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American Entries in Australian Open, AO Junior Champions Jamrichova and Sakamoto Receive Qualifying Wild Cards; 2022 Wimbledon Girls Champion Hovde to Join Duke; Anna Frey's NIL Deals with Head and FILA

As usual, I'll be taking several days off for the Christmas holiday, before returning to follow the USTA Winter Nationals, which begin Saturday in Orlando (16s and 18s) and San Antonio (12s and 14s). But I wanted to post the Australian Open entry lists and a couple of other items before that brief vacation.

Last week the qualifying fields for the Australian Open were announced, two weeks after the main draw fields were released. Below is the list of Americans who will be in Melbourne next month, in the order of their selection.

Main Draw:

MEN: 

Taylor Fritz

Tommy Paul

Frances Tiafoe

Ben Shelton

Sebastian Korda

Reilly Opelka

Brandon Nakashima

Alex Michelsen

Marcos Giron

Jenson Brooksby(PR)

Nishesh Basavareddy (USTA reciprocal wild card)

WOMEN:

Coco Gauff

Jessica Pegula

Emma Navarro

Danielle Collins

Madison Keys

Amanda Anisimova

Peyton Stearns

Katie Volynets

Ashlyn Krueger

McCartney Kessler

Taylor Townsend

Caty McNally(PR)

Bernarda Pera

Sloane Stephens

Caroline Dolehide

Sofia Kenin

Hailey Baptiste

Ann Li

Iva Jovic (USTA reciprocal wild card)

2024 ITF World Junior champion Emerson Jones has been announced as a main draw wild card, as has Maya Joint.

Qualifying:

WOMEN:

Alycia Parks

Robin Montgomery

Claire Liu

Varvara Lepchenko

Louisa Chirico

Usue Arconada

Emina Bektas

Hanna Chang

Sachia Vickery

Initial cutoff 221

MEN:

Christopher Eubanks

Nicolas Moreno De Alboran

Aleksandar Kovacevic

Michael Mmoh

Learner Tien

Mackenzie McDonald

Tristan Boyer

Mitchell Krueger

Zachary Svajda

Brandon Holt

Ethan Quinn

Patrick Kypson

Emilio Nava

Eliot Spizzirri

Initial cutoff 232

Wild cards were awarded to juniors Hayden Jones and Cruz Hewitt, Lleyton Hewitt's 16-year-old son, as well as Pepperdine sophomore Edward Winter.

In an Australian Open tradition that I wish all other slams would emulate, 2024 Australian Open junior champions Renata Jamrichova(SVK) and Rei Sakamoto(JPN) received qualifying wild cards. Wimbledon usually does this, but Roland Garros and the US Open do not.

Parsa Nemati announced on X Saturday that 2022 Wimbledon girls champion Liv Hovde will be joining Duke for the upcoming spring team season. Rumors had been circulating for several months that after two plus years as a pro the 19-year-old was interested in college tennis, but having signed with an agent after her Wimbledon title made eligibility a major question, which apparently was answered to Duke's satisfaction. Texas A&M, Oklahoma State and Duke on her short list, according to what I heard at Orange Bowl.

Last month 17-year-old Anna Frey, the social media influencer and blue chip prospect, was featured in this Forbes article about her NIL deals with Head and FILA. Frey, who has 2 million TikTok and 750,000 Instagram followers, is a high school junior. 

“I’m so excited to partner with HEAD,” said Anna Frey. “I love their commitment to the sport and to helping athletes reach their full potential. I’m excited to share this journey with you all and continue to encourage young people to pick up a racquet and get out on the court.”

Frey is also the newest brand ambassador for FILA, representing their innovative CASA FILA collection. She will showcase the line both on and off the court, wearing it during her matches and in her daily life to highlight its versatility as performance sportswear and lifestyle fashion.

Fonseca Defeats Tien for Next Gen ATP Finals Title; Oktiabreva, Gea, Nugroho, Tjen, Henning Win ITF WTT Titles; ITF J300 Bradenton Finals Videos

Joao Fonseca put himself in elite company today in the championship match at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah Saudi Arabia, defeating Learner Tien 2-4, 4-3(8), 4-0, 4-2 to become the third 18-year-old claim the title, joining Jannik Sinner(2019) and Carlos Alcaraz(2021).

The Brazilian, the youngest player in the eight-player field, defeated Tien, the second youngest, for the third time in the last 16 months and the second time this week, having won their US Open junior final in 2023 and their round robin meeting on Thursday.

Tien, the two-time Kalamazoo 18s champion, got off to a much better start than in their Thursday meeting, in which he lost the first eight games, but Fonseca won the pivotal tiebreaker, with Tien saving four set points from 3-6 and 6-7, but he was unable to convert his set point at 8-7 and Fonesca evened the match. Fonseca took control early in the third, with Tien throwing in the bulk of his unforced errors in the match during that set. Fonseca was holding much easier--he didn't face any break points in the final two sets--and that proved enough as he got the key break on a deciding point with Tien serving at 2-all and served out the title.

Fonseca, who had committed to Virginia for this fall before deciding to turn pro after a run to the quarterfinals at February's ATP event in Rio, went undefeated this week and took home a record $526,480.00, while Tien earned $336,820.00. 

For more on the final, with quotes from both players, see this article from the ATP.

Tien is scheduled to begin the 2025 season at the ATP 250 in Hong Kong, which starts with qualifying a week from today. He received his main draw entry via the ATP's Next Gen Accelerator program.

Because my December Aces column is always devoted to the champions of the major junior events in Florida that month, I am not able to feature some of the notable results by juniors and college players competing on the ITF men's and women's World Tennis Tour. Today there are five I want to highlight, four of whom won titles this weekend, the other back-to-back titles two weeks ago.

Sixteen-year-old Alisa Oktiabreva of Russia, who I saw at the 2023 Florida junior events (she won the doubles title at ITF J300 Bradenton, losing to Iva Jovic in singles there and Hannah Klugman the following week in Plantation), was out all of 2024, I presume with any injury, until she played a W15 event in Turkey the same week as the Orange Bowl. She lost in the quarterfinals, but this week, at another W15 in Turkey, she won the title as a wild card, beating  No. 2 seed Natalija Senic of Serbia 6-2, 1-0 ret. in todays' final. 

France's Arthur Gea, who Tien beat in the semifinals of the US Open Juniors in 2023, earned his second straight W15 title in Doha today, with the 19-year-old, seeded second, defeating qualifier Savriyan Danilov of Russia 6-4, 6-0 in the final. Gea, who has not had much Challenger-level success this fall, did not drop a set in his ten wins in Doha. 

Former collegians from Indonesia won the only two tournaments above the $15K level with former NC State standout Priska Nugroho, who left for the pro tour after her freshman year in 2022, won the W50 in India, her third and biggest title of the year. The 21-year-old, seeded eighth, defeated unseeded Thasaporn Naklo, the former Iowa State star from Thailand, 6-2, 7-6(3) in the final.  

Recent Pepperdine graduate Janice Tjen, who I will be featuring in my Aces due to her three titles this month, won the W35 in New Zealand and hasn't dropped a set in her 15 consecutive wins this month. The No. 7 seed this week, the 22-year-old All-American defeated No. 4 seed Hiromi Abe of Japan 6-2, 6-1 in the final. 

Phillip Henning, a 2023 Georgia graduate, won back-to-back titles at $15Ks in his home country of South Africa the first two weeks of December. The 24-year-old didn't drop a set in either event; the first week, as the No. 3 seed, he beat unseeded former Michigan Wolverine Nino Ehrenschneider of Germany 6-4, 6-1 in the final; last week as the No. 2 seed, Henning defeated top seed Kris van Wyck of South Africa 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

I have several weeks of work ahead to process the IMG Academy International videos and the Orange Bowl videos, but I did get the two ITF J300 Bradenton finals done today. The vantage point is not the best on the Stadium, with the stands quite far away from the action and the shadows a problem this time of year, but it does provide a better feel for the match when both players can be (usually) seen on the same point. 

Tien Beats Michelsen, Faces Fonseca for Next Gen ATP Finals Title Sunday; ITF Junior Year in Review; All 2024 UTR Pro Tennis Tour US Results

Learner Tien continued his breakout year today at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah, defeating friend and training partner Alex Michelsen in the semifinals 2-4, 4-2, 1-4, 4-0, 4-1 to advance to another meeting with Joao Fonseca of Brazil. Fonseca, who beat Tien 4-0, 4-0, 1-4, 4-2 in group play on Thursday, defeated Luca van Assche of France 4-2, 4-2, 4-1 in the other semifinal. Tien, who won seven games in a row after dropping the third set, is the first second player in Next Gen Finals history to beat the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the tournament, with his wins over Arthur Fils, Michelsen and Jakub Mensik, the latter recently named ATP Newcomer of the Year.  Fonseca is the No. 8 seed, with Tien seeded No. 5. 

For more on the semifinal between Tien and Michelsen, see this article from the ATP. A feature on Tien from Reem Abulleil of Arab News is here. Sunday's final is at noon Eastern, and can be viewed on Tennis Channel in the United States.

The ITF recently published its annual year in review on the Junior Circuit, which tracks the notable winning streaks, historic firsts, and many other highlights from this year.  Fourteen-year-old Jana Kovackova of the Czech Republic is prominently featured, winning the most titles--eight singles and nine doubles--since 1996, when Federico Browne of Argentina won 21. 

The ITF did not provide a post-Orange Bowl article this year, which is unusual, as they always provide a recap of the J500 tournaments, but I was there in Plantation and you can read my summary of the year's last major junior tournament at the Tennis Recruiting Network.

The ITF's year-end rankings have been published, and they do differ from the final combined rankings on December 16, with players removed who did not play enough junior events to qualify for the year-end list. These rankings are particularly important for the boys, with the Top 10, Top 20 and Top 30 spots determining who gets wild cards to ATP Challenger main draws, qualifying, and ITF events, respectively. The 2024 Accelerator program information for boys and girls can be found in this ITF article. The tables for 2025 can be found on pages 8 and 9 of the 2025 summary of ITF Junior Circuit rule changes.

Last year, Learner Tien did not make the year-end rankings despite his two junior slam finals in 2023; this year, two-time junior slam champion Renata Jamrichova of Slovakia, No. 4 in the combined rankings, is missing from the year-end rankings, as is Roland Garros girls finalist Laura Samson of the Czech Republic, No. 8 in the combined rankings.

The official announcement has not been released, but Australia's Emerson Jones and Norway's Nicolai Budkov Kjaer will be named ITF World Junior Champions for 2024. 

With no UTR Pro Tennis Tour tournaments in the United States until they restart at the end of this month, it's a good time for a post of all results from 2024.

UTR PTT United States Results 2024

MEN:

January 1 Long Beach CA
Karue Sell d. Strong Kirchheimer 6-1, 6-4

January 7 Winston Salem NC
Theodore Dean d. Filippo Moroni 6-3, 6-1

January 14 Bonita Springs FL
Mateusz Terczynski d. Nicholas Buitrago 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-3

January 15 Fort Worth TX
Lui Maxted d. Duncan Chan 7-6(4), 7-5

January 28 Boca Raton FL
Mikel Anderson d. Daniel Salazar 7-5, 7-6(6)

February 26 Boca Raton FL 

Noah Rubin d. Vito Tonejc 6-0, 6-0

March 4 Long Beach CA

Sema Pankin d. Alexey Nesterov 7-6(5), 7-5

March 24 Newport Beach CA

Miles Jones d. Thomas Brown 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(2)

April 15 San Antonio TX

Trey Hilderbrand d. Osgar O'Hoisin 6-4, 6-4

April 28 Boca Raton FL

Alex Kuperstein d. Dian Nedev 7-5, 6-4

May 20 Newport Beach CA

Lui Maxted d. Duncan Chan 5-7, 6-2, 6-2

June 10 Charleston SC

Landon Ardila d. Lucas Brown 7-5, 6-3

July 8 Manchester CT

Adit Sinha d. Nathan Mao 7-6(5), 6-4

July 29 Boca Raton FL

Jack McCarthy d. Felipe Pinzon 6-7(5), 7-6(4), 6-4

August 11 Waco TX

Tadeas Paroulek d. Togan Tokac 6-1, 7-5

August 19 Boise ID

Sekou Bangoura d. Sean Hill 6-4, 6-1

August 26 South Bend IN

Chad Kissell d. Mitchell Sheldon 6-4, 6-3

September 1 Knoxville TN

Shunsuke Mitsui d. Zeke Clark 7-6(1), 6-2

September 15 Tallahassee FL

Viktor Markov d. Erik Schiessl 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(3)

September 16 Newport Beach CA

Maciej Rajski d. Andy Nguyen 6-4, 6-1

September 29 Boca Raton FL

Justin Roberts d. Jordan Reznik 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-4

October 14 Newport Beach CA

Oliver Tarvet d. Maciej Rajski 6-2, 6-2

October 27 Fayetteville AR

Yassine Dlimi d. Mehdi Benchakroun 6-3, 3-6, 6-2

November 3 Boca Raton FL

Hugo Car d. Daniel Milavsky 1-6, 6-2, 6-4

November 11 Malibu CA

Peter Makk d. Giles Hussey 7-5, 6-3

November 18 Fort Worth TX

Luc Koenig d. Louis Bowden 6-2, 3-6, 6-3

December 1 Winston-Salem NC

DK Suresh d. Luca Pow 7-6(2), 7-6(4)

WOMEN:

December 31 Boca Raton FL

Akasha Urhobo d. Carol Lee 4-6, 6-3, 6-2

January 8 Long Beach CA

Brandy Walker d. Elina Nepliy 6-2, 6-7(1), 6-2

January 21 Atlanta GA

Elizabeth Ionescu d. Ariana Pursoo 4-6, 6-4 3-0, ret.

February 11 Boca Raton FL

Maria Kozyreva d. Cadence Brace, walkover

February 26 Long Beach CA

Christina Lyutova d. Ava Markham 6-3, 6-1

March 10 Boca Raton FL

Mia Horvit d. Malkia Ngounoue 6-4, 6-1

April 1 Newport Beach CA

Megan McCray d. Kayla Chung 7-6(1), 6-4

April 15 San Antonio TX

Victoria Rodriguez d. Ana Sofia Sanchez 6-1, 6-3

April 21 Boca Raton FL

Malkia Ngounoue d. Jada Robinson 6-1, 5-7, 6-4

May 13 Newport Beach CA

Ashley Kratzer d. Carolyn Campana 6-2, 6-4

June 10 Charleston SC

Piper Charney d. Kaitlyn Carnicella 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-3

July 1 Manchester CT

Amy Zhu d. Ariana Pursoo 6-3, 6-3

July 15 Long Beach CA

Emma Charney d. Anne Christine Lukemeyer 6-3, 6-3

August 4 Boca Raton FL

Katherine Hui d. Zoe Hammond 6-1, 6-0

August 19 Boise ID

Elise Wagle d. Neena Feldman 6-7(5), 7-6(3), 6-2

September 1 Knoxville TN

Iryna Shymanovich d. Catherine Aulia 2-6, 6-1, 6-3

September 8 Lawrence KS

Iryna Shymanovich d. Camille Kiss 6-1, 6-2

October 7 Newport Beach CA

Kylie Mckenzie d. Veronika Miroshnichenko 6-3, 6-4

October 20 Fayetteville AR

Caroline Driscoll d. Katarina Pavlechova 7-5, 3-6, 6-4

November 3 Boca Raton FL

Harper Stone d. Zaire Clarke 6-3, 6-2

December 1 Winston-Salem NC

Carolyn Ansari d. Nevena Carton 6-1, 7-5

December 8 Boca Raton FL

Thaisa Pedretti d. Alicia Herrero Linana 6-4, 6-4

December 8 Newport Beach CA

Veronika Miroshnichenko d. Brandy Walker 6-4, 3-6, 6-1

My Orange Bowl ITF J500 Recap; Tien Beats Fils, Meets Friend Michelsen in Semifinals at Next Gen ATP Finals; Pepperdine Women Name Interim Coach; ATP Announces $1.3 Million in Player Subsidies in New Program

My last recap of the year is out today at the Tennis Recruiting Network, as I review the ITF J500 Orange Bowl Championships. Andres Santamarta Roig joined Jordan Lee in winning the Florida Sunshine Double, the first time in the history that both 16s and 18s champions won both the IMG Academy/Eddie and the Orange Bowl titles in the same year. Tereza Krejcova came close to claiming both, reaching the final at the ITF J300 in Bradenton before flirting with disaster before coming through in a third-set tiebreaker at the Orange Bowl. 

Those of you who followed my daily coverage may not learn much from these recaps, but I find them very important to write, as I can look back on the week with a perspective that isn't always possible in the daily reports. They also serve as a historical record, which I reference each year a week or two before the tournament, to refresh my memory. 

With the Junior Orange Bowl finishing early this year and the USTA Winter Nationals still more than a week away, there isn't any junior tennis going on right now, which has given me an opportunity to follow the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah Saudi Arabia more than I have in previous years. The tournament, which began in 2017, was moved much later on the calendar this year than in previous editions, and the fact that three Americans, all of whom I've covered in the past two years on the USTA and ITF Junior Circuit (and in college), were in the eight-player field piqued my interest.

Two of them, 20-year-old Alex Michelsen and 19-year-old Learner Tien, will play in the semifinals, with the good friends and training partners meeting for the first time as professionals Saturday. They faced off in the quarterfinals of the ITF J300 Easter Bowl in 2022, with Michelsen winning that contest 6-4 ,7-5 after Tien had won the San Diego J300 (then J1) the week before. Michelsen went on to beat Nishesh Basavareddy 6-2, 6-3 in the final.

Michelsen, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, finished 3-0 in the red group, having a short day when Jerry Shang retired trailing 4-1, 1-1.  Tien, the No. 5 seed, avenged his four-set US Open loss to top seed Arthur Fils of France with a 4-2, 4-2, 3-4(4), 4-3(5) upset. After getting blitzed by an on-fore Joao Fonseca of Brazil in the first two sets in his round robin loss Thursday, the two-time Kalamazoo champion came out much more aggressive against Fils and sustained that level throughout the match. 

The eighth-seeded Fonseca, who beat No. 3 seed Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic in five tiebreakers 3-4(4), 4-3(8), 4-3(5), 3-4(4), 4-3(5) to go undefeated in the blue group, will face Luca van Assche of France, the No. 6 seed, who beat No. 7 seed Nishesh Basavareddy 3-4(2), 4-3(7), 4-2, 4-2 to make the semifinals of the event for the second year in a row.

The ATP's preview of the Michelsen-Tien semifinal here.

After Pepperdine's Per Nilsson was named women's head coach at Florida at the end of October, Pepperdine men's head coach Adam Schaechterle has been guiding the women's program while a replacement was found. The Waves didn't look far, with men's associate head coach Tassilo Schmid named interim women's coach for the upcoming dual match season in a release today. Schaechterle was also named Director of Tennis in the announcement.

The ATP announced the results of its new income guarantee Baseline program for Challenger-level players, installed this year. Twenty-six players received a total of $1.3 million dollars in an initiative designed to assist those outside the Top 100 in achieving some financial stability as they work their way up the rankings.  For more details on the three "pillars" of the program, and the plans for enhancing it for 2025, see this recent article from the ATP. 

My Orange Bowl 16s Recap; Michelsen Secures Semifinal Berth at Next Gen ATP Finals, Basavareddy and Tien Can Join Him with Wins Friday; Tennis Europe Names Junior Players of the Year; Brooksby Reveals Autism Diagnosis

Fourteen-year-old Jordan Lee has put together an outstanding year in 2024 and he closed it with 12 consecutive straight-sets victories to capture the 16s titles at the IMG Academy International Tennis Championships in Bradenton and the Orange Bowl in Plantation. Fifteen-year-old Xiaotong (Bella) Wang of China lost in the first round at IMG, to eventual champion Hanne Estrada of Mexico, but rolled through the draw at the Orange Bowl the following week. My recap of the Orange Bowl 16s tournament is available today at the Tennis Recruiting Network.

Americans went 2-1 in group play today at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah Saudia Arabia, with 20-year-old Alex Michelsen, who went winless in last year's event, earning a place in the semifinals with one more match remaining in group play. Michelsen, who had beaten 19-year-old Nishesh Basavareddy in the red group yesterday, defeated Luca van Assche of France 1-4, 4-2, 4-3(6), 4-3(5), while Basavareddy defeated Jerry Shang of China 3-4(4), 4-2, 4-2, 4-1. Basavareddy will face van Assche Friday, with the winner advancing to the semifinals along with Michelsen.

In the blue group, 18-year-old Joao Fonseca of Brazil, the youngest player in the field, advanced to the semifinals with a 4-0, 4-0, 1-4, 4-2 win over Learner Tien. Arthur Fils of France defeated Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic 4-2, 4-3(4), 4-2, eliminating Mensik. Fils and Tien will play for the second time this year (US Open main draw round 1) with the winner advancing to the semifinals. 

All matches are available on Tennis Channel.

Tennis Europe has announced its Junior Tour Players of the Year for 2024 in the 14s and 16s age divisions, with a team award for the 12s.

Jana Kovackova, who is No. 16 in the ITF junior rankings, didn't win Les Petits As or the European Championships, but she posted two Super Category titles in 14s, the Wimbledon 14U event, despite spending much of her time competing on the ITF Junior Circuit, not in Tennis Europe events.

The boys 14s Player of the Year is Scott Watson of Great Britain, who won the year-end Junior Masters and was runner-up at the European Championships.

The girls 16s Player of the Year is Tea Kovacevic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who played the 14s in the recently completed IMG Academy International and Junior Orange Bowl tournament. Kovacevic lost to Daniel Baranes of Israel in both events: the final in Bradenton and the round of 16 in Coral Gables.

The boys 16s Player of the Year is Goncalo Da Rosa Castro of Portugal, who won two Category 2 titles. I would have expected the award to go to Yannick Alexandrescou of Romania, the European 16s champion, who played No. 1 singles for the Junior Davis Cup finalists.

There were also awards for Overseas Player of the Year, Doubles Team of the Year and National Team of the Year. 

Jenson Brooksby, out for two years due to injuries and a suspension related to missing drug tests, is back training, participating in the USTA's preseason in Lake Nona. The 2018 Kalamazoo 18s champion spoke with Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press last week about living with autism, a diagnosis he first received as a toddler. Although he is now "on the very mild end of the spectrum" according to Michelle Wagner, a behavior analyst specializing in autism, she said he was a "severe" case when she first began working with him as a child. Brooksby explained why he decided to reveal this now, as he prepares to return to tennis competition in Australia next year. 

“I just want people to know me for who I am fully, and that’s just another part of me,” Brooksby said. “I’ve had a lot of time out of playing and a lot of thinking I’ve had to do.”

The AP article is here.