gauff and Christian Harrison could not continue their doubles winning streak. They lost to Jan Zielinski(Georgia) and Katarzyna Kawa 7-6(5), 7-6(3) to seal Poland's place in the finals for third straight year. They will play Switzerland, who beat Belgium 2-1 in the other semifinal.

Brandon Nakashima(Virginia) is through to his first ATP final since 2022, when he won his only ATP title in his home town of San Diego. At the ATP 250 in Brisbane, the unseeded 24-year-old beat Aleks Kovacevic(Illinois) 7-6(4), 6-4 to advance to a third meeting with top seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia. Medvedev defeated Alex Michelsen 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals.

Marcos Giron was beaten by No. 2 seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals of the Hong Kong ATP 250.

Jessica Pegula lost to Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine 6-0, 6-3 in the semifinals of the WTA 500 in Brisbane and Iva Jovic was beaten by Elina Svitolina of Ukraine 7-6(5), 6-2 in the semifinals of the WTA 250 in Auckland.

Three Americans captured doubles titles in this week's Challengers. At the 125 in Canberra Australia, No. 3 seeds Mac Kiger(North Carolina) and Reese Stalder(TCU) beat No. 4 seeds Blake Bayldon and Pat Harper(Tennessee) of Australia 7-6(3), 6-3 in the final.

In the singles final in Canberra, Next Gen ATP Finals finalist Alexander Blockx beat Raphael Jodar(Virginia) of Spain 6-4, 6-4.

Benjamin Kittay, a 2024 NCAA doubles finalist while at Michigan, partnered with Nicolas Barrientos(West Florida) of Colombia to claim the title at the 125 in Bengaluru India. The No. 4 seeds beat No. 3 seeds Arthur Reymond and Luca Sanchez of France 7-6(9), 7-5 in the final. Kittay, 22, now has three Challenger doubles titles.

Hannah Klugman, who turns 17 next month, made the decision to move on from junior tennis after the US Open last year. She spoke to the LTA about that choice, and several other topics, in this feature article.

Kennedy Reaches First M25 Semifinal in Winston-Salem; Four US Men Reach ATP 250 Semifinals, Jovic Advances in Auckland; Former USTA Florida Executive Director Arrested

Wild card Jack Kennedy has advanced to his fourth USTA Pro Circuit semifinal and his first at the M25 level, with a 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2 win over Stefan Dostanic(USC, Wake Forest), the 2025 NCAA Team Championships' Most Outstanding Player, in Winston-Salem.

Kennedy will face unseeded Shunsuke Mitsui of Japan, a former University of Tennessee All-American, who beat No. 7 seed and 2025 ITA All-American champion Jay Friend of Japan, a senior at the University of Arizona, 1-6, 7-6(3), 6-3.

Wake Forest junior Luca Pow of Great Britain, who reached the semifinals of the M15 in Winston-Salem last October, continued his impressive results on his home courts. The 20-year-old wild card defeated No. 6 seed Bor Arnak of Slovenia, a junior at Arizona State, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. 

Pow will play No. 5 seed Keegan Smith, the former UCLA All-American, who beat No. 3 seed Daniel Milavsky(Harvard) in yet another three-set comeback, 1-6, 6-4, 6-2.

In today's doubles final, No. 2 seeds Milavsky and partner Braden Shick(NC State) won their first title as a team with a 6-4, 7-6(3) win over unseeded Ryan Colby(USC, Georgia) and Noah Zamora(UC-Irvine).  Milavsky, 24, now has seven pro doubles titles and Shick, 22, has four.

At the ITF J300 in New Delhi India, No. 6 seed Vihaan Reddy lost to No. 5 seed Arnav Papakar of India 6-3, 7-6(2). Papkar will play No. 2 seed Flynn Thomas of Switzerland in the final. The girls final is between No. 5 seed Ekaterina Dotsenko of Russia and unseeded Miku Kitaoka of Japan.

There are four tournaments this first week of the 2026 ATP and WTA season(not including United Cup), and there are a total of six Americans in those eight semifinals, with the ATP 250 in Brisbane Australia having three.

Alex Michelsen will play the only seed remaining, No. 1 Daniil Medvedev of Russia, with the other semifinal between Brandon Nakashima(Virginia) and Aleks Kovacevic(Illinois).

The fourth US man in a semifinal is Marcos Giron(UCLA), who will play No. 2 seed Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan at the Hong Kong 250.

Iva Jovic is through to the semifinals of the WTA 250 in Auckland, with the No. 3 seed facing top seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

And at the WTA 500 in Brisbane, No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula will play No. 16 seed Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine for a place in the final.

Today's news of the arrest of former USTA Florida Executive Director Doug Booth in North Carolina on child sex offense charges came as a shock to me, but that's because I had not checked the USTA's Safe Play Disciplinary List, where his name appears. I am personally Safe Play certified, but I did not know about this public list, and I urge all coaches, parents and players to review it regularly when interacting with a new coach or teacher. 

Reddy Reaches ITF J300 Semifinal in India; Kennedy Advances to Quarterfinals at Winston-Salem M25; Jodar and Zheng Make Challenger Semifinals; TRN's Recap of Winter Nationals 18s; USA into United Cup Semifinals

Vihaan Reddy withdrew from the ITF J300 in Traralgon Australia on Monday, although he couldn't have known then that he would be getting plenty of matches prior to the Australian Open Junior Championships later this month, where he is still entered.

Today the 16-year-old from Northern California reached his second ITF J300 semifinal in the past two months, with the sixth-seeded Reddy beating No. 3 seed Damir Zhalgasbay of Kazakhstan 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 at the ITF J300 in New Delhi India.  Reddy, who made the final of the J300 in Zapopan Mexico in November, will face No. 5 seed Arvan Papakar of India in the semifinals, after Papakar defeated top seed Thilo Behrmann of Austria 6-2, 7-5.

2025 finalist Roshan Santhosh, the No. 4 seed, lost to No. 7 seed Min Hyuk Cho of Korea 6-2, 6-2. Cho will face No. 2 seed Flynn Thomas of Switzerland, who defeated 14-year-old qualifier Jang Junseo of Korea 6-4, 6-0. 

The girls semifinals feature two unseeded players in the bottom half, with wild card Jensi Dipakbhai Kanabar of India defeating No. 3 seed Yeri Hong of Korea 6-1, 7-6(6) and Miku Kitaoka of Japan beating wild card Prisha Nikhil Shinde of India 7-5, 6-4. 

The top half semifinals has No. 5 seeds Ekaterina Dotsenko facing No. 4 seed Ui Su Jeong of Korea, after they posted wins over unseeded players.

Closer to home, 17-year-old wild card Jack Kennedy has advanced to his first quarterfinal at the M25 level, with the ITF Junior No. 3 beating No. 8 seed Tristan McCormick(Notre Dame, Georgia) 3-6, 7-6(1), 6-4 in Winston-Salem. Kennedy will face unseeded Stefan Dostanic in Friday's quarterfinals, after Dostanic beat qualifier Nicola Ion of Canada 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.

The other all-USA quarterfinal will feature No. 5 seed Keegan Smith(UCLA) and No. 3 seed Daniel Milavsky(Harvard). Smith, who won an M15 in New Zealand last month, defeated Quinn Vandecasteele(Oregon) 6-1, 6-1, while Milavsky beat wild card Mees Rottgering of the Netherlands, a Wake Forest freshman, 6-3, 7-6(3).

The all-Japanese quarterfinal has Shunsue Mitsui(Tennessee) facing No. 7 seed Jay Friend, a senior at the University of Arizona. 

The only quarterfinal featuring players from different countries is at the bottom, with wild card Luca Pow of Great Britain taking on No. 6 seed Bor Artnak of Slovenia. Pow, a junior at Wake Forest, defeated Kentucky freshman Nicolas Arseneault of Canada 6-1, 6-2; Artnak, a junior at Arizona State, beat qualifier Theodore Dean(Yale, Cal) 6-2, 6-3.

The doubles final Friday is between two American teams, with unseeded Ryan Colby(USC, Georgia) and Noah Zamora(UC-Irvine) facing No. 2 seeds Milavsky and Braden Shick(NC State).

The first week of ATP Challengers is coming to a close, with two of the top collegians from 2025 advancing to the semifinals as they prepare to compete in Australian Open qualifying next week. 

2024 and 2025 NCAA singles champion Michael Zheng of Columbia, who is expected to return for his senior year after the Australian Open, has advanced to the semifinals of the 75 in Noumea New Caledonia. The No. 6 seed will face unseeded Arthur Gea of France after beating another Frenchman, Clement Tabur, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 Thursday. Gea had ousted No. 2 seed Liam Draxl(Kentucky) of Canada by a 6-3, 6-2 score. Zheng, who won his first three Challenger titles in the second half of 2025, is playing Gea for a spot in his sixth Challenger final. The semifinal in the top half has No. 5 seed Jurij Rodionov of Austria playing unseeded Blake Ellis of Australia.

The Rafael Jodar of Spain, who announced recently that he would not be returning to the University of Virginia for his sophomore season, has reached the semifinals of the 125 in Canberra as a qualifier without dropping a set. The 19-year-old beat unseeded Sho Shimabukuro of Japan 6-2, 6-4 today and will face unseeded Kyrian Jacquet of France Friday.  Next Gen ATP Finals finalist Alexander Blockx of Belgium, the No. 6 seed, will face wild card James McCabe of Australia in the top half semifinal.

The first ATP Challenger in the United States is at the end of this month is a 125 in San Diego, with the expected field announced today.

Ronit Karki and Kenzie Nguyen spoke with Tennis Recruiting Network's Rhiannon Potkey about their 18s titles at the USTA Winter Nationals last weekend in this article.

The United States has needed to win the doubles point in all three of its matches to date at the United Cup, with Coco Gauff and Christian Harrison posting wins against teams from Argentina, Spain and Greece to keep the USA's title defense alive. For more on their win over Greece in the quarterfinals, see this article.

The United States will face the winner of Friday's quarterfinal match between Poland and Australia on Saturday. The other semifinal features Switzerland and Belgium.

NCAA Champions Georgia and Wake Forest Top First ITA Coaches Poll; Reddy and Santhosh Reach ITF J300 Quarterfinals in India; TRN's Winter National Recaps for 14s and 16s; Schick Beats Top Seed Andrade at M25 Winston-Salem

The first coaches poll of the 2026 dual match season is less significant than ever after the ITA changed its ranking procedure for 2026. These rankings used to be a starting point for the computer rankings later in the season, but they no longer serve that purpose, with a new system in place that puts all teams on the same level when results are calculated.

Yet for college tennis fans, there is still some value in this inconsequential exercise, with the top 25 teams all touting their rankings on social media today to help kickoff the season, and the chance to see what the 13 ranking committee members think of the prospects for last year's top teams.

It's obvious that the previous year's NCAA champions are going to get the benefit of any doubt, even when they've seen their top players depart.  The Georgia women lost their top three to graduation, but with their remaining talent and excellent recruiting class, they start the year at No. 1. The Bulldogs received 7 first place votes; I'm not sure what happened to the other six.

Wake Forest will not have Stefan Dostanic at the top spot this year, but with their returning class and newcomers Mees Rottgering and Aryan Shah no one is expecting a dropoff, with the Demon Deacons receiving all 13 first place votes.

Below are both Top 10s, with their rankings at the end of the 2024-25 season in parentheses. As you can see, there is very little deviation in the men's list, while three women's teams who were in the 2024-25 final Top 10 fell out in this first preseason poll: Ohio State[6], Virginia[7] and Tennessee[9].

ITA Men's DI Coaches Poll Top 10
1. Wake Forest (1)
2. Texas (3)
3. TCU (2)
4. Stanford (4)
5. Virginia (5)
6. Ohio State (6)
7. Mississippi State (10)
8. San Diego (9)
9. NC State (7)
10. Columbia (8)

ITA Women's DI Coaches Poll Top 10

1. Georgia (1)

2. Texas A&M (2)

3. North Carolina (4)

4. Auburn (8)

5. LSU (11)

6. Oklahoma (10)

7. Michigan (3)

8. Duke (5)

9. Stanford (22)

10. Oklahoma State (15)

The complete Top 25 men's list is here; the women's Top 25 list is here.

The quarterfinals are set for Thursday at the ITF J300 in New Delhi India, with both Roshan Santhosh and Vihaan Reddy advancing with wins today.

No. 4 seed Santhosh, a finalist in this tournament last year, beat Yen-Chun Wang of Taiwan 6-3, 6-4 and No. 6 seed Reddy defeated Egor Shcherbakov of Russia 6-2, 6-2.  Santhosh will face No. 7 seed Min Hyuk Cho of Korea in the quarterfinals, while Reddy meets No. 3 seed Damir Zhalgasbay of Kazakhstan.  Seven of the top eight seeds have advanced to the quarterfinals, with qualifier Jang Junseo of Korea, the 2025 IMG Academy International 16s champion, the eighth quarterfinalist.

Anya Arora, the only US girl in the second round, retired in her match against wild card Prisha Nikhil Shinde of India.

The recaps of last week's USTA Winter Nationals in the 14s and 16s division have been published at the Tennis Recruiting Network. Andres Quijada and Oleana Zerres swept the titles in the 14s; Shristi Selvan and Nile Ung claimed their first USTA balls in the 16s, with those first balls champion's gold.

At the M25 in Winston-Salem, recent NC State graduate Braden Shick got his first ATP Top 300 win, beating top seed Andres Andrade(Florida) of Ecuador 6-3, 6-4. Other Americans advancing to the second round are Strong Kirchheimer(Northwestern), Stefan Dostanic, who beat No. 4 seed Raphael Perot(Texas A&M) of France 7-5, 6-1; Jack Kennedy, No. 8 seed Tristan McCormick(Notre Dame, Georgia), No. 5 seed Keegan Smith(UCLA), Quinn Vandecasteele(Oregon), No. 3 seed Daniel Milvasky(Harvard) and qualifier Theo Dean(Yale, Cal).

Wake Forest wild cards Rottgering and Luca Pow also advanced to Thursday's second round.

Kennedy and Arseneault Post Wins at 2026's First USTA Pro Circuit Tournament in Winston-Salem; Zampardo Signs with UNC, Exsted Joins USC; Jovic Reaches Quarterfinals at WTA 250 in Auckland

The first tournament of the year on the USTA Pro Circuit is an M25 in Winston-Salem North Carolina, with qualifying concluding today and four first round matches played. 

Seventeen-year-old Jack Kennedy, the ITF junior No. 3, will be playing primarily on the ITF men's and ATP Challenger tour in his last year of junior eligibility, as he prepares to begin his collegiate career in the fall at the University of Virginia. As a wild card this week in Winston-Salem, Kennedy defeated Karl Poling(Princeton, UNC) 6-3, 3-6, 6-0 in the first round of the tournament, which is being played on the Wake Forest indoor hard courts.

University of Kentucky freshman Nicolas Arseneault of Canada, who received main draw entry based on his ATP ranking of 501, defeated No. 2 seed Alex Rybakov(TCU) 7-6(4), 6-3.

Arizona State junior Bor Artnak of Slovenia, the No. 6 seed, defeated wild card Will Grant(Florida) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 and No. 3 seed Daniel Milavsky(Harvard) beat Alan Magadan(UTSA) of Mexico 7-6(4), 6-1.

The other wild cards were awarded to two Wake Forest players: junior Luca Pow of Great Britain and freshman Mees Rottgering of the Netherlands. At this time last year, Rottgering was No. 1 in the ITF junior rankings and was not interested in playing college tennis, but with NIL and fewer eligibility hurdles, many current and former top juniors are taking another look at the collegiate option. Rottgering will face Ryan Fishbach(Virginia Tech) in the first round Wednesday; Pow's opponent is qualifier Daniil Kakhniuk(New Mexico).

In addition to Kakhniuk, the American qualifiers are Theodore Dean(Yale, Cal), Matthew Thomson(Wake Forest), Zeke Clark(Illinois) and Ryan Colby(USC, Georgia).  The other three qualifiers: Serbia's Aleksa Ciric(Georgia Gwinnett), NC State sophomore Jules Leroux of France, and Nicola Ion of Canada.

Stefan Dostanic, who led Wake Forest to the NCAA title last spring in his final season of collegiate eligibility, is back in action after shutting down his season after September's Winston-Salem Challenger due to an arm injury. He will play former Texas A&M standout Raphael Perot, the No. 4 seed, who went 20-2 on the USTA Pro Circuit last September and October.

Arizona senior Jay Friend, the No. 7 seed, plays Ciric in the first round Wednesday; Andres Andrade of Ecuador is the top seed and the former University of Florida standout has drawn recent NC State graduate Braden Shick, who went 17-2 in M15s in Asia to close out the year.

After Maddy Zampardo left NC State after her sophomore season, where she would end up was the subject of much speculation, especially when she didn't enroll in the fall. But the Michigan native didn't end up going very far, with North Carolina announcing last Friday that she was joining the Tar Heels. Zampardo adds to UNC's already impressive doubles talent, and she may reunite with junior doubles partner Susanna Maltby. The pair won two USTA gold balls in the 18s, at the Indoors in 2022 and the Easter Bowl in 2023. With Anna Frey joining the Tar Heels this month as well, UNC will be formidable once again this year.

Speaking of doubles talent, Max Exsted will be joining USC for this dual match season. According to this post on X, the two-time Australian Open doubles champion is on campus and ready to go. Exsted and Cooper Woestendick won the Kalamazoo 18s title and a round at the US Open, and Exsted has won four M15 titles with four different partners since then. Although adjusting to college as a January freshman is a challenge, Exsted's doubles skills should help the Trojans immediately.

Last month Iva Jovic turned 18, so she is starting 2026 free of WTA age restrictions for the first time. The youngest player in the WTA Top 100, Jovic is at 35 in the WTA rankings despite having reached only one WTA quarterfinal. That was last September, when she won the WTA 500 in Guadalajara; she now has reached quarterfinal No. 2 this week at the WTA 250 ASB Classic in Auckland New Zealand. The No. 3 seed, Jovic defeated Gabriela Knutson(Syracuse) of the Czech Republic 4-6, 6-1, 6-0 in the first round and Wednesday beat fellow teenager Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic 7-6(3), 6-4 to advance to the quarterfinals. Jovic will face the winner of the second round match between two qualifiers: Kaitlin Quevedo, the American-born player who now represents Spain and Sofia Costoulas of Belgium.

Arora Beats No. 2 Seed at First ITF J300 of 2026; Ten US Juniors in ITF Top 20s in Year's First Rankings; TRN's Winter Nats 12s Recap; Quinn and Nava Named to USA's February Davis Cup Team

The first of the 39 ITF J300 tournaments scheduled for 2026 is underway in New Delhi India, with four Americans advancing to the second round with victories today and another aiming to join them with a win Tuesday.

Fourteen-year-old Anya Arora, 367 in the first ITF junior rankings of the year, defeated 15-year-old Alisa Terentyeva of Russia, 73 in the new rankings, 6-2, 6-0 in the first round today. Arora was one of the last girls to get into the main draw. Fourteen-year-old Tanvi Pandey lost in the final round of qualifying, but is in the main draw as a lucky loser; she is scheduled to play her first round match Tuesday.

Kali Supova of Slovakia is the top seed in the girls draw; she faces qualifier Anandita Upadhyay of India in the first round Tuesday.

No.  4 seed Roshan Santhosh, a finalist at the event last year, defeated wild card Aashravya Mehra of India 6-4, 6-0, while No. 6 seed Vihaan Reddy also beat a wild card from India, taking out Tavish Pahwa 7-6(2), 6-1. Both Santhosh, who recently switched his college commitment from Penn to Vanderbilt, and Reddy are now both in the main draw at the Australian Open Junior Championships after the withdrawals of Thijs Boogaard and Jack Kennedy, so they will head straight to Australia after this event.

The fifth American in the draw is 16-year-old Kamil Stolarczyk, who won three qualifying matches, then beat wild card Hruthik Katakam of India 6-1, 6-4 in the first round today. He faces top seed Thilo Behrmann of Austria in the second round.

The first ITF junior rankings of 2026 were published today, with all the players who aged out in 2025 removed. That is the only change, since there were no tournaments to affect the rankings since the week of the Orange Bowl.

Jack Kennedy, at No. 3 and Keaton Hance, at No. 7 are the two American boys in the Top 10; Kristina Penickova, No. 1, and Julieta Pareja, No. 4, are the two Americans girls in the Top 10.

In addition to Kennedy and Hance, there are seven other American boys in the Top 50: Michael Antonius[14], Andrew Johnson[15], Jack Secord[18], Gavin Goode[19], Ryan Cozad[22], Tanishk Konduri[27] and Santhosh[49].

The other US girls in the Top 50 are Thea Frodin[15], Annika Penickova[18], Welles Newman[49] and Capucine Jauffret[50].

The first of the four articles on the USTA Winter National Championships was posted today at Tennis Recruiting Network, with James Hill speaking with 12s top seeds Dmitriy Flyam and Anna Sandru about their titles in San Antonio.

Captain Bob Bryan announced the USA team for the first round of the 2026 Davis Cup playoffs today. The USTA's release:

Ethan Quinn, Emilio Nava, Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek to Compete for U.S. Davis Cup Team in 2026 First Round Qualifier vs. Hungary February 7-8

ORLANDO, Fla., January 5, 2026 – The USTA and U.S. Davis Cup Captain Bob Bryan today announced that rising stars Ethan Quinn and Emilio Nava and accomplished veterans Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram have been named to compete for the U.S. in its Davis Cup Qualifying First Round tie vs. Hungary to be played February 7-8 on an indoor clay court at the Tatabányai Multifunkcionális Sportcsarnok, in Tatabánya, Hungary.

This First Round Qualifying competition is a best-of-five match series that will begin with two singles matches on Saturday, February 7, starting at 1 p.m. local time (7 a.m. ET), then continue with a doubles match and two more singles matches on Sunday, February 8, beginning at 11 a.m. local time (5 a.m. ET). The first nation between the USA and Hungary to win three out of those five matches wins the First Round Qualifier and will advance to the Second Round of Qualifying in late September. Tennis Channel will feature coverage in the U.S.

This is the first meeting in Davis Cup history between the United States and Hungary. This is also the debut Davis Cup nomination for both Quinn and Nava, two rising talents who produced successful results on clay courts in 2025.

Quinn, 21, qualified and reached the third round at the French Open last year in his debut appearance. The 2023 NCAA singles champion while at Georgia, Quinn was ranked as high as No. 64 last year and begins the year ranked No. 76.

Nava, 24, won four clay-court Challenger titles in 2025, three of which came during a 19-match unbeaten streak in the spring. Nava is currently ranked at his career high of No. 88.

Ram, 41, has played in 15 Davis Cup ties for the U.S. and has a 12-3 Davis Cup doubles record. A four-time Grand Slam doubles champion and former world No. 1, Ram is currently ranked No. 28.

Krajicek, 35, has played in 10 Davis Cup ties for the U.S. and has an 8-2 doubles record, all played with Ram. Krajicek won the French Open doubles title in 2023 en route to being the year-end doubles world No. 1. He is currently ranked No. 52.

Captains may make up to three combined substitutions / additions to their rosters up until the day prior to the competition starting.

ITF Junior Circuit Rule Changes in 2026 Include Guidelines for New Round Robin Events, More Generous Coaching Parameters, Live Streaming and Scoring for J500s

Last month the ITF released a summary of the changes in its Junior Circuit regulations for 2026, which includes requirements for some substantial upgrades for the seven J500 tournaments.

I'll start with the new regulations for 2026, the majority of which are related to the introduction of early rounds of robin robin play in selected J30s and J60s.

This ITF article from last fall gives an overview of how these tournaments will work, including the information on how the World Tennis Number will be used for entries. The recently published 2026 regulations go into detail about entries, qualifying, the calculations for advancing to the quarterfinals, points earned and many other situations not encountered in standard elimination events.

The first tournament using this format in the United States will be the J30 in Hawaii in February; the J60 in Claremont California the following week is a standard elimination format. The full ITF calendar for 2026 is not out yet, but the USTA's 2026 junior tournament calendar does contain many of the ITF junior events, along with information on which format is being used for the J30s and J60s.

The round robin matches will be, as are all ITF junior qualifying matches, best of three sets, with a match tiebreaker in lieu of a full third set.

The minimum draw for a J500 event is now 48, down from 64 previously. I personally like 48 draws for J300s, but I would not support a reduction in the draws of the junior slams, so I view this change as an ominous sign. Since the pandemic, many J300s went to 32 draws and then never went back to their original draw size. I would support a regulation requiring J300s to have 48-player draws, because the ITF's "recommendation" for that draw size has been widely ignored.

Coaches Champion and Kortland at Orange Bowl

Off court coaching will now be allowed whether there is a chair umpire or not in all tournaments above the J60 level. Previously, off court coaching was allowed only when a match was chaired.

Off court coaching (“OCC”) (as defined in the Rules of Tennis) is permitted at Qualifying and Main Draw events within ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors J100, J200, J300, J500 and Junior Grand Slams. This applies to matches with and without a Chair Umpire. 

The Electronic Line Calling option, which is not new but I have yet to see at the ITF junior level (except junior slams), has a new requirement that the system must be ITF gold or silver certified. 

There has been a major revamping of the 16&U entry program, now called the Regional Reserved Program. For the past six years, the program was available only to players from Europe and South America, now all regions are included, with the World Tennis Number serving as the criteria for determining those slots.

The maximum number of tournaments for a 15-year-old on the ITF Junior Circuit has been increased from 16 to 18. There was no change for players aged 16 (25), 14 (14), and 13 (10).

An interesting change to the imagery rights, prohibiting any use of photos taken at an ITF tournament for less than four players at a time if used as in promoting an event.

(A) player imagery may only be used in materials featuring no fewer than four (4) players; (B) player imagery may only be used in promotions that reference their association with the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors; and (C) no player’s image may be used in a manner that is materially more prominent than the images of other player(s) used.

This is just a brief summary of the summary and in no way a comprehensive view of the changes. See the full rules and regulations for 2026 for more details.

The 2026 Tournament Organizational Requirements include several new ones for J500s and J300s that are fan-friendly.

Spectator Seating

At J300 tournaments, the main show court must offer a stand / seating for a minimum of 100+ people. 

At J500 tournaments, the main show court must offer seating and/or viewing for a minimum of 250+ people. A second show court must offer seating and/or viewing for at a minimum of 100 people.

And this is a change that will make my reporting from home much easier:

J300 and J500 level tournaments are recommended to provide live streaming on at least two (2) match courts during the tournament. 

At J500 tournaments live streaming on 2 courts is mandatory (my emphasis) from the quarterfinals onwards. 

At J300 tournaments it is recommended that live streaming is provided from the first round of main draw until the conclusion of the tournament. Any live stream must display an on-screen graphic with the names of the players. 

Live Scoring is encouraged at all tournaments. Live scoring is recommended for all Main Draw matches at J300 and J500 tournaments. 

J500 tournaments must provide live scoring for all matches where there is a Chair Umpire. J300 and J500 tournaments must provide live scoring on all courts with live streaming.

I will believe this happens when I see it, but I applaud the ITF for requiring the J500s to provide live scoring and live streaming. 

The Tournament Organizational requirements are interesting reading, changes or not, when it comes to what is required for tournaments offering hospitality. The Food and Drink is particularly aspirational; I have been at many tournaments where the required choices are much more limited than what is outlined here (page 40).

Karki and Nguyen Win 18s Titles, Ung and Selvan Claim Gold Balls in 16s at USTA Winter National Championships in Orlando; Quijada and Zerres Sweep 14s, Top Seeds Claim 12s Titles in San Antonio

The first champions of 2026 have been crowned, with the USTA Winter National Championships concluding today in Orlando Florida and San Antonio Texas.

Just one of the eight finals played today went three sets, with the boys 18s title claimed by No. 2 seed Ronit Karki after he dropped the first set. The 2025 Wimbledon boys finalist defeated No. 17 seed Andrew Li 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 in more than two and a half hours, after trailing by a set and a break.

Karki, who turned 18 in November, fell behind 4-0 in the first set, making uncharacteristic unforced errors and getting little depth on his ground strokes. He saved a set point serving at 1-5, then broke Li in the next game and held, with Li getting a second chance to serve out the set at 5-4. He fell behind 15-40, but the 18-year-old from San Diego won the next four points secure the set.

Karki was broken serving at 1-1 in the second set, but that started a string of four consecutive breaks before Karki broke for 5-3 and held to even the match. 

Li was broken in the third game of the third set and when he lost his next service game, Karki was in control, with more depth and aggression proving too much for Li.

Karki, who trains in Orlando, is no longer eligible for the ITF Junior Circuit, but with his Top 20 finish in the ITF Junior rankings at year-end, he has access to eight Challenger qualifying wild cards this year. He is eligible for Kalamazoo in 2026 and this title will go a long way in earning his spot in the draw without needing a wild card.

No. 8 seed Kenzie Nguyen, 18, defeated top seed Carlota Moreno 6-4, 7-5 to win the girls 18s title. In a two-hour and 15 minute straight-sets match, Nguyen and Moreno took turns going on runs. Nguyen was up 3-1 in the first set but lost the next three before taking the final three games of the set with another break. There were only three holds of serve in ten service games in the first set.

Moreno took a 3-1 lead in the second set, but then lost four games in a row to give Nguyen an opportunity to serve for the match at 5-3. She got no closer than 30-all, with unforced errors costing her and Moreno held to pull even at 5. Nguyen held for 6-5 and was able to break Moreno for the seventh time in the match to earn the championship. 

Ellery Mendell[4] defeated Carrie-Anne Hoo[3] 6-2, 6-0 to finish third, with Joanna Kennedy[17] beating unseeded Rose Biria 6-4, 6-3 to win the consolation title, finishing in fifth place.

Gordon Gallagher[10] finished third in the boys 18s via a walkover from Noble Renfrow[13]. Liam Alvarez won the consolation tournament, beating Tristan Stratton 6-4, 6-3. 

No. 9 seed Nile Ung, 16, defeated Akshay Mirmira, a No. 17 seed, 7-6(7), 6-4 to win the boys 16s singles title.

The bronze ball in the boys 16s went to Rafael Lopez[4], who beat Lennart Hammargren[3] 6-2, 7-5. Piotr Gradzki[5] finished in fifth place with a 6-4, 6-3 win in the consolation final over Advay Singh.

In the girls 16s final, No. 2 seed Shristi Selvan, 15, beat No. 4 seed Olivia Lin 6-3, 6-1 to take the gold ball.

Nikol Davletshina[5] won the bronze ball in girls 16s when Vanessa Kruse retired trailing 6-3, 2-0.  Elle Groslimond[8] finished fifth, defeating Natalie Frisbie 6-3, 6-1 in the consolation final.

All results are available at the USTA playtennis tournament page.

There were sweeps in the 14s division for Andres Quijada and Oleana Zerres.  

No. 3 seed Quijada defeated unseeded Nathan Lee 7-6(6), 6-0 in the singles final today after capturing the doubles title with Sebastian Zavala yesterday.

Andy Wu[9] took third place in the boys 14s, when Jiarui Zhang[2] withdrew due to injury.

No. 6 seed Oleana Zerres defeated No. 9 seed Eugenia Alvarez 6-2, 6-4 to add to her gold ball collection. Zerres and Ava Chua won the doubles title Friday.

Third place in the girls 14s went to Reese Ellingson[5], who beat Charlotte Kim[17] 7-6(4), 6-1.  

The top seeds in the 12s cruised to the titles, with Dimitriy Flyam beating No. 16 seed Ethan Kim 6-2, 6-1 and Anna Sandru defeating No. 2 seed Mary Podkhyneychenko 6-0, 6-1.

Third place in the boys 12s went to Aaron Peng[7], who beat William Zhang[2] 6-2, 6-3.

Chloe Anthony[5] finished third in the girls 12s, beating Lailah Cowgill[15] 7-5, 6-4.

All the results from doubles and for all the singles compass draws can be found here.

Tennis Recruiting Network will be providing their usual recaps of the Winter Nationals next week. 

December Aces; USTA Winter National Championships Finals Set, Doubles Champions Crowned; United States Begins Title Defense at United Cup as ATP/WTA Season Begins

My monthly Tennis Recruiting Network column on December's top performances focuses primarily on the winners of the three major junior events in Florida, which makes it a great way to catch up if you weren't able to follow my daily coverage. But the IMG Academy, Orange Bowl and Junior Orange Bowl champions weren't the only players to pick up titles as the year came to a close, with juniors and former collegians also ending 2025 with titles.

The singles finals are set for Sunday at the USTA Winter National Championships and the gold, silver and bronze balls in doubles have been awarded.

Girls 18s top seed Carlota Moreno lost her first set of the tournament today in the semifinals, but advanced to her second straight USTA National Championship final with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 win over No. 4 seed Ellery Mendell. University of Tennessee recruit Moreno, who lost in the National Indoor final to Thara Gowda last month, will face No. 8 seed Kenzie Nguyen, a Columbia recruit, who beat No. 3 seed Carrie-Anne Hoo 6-1, 6-3.

Moreno has already secured a gold ball in today's doubles final, where she and Addy Rogin, seeded No. 2, defeated top seeds Hoo and Isabelle DeLuccia 6-4, 7-5. Moreno and Rogin won the gold ball in doubles in the 16s division at the Easter Bowl back in March.

Boys 18s No. 2 seed Ronit Karki, a Stanford recruit, advanced to the final with another straight-sets win, beating No. 10 seed Gordon Gallagher, a Baylor signee, 6-3, 6-4. The Wimbledon boys finalist will face No. 17 seed Andrew Li, a Rice signee, who beat No. 13 seed Noble Renfrow 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. 

The boys 18s doubles title went to Wesley Cotton and William McEwan, who beat Rowan Qalbani and Ilias Bouzoubaa 6-2, 7-5 in the final between two unseeded teams.

The girls 16s final will feature No. 4 seed Olivia Lin against No. 2 seed Shristi Selvan. Lin needed over three hours to defeat 12-year-old Nikol Davletshina, the No. 5 seed, 7-5, 7-6(6); Lin served for the match at 5-4 and 6-5, 40-0 in the second set, with Davletshina saving five match points before earning a set point at 6-5 in the tiebreaker. But Lin did avoid a third set by taking the final three points of the match.

Selvan advanced to the final when No. 3 seed Vanessa Kruse retired with an injury down 6-1, 4-1.

No. 13 seeds Grace Hong and Audrey Dussault won the doubles title in the girls 16s, defeating No. 9 seeds Priyanka Tallamraju and Pallavi Tallamraju 6-0, 6-2 in the final.

As in the boys 18s final, the boys 16s championship match will feature a No. 17 seed, with Akshay Mirmira defeating No. 3 seed Lennart Hammargren 7-5, 6-4. Mirmira will play No. 9 seed Nile Ung, who beat No. 4 seed Rafael Lopez by the same score.

Mirmira had to settle for a silver ball in the doubles final, with unseeded Rafael Bote and Mikaeel Alibaig defeating Mirmira and Ivan Rybak, the No. 2 seeds, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4.

All four singles finals are at 9 a.m. Saturday morning, so I won't be able to watch more than parts of them, but there is live streaming here. This is no longer provided by Playsight, but is the new Save My Play streaming, which does not require an account. You do have to look at the draws to find the court assignments. The 16s are on clay, the 18s on Team USA hard courts.

The 12s and 14s played their doubles finals and singles semifinals on an unseasonably warm day in San Antonio Texas, with the temperature 88 degrees when I checked my weather app for the weather there this afternoon. 

Both top seeds in the 12s will play for the title, with Dmitriy Flyam facing No. 16 seed Ethan Kim. Both went the distance in their semifinals, with Flyam coming back to beat No. 7 seed Aaron Peng 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 and Kim taking out No. 2 seed William Zhang with a 7-6(1), 4-6, 6-4 decision.

Peng did earn a gold ball today, partnering with Jackson Ansbach for the title. The No. 2 seeds defeated No. 6 seeds Jaden Joyner and Kade Grover 7-6(2), 6-3.

In the girls 12s, the top two seeds will play for the title, the only singles final to produce that scenario. No. 1 Anna Sandru, the USTA National 12s champion, will face No. 2 Mary        Podkhyneychenko, the USTA National 12s indoor champion. Sandru defeated No. 15 seed Lailah Cowgill 6-0, 6-1 and Podkhyneychenko beat No. 5 seed Chloe Anthony 6-2, 6-3.

No. 3 seeds Lucy Jiang and Summer Yang won the girls 12s doubles title, beating No. 9 seeds Grace Malhotra and Ayenzavia Calugay 6-0, 7-6(5).

The only unseeded finalist is Nathan Lee, who advanced to the championship match in the boys 14s with a 6-3, 6-0 win over No. 9 seed Andy Wu. Lee has yet to drop a set this week after losing in the first round at the IMG Academy International tournament and the Junior Orange Bowl. Lee will play No. 3 seed Andres Quijada, who outlasted No. 2 seed Jiarui Zhang 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 to prevent a rematch of the 2024 Easter Bowl 12s final.

No. 6 seed Oleana Zerres will go for the sweep in the girls 14s Sunday when she faces No. 9 seed Eugenia Alvarez. Zerres defeated No. 5 seed Reese Ellingson 6-4, 6-3, while Alvarez beat No. 17 seed Charlotte Lim 6-2, 6-1. 

Zerres and Ava Chua, the No. 5 seeds, won the doubles title, beating No. 14 seeds Andrea Jakovljevic and Mia Sandblom 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

The ATP and WTA seasons are underway in Australia, with qualifying for the WTA 500 and the ATP 250 in Brisbane going on now, as well as the United Cup in its second day in Perth and Sydney. Taylor Fritz and Coco Gauff begin the United States' title defense against Argentina Saturday (tonight in the USA). Steve Tignor of tennis.com provides a preview of Day Two here.

Qualifying for the WTA 250 in Auckland New Zealand starts Saturday (tonight in the USA).