San Diego Champion Frodin Vows to Learn from US Open Loss; Fritz Beats Blanch; Collegiate Wild Card Brantmeier Drops First Round Match on Rain Marred Tuesday; Top Seeds Fall at Repentigny J300

After Thea Frodin won the USTA National 18s title last month in San Diego she was asked if she would rather face a qualifier on an outside court or a seed on Ashe at the US Open and she replied: "I'm going with seeded player on Arthur Ashe. I want it all. Bring it on!"

When she was drawn to play WTA No. 2 and reigning Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan, ten years her senior, that scenario was a possibility. Rather than Ashe, however, their match was played on the Grandstand, and while Frodin showed flashes of her San Diego form, Rybakina won comfortably, 6-3, 6-2.

Frodin made her biggest impression when the match was all but over, serving at 1-5, 15-40 in the second set. Frodin hit five aces in the game, saving all three match points she faced, and ended the match with 11 aces to six for Rybakina, who is often cited as having the most dominant serve in women's tennis, Frodin only got 44 percent of her first serves in however, and was at a disadvantage in the rallies.

The 17-year-old from Southern California had come to New York with the irresistible story of being the tennis body double for a young Serena Williams in the 2021 move King Richard. (For more details on her experience during filming, see this article from the USTA Southern California website.) So, despite her loss today, she did get the main interview room for her press conference, which is extremely rare for a junior, and unheard of for one who lost her first round match.  But it gave her an opportunity to express how she viewed facing such a daunting opponent.

"Yeah, I mean, obviously I had a tough first round. Rybakina is a great player. I tried going out there to see what it would be like just to, I guess, feel no pressure, just go out there and have a fun time. I feel like that's what I accomplished, and obviously I have a lot to learn, but I'm excited with most of the things I did out there. Yeah, I'm excited to, I guess, experience this more times, hopefully."

When asked if she was considering college tennis as an option she said:

"Yeah, I mean, I think I'm trying to just finish high school, see where the rest of this year takes me. I'm not rushing into kind of making a decision with all that. I would say my answer to that is just I'm taking this year and next year to finish high school and then see where I am then."

Frodin will turn 18 this December, but with the new five-in-five NCAA eligibility there is little urgency to make that decision now.

She also confirmed that she is planning to play the US Open Junior Championships, which begin Sunday.

Last year's Kalamazoo 18s champion Darwin Blanch, who received a main draw wild card again this year, did get the seed on Arthur Ashe that Frodin was hoping for. But against 2024 US Open finalist and No. 9 seed Taylor Fritz, Blanch's experience was similar, with Fritz coasting to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win. That match went on as scheduled because it was in Ashe, but rain was a problem throughout today, with seven men's first round matches moved to Wednesday after more rain in the evening. Another shower after 9:30 p.m. postponed seven more matches that were in progress, including Iva Jovic's match.

USTA Collegiate Playoff winner Reese Brantmeier, who finished her illustrious career at North Carolina in May, did play outside this afternoon without disruption, but she too was unable to take a set, losing to Oleksandra Oliynykova of Ukraine 6-4, 6-4.

Brantmeier, who received a women's doubles wild card with Savannah Broadus(Pepperdine) and will face top seeds Taylor Townsend and Katarina Siniakova in the first round, was not happy with her execution today, as she told Michael Lewis after the match.

"Yeah, obviously she plays a little bit of an unconventional style, so that's a challenge in itself. That's not kind of the way that you practice often, but I did know that going in, and I definitely think I had my opportunities. But that is kind of what these early stages of my pro career are for, is getting those chances and getting comfortable at that level.

 
So, obviously disappointed with how I executed in a lot of those moments today. Obviously I would have loved to make a run in my first appearance here. But like, it's not necessarily the expectation. So I'm just trying to take away the learning opportunities from it."

No NCAA women's wild card recipient has won a match at the US Open since Bea Bielik of Wake Forest reached the third round in 2002.

Tuesday's US Open first round results of Americans:

Madison Keys[22] d. Alina Korneeva(RUS) 7-5, 6-4
Coco Gauff[4] d. Zeynep Sonmez(TUR) 6-3, 6-4
Alexandra Eala[17](PHI) d. Mary Stoiana[Q] 6-1, 6-2
Elena Rybakina[2](KAZ) d. Thea Frodin[WC] 6-3, 6-2
Iva Jovic[14] v Magdalena Frech(POL) 4-4, postponed until Wednesday
Maria Sakkari[32](GRE) d. Robin Montgomery[Q] 2-6, 7-5, 6-2
Oleksandra Oliynykova(UKR) d. Reese Brantmeier[WC] 6-4, 6-4

Taylor Fritz[9] d. Darwin Blanch[WC] 6-3, 6-2, 6-4

Tristan Schoolkate[Q](AUS) d. Nishesh Basavareddy[Q] 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-3, 6-4

Michael Zheng[WC] v Fabian Marozsan(HUN) (moved to Wednesday)

Zachary Svajda v Daniel Altmaier(GER)(moved to Wednesday)

Marcos Giron v Ignacio Buse[32](PER)(moved to Wednesdsay)

Wednesday's US Open second/first round matches featuring Americans:

Sebastian Gorzny[WC] v Daniil Medvedev[7](RUS)

Frances Tiafoe[11] v Rei Sakamoto[Q](JPN)

Ben Shelton[8] v Hubert Hurkacz(POL)

Brandon Nakashima[16] v Alex Michelsen

Tommy Paul[20] v Dino Prizmic(CRO)

Michael Zheng[WC] v Fabian Marozsan(HUN) (moved from Tuesday)

Zachary Svajda v Daniel Altmaier(GER)(moved from Tuesday)

Marcos Giron v Ignacio Buse[32](PER)(moved from Tuesday)

Jessica Pegula[3] v Sofia Kenin[WC]

Sloane Stephens[WC] v Marta Kostyuk[11](UKR)

Emma Navarro[26] v Caty McNally

Ann Li[29] v Donna Vekic(CRO)

Taylor Townsend v Taylah Preston[WC](AUS)

Iva Jovic[14] v Magdalena Frech(POL) 4-4, postponed from Tuesday

Both top seeds lost in today's third round at the J300 in Repentigny Canada. No. 14 seed Valentin Gonzalez-Galino of Spain defeated No. 1 seed Leonardo Storck Franco of Brazil 6-3, 6-1 and unseeded Masa Jankovic of Serbia beat Australian Open girls champion Ksenia Efremova of France 6-4, 7-6(9).

No. 16 seed Nancy Lee, who reached the quarterfinals yesterday, and unseeded Marcel Latak, who beat No. 16 seed Rihards Neimanis of Latvia 7-5, 7-6(2) today, are the only two Americans left in singles.

Latak and Spain's Tito Chavez, the No. 7 seeds, are through to the boys doubles semifinals, and unseeded Camille Allegre and Canada's Andrea Cabio are through to the girls doubles semifinals.

Kalamazoo Champion Kennedy Falls in US Open Main Draw Debut; Challenger Titles for Mayo and Volynets; Nakashima Wins M15 Champaign; Stolarczyk and Latak Oust No. 2 and No. 4 Seeds at J300 in Canada

The US Open kicked off today with 14 Americans in action, but rain this evening kept the schedule from being completed.

Kalamazoo 18s champion Jack Kennedy lost to qualifier Lloyd Harris of South Africa, and Michael Lewis was on the scene to file the article below for Zootennis.

Special to Zootennis.com

by Michael J. Lewis

NEW YORK – Jack Kennedy had played pro matches at the U.S. Open twice before he took to Court 12 on Sunday.

But he admitted things felt different this time. For the first time in his life, the 18-year-old from nearby Huntington, N.Y. on Long Island was in the main draw of the men’s singles.

As happened the last two years, hundreds of locals were in full-throated support of Kennedy, but veteran Lloyd Harris of South Africa proved to be too tough.

After a close first set, Harris used his bigger serve and much-greater experience to pull away from Kennedy and grab a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win.

“The butterflies were there more than before, especially right after the warmup this morning,” Kennedy said. “Walking back into the locker room, and thinking about what was going to happen, it did feel a little different.”

The 18-year-old Kennedy, who earned the wild card by winning Kalamazoo earlier this month, broke serve early but was broken right back by Harris, and Kennedy was chasing the match the rest of the way.

Harris won 79 percent of his first-serve points, compared to only 59 percent for Kennedy, and the South African smacked 31 winners to just 15 for Kennedy.

“He did a really good job serving; he mixed them up a lot, and, you know, he was very accurate with the serves, and he was kind of putting them on lines,” Kennedy said. “I didn't get that many chances to put returns in, but, you know, he did just a great job and I think I could have done a better job kind of neutralizing some points here and there.

Harris had nothing but kind words for his young opponent after the match.

“He has a lot of positive things in his game,” Harris said. “He’s very aggressive, really goes after the ball. I felt like I could play the important points a little bit better. I had the edge on the serve, but he’s got a lot of potential, and a lot of upside.”

Kennedy reiterated he will be playing in the U.S. Open Juniors Tournament starting on Sept. 6, both in singles and doubles, as he and partner Keaton Hance look to defend their U.S. Open doubles crown won last year.

Greg Lumpkin, Kennedy’s longtime coach at Robbie Wagner Tournament Training in Glen Head, N.Y., said the match got a little bit away from Kennedy when he tried to do too much after falling behind.

“He was trying to force the issue and pressure (Harris) a little bit, which is understandable in the second and third sets,” Lumpkin said. “I think Jack learned a little bit about himself today. Now we’ll get ready for the next one."

That “next one” was expected to be at the University of Virginia, as Kennedy was previously expected to enroll at the school in Charlottesville this August.

But two weeks ago Kennedy announced that he would delay enrollment at UVA until January, so he could collect the $140,000 main draw U.S. Open first round paycheck, and continue to play pro tournaments throughout the fall.

Cavaliers head coach Andres Pedroso, who was in attendance on Court 12 for the match Sunday, said he fully supported his standout freshman’s decision to wait a few months before heading to school and joining the reigning NCAA champs.

“I think it was always in the back of his mind, he wants to be a pro tennis player and he’s earned the right to continue testing the waters on the pro tour,” Pedroso said. “We’re 100 percent behind him and we’ve got his back, and I thought it was a great decision he made.”

Pedroso was asked what he thinks Kennedy can improve on to get him ready to play at the high-major Division I level.

“It usually comes down to maturity and understanding their games, and being a little more calm and a little more clear out there,” Pedroso said. “Jack has a lot of game and has shown he can play with anyone in the world. For him it’s just understanding his game, and showing he can do it over and over again, regardless of the atmosphere or the moment. And that takes a little time.”

Kennedy spoke more about his decision to delay his enrollment after the match.

“Ultimately I just decided with the chances that I have with these wild cards from the Next-Gen accelerator program, it's a good chance to prove my level,” Kennedy said. “Who knows where I’ll end up in these next couple of months, but I just want to give myself the best chance possible, maybe with a chance to make the NextGen Finals.”

Kennedy currently sits 19th in the ATP Next Gen Finals race; the Top 8 finishers (open to players 20 and under) compete in the Finals, at a site and date still to be determined.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Sebastian Gorzny(TCU, Texas), the USTA's Collegiate Wild Card Playoff champion, was on serve with Raphael Collignon of Belgium at 3-6, 6-3, 4-3* when rain suspended play.

Sunday's US Open First Round Results of Americans:

Jessica Pegula[3] d. Elena-Gabriela Ruse(ROU) 6-3, 6-2

Sofia Kenin[WC] d. Venus Williams[WC] 6-2, 7-6(6)

Katie Boulter(GBR) d. Carol Lee[WC] 6-4, 3-6, 6-0

Emma Navarro[26] v Lois Boisson(FRA) 7-6(6), 4-2 (postponed until Monday)

Ekaterina Alexandrova[18](RUS) d. McCartney Kessler 6-2, 6-2

Lanlana Tararudee(THA) d. Elvina Kalieva[Q] 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-2

Taylah Preston[WC](AUS) d. Alycia Parks 6-3, 6-3 

Alexander Bublik[15](KAZ) d. JJ Wolf[WC] 6-4, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 

Sebastian Gorzny[WC] v Raphael Collignon(BEL) 3-6, 6-3, 3-4 (postponed until Monday)

Alex Michelsen v Federico Cina[Q](ITA) 6-4, 1-1 (postponed until Monday)

Tommy Paul[20] d. Coleman Wong[Q] 6-7(3), 6-1, 6-3, 6-3

Lloyd Harris[Q](RSA) d. Jack Kennedy[WC] 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 

Jaime Faria(POR) d. Jenson Brooksby 6-3, 7-6(4), 4-6, 1-6, 6-2

Monday's US Open first round matches featuring Americans;

Ben Shelton[8] v Tallon Griekspoor(NED)

Martin Damm v Frances Tiafoe[11]

Aleks Kovacevic v Valentin Vacherot[22](MON)

Brandon Nakashima[16] v Sebastian Baez(ARG)

Learner Tien[14] v Nuno Borges(POR)

Ashlyn Krueger v Amanda Anismova[10]

Taylor Townsend v Maja Chawalinska[20](POL)

Caty McNally v Anouk Koevermans[Q](NED)

Katie Volynets v Linda Noskova[6](CZE)

Peyton Stearns v Harriet Dart[Q](GBR)

Ann Li[29] v Antonia Ruzic(CRO)

Sloane Stephens[WC] v Clara Tauson(DEN)

Volynets prepared for the US Open at the new WTA 125 tournament in Philadephia, taking the title, her second at that level in five appearances in the final. The 2019 National 18s champion, seeded sixth, defeated No. 3 seed Tereza Valentova of Czechia 6-3, 7-5 in the final.

Aidan Mayo won his second career Challenger title yesterday in Jamaica after getting into the main draw of the 75 level Kingston Open 2 as a lucky loser. The 23-year-old defeated No. 2 seed Andy Andrade(Florida) of Ecuador 6-3, 7-6(7) in the final.

In the only USTA Pro Circuit tournament this week, Bryce Nakashiima, No. 16 US Open seed Brandon's younger brother, won his second M15 title of his career this summer in Champaign Illinois. The Ohio State senior, seeded No. 5, defeated qualifier Jakub Vrba(Arkansas) of Czechia 6-2, 7-6(6) in the final. Nakashima, who didn't drop a set all week, beat teammates Jack Anthrop[3] and Preston Stearns[Q] in the quarterfinals and semifinals.

Three former collegiate standouts from the United States won W15 titles today on the World Tennis women's circuit.

No. 7 seed Sofia Rojas(Oklahoma State, Georgia) defeated top seed Alexandra Vagramov(UCLA) of Canada 6-1, 6-1 in the semifinals and unseeded Riko Kikawada of Japan 6-3, 6-1 for her third W15 title, all coming in Monastir Tunisia. 

At the W15 in Torello Spain, recent UCLA graduate Anne-Christine Lutkemeyer won her first pro title, with the 22-year-old Southern Californian, seeded seventh, beating top seed Katarina Kuzmova of Slovakia 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) in the semifinals and No. 6 seed Celia Cervino Ruiz of Spain 4-6, 6-0, 6-4.

And former Pepperdine All-American Ashley Lahey, seeded No. 8, defeated No. 5 seed Ilinca Amariei(Texas A&M) of Romania 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 in the final to capture her third World Tennis women's singles title in the W15 in Romania.

The seeds at the J300 were in action for the first time today at the J300 in Repentigny Canada, and the last two Kalamazoo 16s champions ousted two of them today. 2025 Kalamazoo 16s champion Marcel Latak defeated No. 4 seed Hyu Kawanishi of Japan 6-4, 7-6(2), and 2026 Kalamazoo 16s champion Kamil Stolarczyk beat No. 2 seed Raffaele Ciurnelli of Italy 6-2, 6-1.

College Park J300 champion Felix Roussel won his first round match today over lucky loser Sulaiman Syed 6-0, 6-3, but he is still a match behind the rest of the draw.

Secord and Hazelitt Win US Open Qualifying Wild Card Playoffs, Join Seven US Teens In Qualifying; Few Seeded Americans at College Park J300, Colombo Beats Top Seed to Qualify; Gauff Wins Cincinnati Open

©Colette Lewis 2026--
College Park MD--

Men's and women's qualifying begins Monday at the US Open, with two US juniors joining five of their counterparts in the draw after winning two matches today in the new qualifying wild card playoff.

Sixteen-year-old Jordyn Hazelitt defeated Shannon Lam 6-2, 7-6(2) in the first match and Melije Clarke 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 to earn her wild card into women's qualifying. 

She joins 17-year-old Julieta Pareja and 16-year-olds Janae Preston, Kristina Penickova and Annika Penickova in the draw.

Seventeen-year-old Jack Secord, a semifinalist in Kalamazoo last week, defeated Ozan Baris(Michigan State) 3-6, 6-2, 11-9 and Dali Blanch 6-4, 6-2 to win the men's qualifying wild card playoff, joining 17-year-old Andy Johnson and 16-year-olds Jordan Lee and Michael Antonius in the draw.

Only two of the seven US juniors will be in action Monday: Pareja faces No. 9 seed Kayla Day and Lee plays Mark Lajal of Estonia, both at 11 a.m.

The full qualifying schedule is here.

The mixed doubles qualifying also begins Monday.

With the qualifying at the World Tennis J300 College Park now complete, with two rounds played today at the Junior Tennis Champions Center, the draws have been released. Below are the seeds, wild cards and qualifiers. Jordyn Hazelitt was a late withdrawal, due to winning the women's qualifying playoff (Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann, who lost to Clarke in the first round this morning did make the trip from New York and will play here tomorrow. Scarlett Fagan is the lucky loser in for Hazelitt. 

There are only four Americans seeded, in total, primarily because so many are in qualifying in New York.

The seeds do not play until Tuesday, but all those who won two matches today to advance to the main draw are on Monday's schedule.

College Park J300 seeds
Boys
1. Vincent Reisach(GER)
2. Yannik Alvarex(PUR)
3. Arnav Paparkar(IND)
4. Dan Brand(ISR)
5. Ryan Cozad(USA)
6. Emilio Camacho(ECU)
7. Tanishk Konduri(USA)
8. Conner Doig(RSA)
9. Pedro Henrique Chabalgoity(BRA)
10. Vihaan Reddy(USA)
11. Kirill Filaretov(RUS)
12. Savva Rybkin(RUS)
13. Juan Miguel Bolivar Idarraga(COL)
14. Ntungamili Raguin(BOT)
15. Safir Azam(USA)
16. Benjamin Azar(CAN)

Wild cards: (all USA)

Mason Vaughan

Kamil Stolarczyk

Nicolas Pedraza

Erik Schinnerer

Jerrid Gains Jr

Joseph Lee

Qualifiers: (USA unless noted)

Kayden Colombo

Antoine Genereux(CAN)

Antoine Clavel(CAN)

Kahven Singh

Charles Minvielle

Tomas Laukys

Girls

1. Ksenia Efremova(FRA)

2. Anna Pushkareva(RUS)

3. Mariia Makarova(RUS)

4. Sol Ailin Larraya Guidi(ARG)

5. Paola Pinera Celorio(ESP)

6. Felitsata Dorofeeva-Rybas(RUS)

7. Maaya Rajeshwaran Revathi(IND)

8. Yihan Qu(CHN)

9. Yushan Shao(CHN)

10. Yu Jun Lin(CHN)

11. Maia Ilinca Burcescu(ROU)

12. Maria Valentina Pop(ROU)

13. Renee Alame(AUS)

14. Antonina Sushkova(UKR)

15. Yu-Chen Lin(TPE)

16. Olivia Traynor(USA)

Wild cards (all USA):

Shristi Selvan

Camille Allegre

Reiley Rhodes

Priscilla Sirichantho

Sadira Ouyang

Aarini Bhattacharya

Qualifiers (USA unless noted):

Thara Gowda

Carlota Moreno

Brooke Wallman

Clemence Mercier(CAN)

Sera Park(KOR)

Rose Biria

WT junior No. 120 Thara Gowda, the top seed in the girls qualifying, trailed 6-2 in the match tiebreaker in her second round match with Anastasia Pleskun, but won eight of the next 10 points to move on to the final round of qualifying, where she defeated Sena Yoon 6-4, 6-0.

Kai Thompson of Hong Kong, the top seed in the boys qualifying, wasn't as fortunate, falling to Kayden Colombo 6-2, 6-2 in the final round after escaping with a 6-3, 4-6, 10-6 win in the second round over Dhakshish Aryan Basavaraju. Thompson, No. 34 in the WT junior rankings was automatically withdrawn from the junior event when he received entry into an M15, so his only route to compete in College Park was as a wild card in qualifying, but Colombo's big serve and powerful ground strokes were too much for him this afternoon.

"I've been working on my serve and kind of made a few changes," said the 6-foot-5 17-year-old from Marietta Georgia, who is training at the USTA Campus in Lake Nona with National Coach Troy Hahn. "I liked how I hit the serve today. He's a great player, his level is definitely there for the main draw, but I played pretty good today."

Colombo said he has not had his serve clocked, but estimates it could be "in the 130 range maybe." When that shot is clicking, he believes he can compete with anyone, and he is not ruling out a deep run in the main draw.

"I think I definitely have the game, I have what it takes to win this tournament," said Colombo, who admits his resemblance to Tommy Paul had been remarked on at the USTA National Campus. "It's not going to be easy, there is a ton of great players. But I'm going to go out there, compete, play the right way, look to come forward, serve and volley, play that big style of tennis that can hopefully translate to the pros one day. I'm ready to play anyone, anywhere, anytime. Let's go."

Colombo will face Oluwaseun Peter Ogunsakin of Nigeria in the first round Monday.

Live scoring is available (not point by point until matches are chaired) at iOnCourt.

At the Cincinnati Open today, Coco Gauff won her second WTA 1000 title in that city, beating Jessica Pegula 6-2, 6-4 in the final. The last time Gauff won Cincinnati, in 2023, she went on to win her first major at the US Open.

In the men's final, Arthur Fils of France won his first ATP Masters 1000 title, beating Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 1-6, 6-0. 

My Recap of Kalamazoo 18 Championships; College Park J300 Qualifying Begins Saturday; NCAA Wins Stay of Ruling Extending Eligibility; Nakashima Beats Fritz, Faces Tiafoe in Cincinnati Open Semifinal; Blanch Receives Winston-Salem and US Open Main Draw Wild Cards

The last two recaps of National Championships week at Tennis Recruiting Network were published today, with my article on the titles for Jack Kennedy in singles and Noah Johnston and Yannik Alvarez in doubles going up this morning, and Rhiannon Potkey's article on Thea Frodin and Bella Payne and Sara Shumate's titles in San Diego following this afternoon.

As I mentioned yesterday, because the 18s final lasted only three games, there will be no videos this year on my YouTube channel. There is a recording of what did transpire at the livestream page.

Michael J. Lewis (no relation) is a New York-based journalist who follows the local juniors, and he had plenty to write about this week, with the National titles for Kamil Stolarczyk, Kennedy and Gabby Villegas.

His Long Island Press article on Kennedy is here, and his article of 14s champion Villegas is here. Look for one on Stolarczyk next month.

I'll be covering the ITF J300 in College Park Maryland for the 12th year beginning on Sunday, but the qualifying will begin Saturday and is scheduled for six indoor courts at the Junior Tennis Champions Center due to expected rain. The 48-player draw for the boys is full; the girls has only two byes, and all eight of the seeds in both girls and boys draws are in the World Tennis Top 200. Kai Thompson of Hong Kong, No. 34 in the WT junior rankings, is the top seed in boys qualifying. Thara Gowda, a quarterfinalist at last week's USTA 18s Nationals in San Diego, is the top seed; she and Carlota Moreno have the first round byes.

There was an important ruling today in the NCAA's Wisne case, in which a Colorado judge approved a fifth year of eligibility for those who completed their eligibility in 2026 before the adoption of a five-for-five standard set to begin in 2027. This is not likely to be the end of the court battles, but the NCAA provided this statement on X after the ruling.

There is no other statement from the NCAA that I can find, but some college tennis rosters for this fall may look different than they did a week ago with this stay.

Brandon Nakashima and Frances Tiafoe will face off in Saturday's semifinals of the ATP Masters 1000 Cincinnati Open after No. 27 seed Nakashima, a finalist at the Montreal 1000 two weeks ago, defeated No. 6 seed Taylor Fritz 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-3 this afternoon, and No. 17 seed Frances Tiafoe beat No. 10 seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy 7-6(2), 7-5 tonight. The winner of that match will play the winner of Saturday's other semifinal between No. 7 seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy and No. 21 seed Arthur Fils of France in Sunday's final

Jessica Pegula[3] will face Iga Swiatek[7] of Poland in one of Saturday's semifinals; the winner of the Coco Gauff[4] and Marta Kostyuk[7] quarterfinal tonight will play Sara Bejlek of Czechia, who beat Madison Keys[20] 3-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) this afternoon.

2025 Kalamazoo 18s champion Darwin Blanch received a US Open main draw wild card according to today's USTA announcement; Martin Damm moved into the main draw on his own ranking after the withdrawals of Ethan Quinn(Georgia) and Canadian Gabriel Diallo(Kentucky), and Blanch was given Damm's previously announced wild card. There is still one men's main draw wild card to be announced.

Blanch also received a wild card into next week's Winston-Salem Open ATP 250, which he could not have used if he were playing in US Open qualifying. Damm also received a Winston-Salem wild card, as did Wimbledon boys finalist Cruz Hewitt, who will not be competing in New York.

Qualifying for Winston-Salem begins tomorrow, with Wake Forest's DK Suresh, Luca Pow and Mees Rottgering in the 16-player field, with Pow and US Open Collegiate playoff winner Sebastian Gorzny(TCU, Texas) receiving qualifying wild cards. TCU's rising junior Roger Pascual of Spain is also in the qualifying field. 

Ye, Hoo, Azam and Rusher Qualify for Roland Garros Junior Championships; Wang Reaches W15 Lakewood Semifinals; Ribbon Cutting for David Filer Courts in South Bend

Four Americans have reached the main draw after posting wins today at the Roland Garros Junior Championships qualifying. Sarah Ye saved three match points with No. 2 seed Maria Pop of Romania serving for the match at 5-4 in the third set, but the 16-year-old from New Jersey won the last three games of the match for a 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 victory that puts her in her first junior slam main draw.

Seventeen-year-Carrie-Anne Hoo, who made her junior slam debut this year in Australia, defeated No. 16 seed Fleur De Bresser of the Netherlands 6-4, 6-4 to reach the main draw.

Sixteen-year-old Safir Azam and 17-year-old Agassi Rusher will be making their junior slam main draw debuts, with No. 3 seed Azam beating Lucas Yunez of Ecuador 7-5, 6-3 and Rusher defeating No. 9 seed Maxi Carrascosa Diaz of Spain 7-5, 6-4.

The draws for the Roland Garros Junior Championships, which begin Sunday, will be out tomorrow.

Although 15-year-old Allison Wang has yet to break into the ITF Junior Top 100, the Northern Californian is poised to have a Pro Circuit breakout during the next seven weeks of the SoCal Pro Series. Wang, who qualified for the W15 event this week in Lakewood California, is through to the semifinals of what is just her second pro event, beating No. 4 seed Kailey Evans(Texas Tech, San Diego) 6-0, 6-0 in 68 minutes today. Next up for Wang is No. 5 seed Anne Christine Lutkemeyer, the recent UCLA graduate, who beat No. 2 seed Dasha Plekhanova of Canada 6-7(8), 6-1, 6-4 in 3 hours and 19 minutes.

Lutkemeyer's teammate, top seed Mayu Crossley of Japan, defeated Kallista Liu(Maryland) of Hong Kong 6-4, 6-1. The top seed will play qualifier Tatum Evans(UNC), who, like Wang, didn't lose a game in her quarterfinal against wild card Olivia Center(UCLA).

Top seed Kaylun Bigun(UCLA) is through to the semifinals of the M15 in Lakewood, defeating Texas rising junior and qualifier Oliver Ojakaar of Estonia 6-1, 7-6(2). Bigun will face another Longhorn in rising sophomore and qualifier Lucas Marionneau of France, who defeated No. 8 seed Noah Zamora(UC-Irvine) 7-6(2), 6-2. 

In the bottom half, No. 4 seed Amit Vales of Israel will face unseeded Spencer Johnson, a rising senior at UCLA. Johnson, who was 14-5 last year during the SoCal Pro Series (including qualifying) defeated Theo Dean(Yale, Cal) 6-1, 7-6(4) in today's quarterfinals.

After a washout Thursday, the second round was played today at the W35 in Wichita Kansas, with No. 3 seed Lea Ma(Georgia), No. 2 seed Clervie Ngounoue and wild card Reese Brantmeier(UNC) the Americans advancing to the quarterfinals. Ngounoue and Brantmeier will meet for the first time Saturday.

The ATP Challenger 75 in Little Rock Arkansas has also been delayed by rain, with both second round and quarterfinal matches played today. No. 5 seed Michael Mmoh is currently the only semifinalist that has been determined, with the three other quarterfinals either in progress or yet to begin.

At Roland Garros today, all three Americans in action lost their third round matches, with eight others on the schedule Saturday looking to make the second week.

Friday's third round Roland Garros results of Americans:

Casper Ruud [15](NOR) d. Tommy Paul[24] 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(4), 7-5
Rafael Jodar[27](ESP) d. Alex Michelsen 7-6(2), 6-7(5), 4-6, 6-3, 6-3

Belinda Bencic[11](SUI) d. Peyton Stearns 6-3, 6-3

Saturday's third round Roland Garros matches featuring Americans:

Zachary Svajda v Francisco Cerundolo[25](ARG)
Learner Tien[18] v Flavio Cobolli[10](ITA)
Frances Tiafoe[19] v Jaime Faria[Q](POR)
Brandon Nakashima[31] v Felix Auger-Aliassime[4](CAN)

Iva Jovic[18] v Naomi Osaka[16](JPN)
Madison Keys[19] v Victoria Mboko[9](CAN)
Coco Gauff[4] v Anastasia Potapova[28](AUT)
Amanda Anisimova[6] v Diane Parry(FRA)

The ribbon-cutting for the A. David Filer Tennis Courts in South Bend Indiana took place yesterday, with the dedication highlighting the efforts of the area's tennis community to provide a fitting tribute to Filer, who died of brain cancer three years ago at the age of 16. Honoring Filer, a top national junior, with this renovation and rejuvenation of his local courts will not only keep his memory alive, but give others the opportunity to discover the joy he found in the game. 

This Week's USTA Pro Circuit Features M25 in Pensacola and W35 in Bethany Beach; USTA's Urhobo Feature; Goodman Named Head Coach at Missouri; ITA Announces New Board of Directors; IONsport Partners with Tennis Europe

Qualifying was completed today at the two events on the USTA Pro Circuit, with the women competing in a W35 in Bethany Beach Delaware and the men playing at an M25 in Pensacola Florida.

Rain washed out the first day of qualifying Monday in Bethany Beach, so two rounds had to be played today, but fortunately for officials, the qualifying draws did not fill and and several players qualified without playing a match.

Americans reaching the main draw via qualifying are: Ligaya Murray, a Baylor recruit, Kaitlyn Carnicella(Auburn, South Carolina), Jane Dunyon(South Carolina), Paola Lopez and Zoe Hitt.

Only one wild card was awarded, to 18-year-old Florida signee Capucine Jauffret, a Delaware native. 

Madison Brengle, another Delaware native, is the top seed, with Anna Rogers(NC State) the No. 2 seed.

Four first round matches were played today, with future Georgia Bulldog, Bella Payne beating former Georgia Bulldog Mell Reasco, the No. 4 seed from Ecuador, 7-6(2), 7-6(5). No. 3 seed Haley Giavara(Cal), Kylie Collins(Texas, LSU, Oklahoma State) and Savannah Broadus(Pepperdine) also won their opening matches.

In Pensacola, five American advanced through qualifying to reach the main draw: Drew Van Orderlain, Oren Vasser(William & Mary, Miami), Ilyas Fahim(Virginia Tech), Ryan Haviland(Stanford) and Alex Finkelstein(Brown, SMU). Kentucky junior Eli Stephenson advanced to the main draw as a lucky loser.

The three wild cards went to LSU recruit Nick Stoot, who won his first round match today; Lucca Liu(UC Santa Barbara) and Florida State's Justin Lyons and Corey Craig.

Daniel Milavsky(Harvard) is the top seed, with Andrew Fenty(Michigan) the No. 2 seed.

Roland Garros main draw wild card winner Akasha Urhobo is the subject of an in-depth feature at the USTA's new Inside American Tennis newsletter. USTA National Coach Jermaine Jenkins, who has been working with Urhobo for nearly a year now, explains how he and Urhobo have been building her baseline game, as she was one of the rare juniors who learned to serve and volley from the outset. 

Another recent article focuses on Welles Newman and Jordyn Hazelitt, who won the W35 Boca Raton doubles title two weeks ago.

The University of Missouri named a new women's head coach today: University of Tennessee associate head coach Robin Goodman. Missouri's previous head coach, Bianca Turati returned to her alma mater Texas last summer as an associate head coach, with Silvia Chinellato, her associate head coach at Missouri named interim coach for the 2025-26 season.

The ITA announced its new board of directors for the two-year term beginning July 1, 2026. You may recognize some of them, but others may be new to you, so take time to read the biographies of those who will be leading the governing body of college tennis in the coming years.

IONSport, which has provided live scoring for Kalamazoo for the past several years and has been in the college tennis space for quite some time, has announced a major partnership with TennisEurope for its junior events. The press release is below:

IONSport Named Official Live Scoring and Data Partner of Tennis Europe

Multi-year agreement brings a unified scoring and data ecosystem to more than 540 Tennis Europe events

ATLANTA (May 11, 2026) – Tennis Europe has announced a multi-year partnership with IONSport, naming the company its Official Live Scoring and Data Partner and integrating the platform at all Tennis Europe Junior Tour events.

Beginning this summer, IONSport will power a unified scoring and data ecosystem across approximately 540 tournaments and team events held at over 300 venues in 45 member nations, bringing consistent scoring, centralized data delivery, and enhanced digital experiences to one of the largest junior tennis networks in the world. Together, this represents one of the most comprehensive digital scoring implementations in junior tennis and lays the foundation for continued innovation in how match data is captured, distributed, and experienced across the Tennis Europe network.

From first serve to match point, the platform will deliver live scoring, real-time match statistics, and integrated digital distribution across mobile, web, broadcast, and in-venue experiences, turning every match into a connected, shareable moment for players, coaches, and fans. The platform will also serve as a single digital destination for scores, statistics, streaming video, and match updates.

The collaboration is designed to deliver faster, more reliable live scoring and instant access to results, draws, and schedules for players, while providing tournaments with standardized tools that reduce operational workload and enhance both on-site and online fan experiences. Built to integrate seamlessly with existing tournament operations, IONSport simplifies scoring and data management while enabling consistent execution across events of all sizes.

“Technology continues to play an increasingly important role in the development and visibility of our sport,” said Henrik Thorsøe Pedersen, President of Tennis Europe. “By appointing IONSport as our Official Live Scoring and Data Partner, we are ensuring that Tennis Europe competitions are supported by world-class digital infrastructure. This partnership strengthens the competitive environment for our players while enhancing engagement and accessibility for fans, coaches, and national associations across Europe.”

“We are honored to be named the Official Live Scoring and Data Partner of Tennis Europe,” said Dave Mowrey, Founder and CEO of IONSport. “With IONSport integrated into the Tennis Europe competition framework, we’re not just delivering live scoring, we’re creating a more connected competition experience across every tournament, every match, and every point.”

In the coming weeks, Tennis Europe Junior Tour event organisers will be contacted with full details on implementation timelines, onboarding, and how to prepare for upcoming events as part of this partnership.

For more information, visit https://www.ionsport.com/.
For company updates and announcements, follow @IONSportapp on Instagram, LinkedIn and X.

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My Article on Krishnakumar's UCI Commitment; Kennedy beats Nishkori to Reach Savannah Challenger Quarterfinals; Urhobo and Nava Lead Roland Garros Wild Card Race; Latest D-II and D-III Rankings

After reporting on his run to the quarterfinals of the ITF San Diego J300 as a lucky loser, at the Easter Bowl I took the opportunity to talk with Yashwin Krishnakumar about his commitment to join the University of California-Irvine Anteaters this fall for today's article at the Tennis Recruiting Network. I don't write as many of these commitment articles as I used to, for a variety of reasons, including the fact that signing season is not as well defined as it used to be, but I always enjoy hearing how top juniors navigate the recruiting process and what tips the scales for them. 

After reaching the semifinals of last week's Challenger 75 in Tallahassee, Jack Kennedy is through to the quarterfinals of this week's Challenger 75 in Savannah after beating former ATP No. 4 Kei Nishikori 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-0 in the second round this afternoon. Nishikori led 5-2 and served for the second set twice, but Kennedy won four games in a row, and although he lost the tiebreaker, the effort Nishikori had to make from 5-2 up no doubt contributed to his inability to stay with Kennedy in the final set.

The 17-year-old from New York, who is committed to Virginia for this fall, is closing in on the ATP Top 500 after his M15 title two weeks ago and these five Challenger victories. He will face qualifier Nick Hardt of the Dominican Republic, who beat Stefan Kozlov 2-6, 6-2, 6-0 today.

Although Kennedy is racking up points in the USTA's annual Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge, he is far behind leader Emilio Nava, who picked up 30 more points today at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid with a first round win over Jenson Brooksby. Prior to today, Nava led Stefan Dostanic(USC, Wake Forest), with Nishesh Basavareddy(Stanford) in third place. Dostanic and Basavareddy play their second round matches at the Savannah Challenger Thursday. Nava won the Roland Garros wild card last year.

Akasha Urhobo continues to lead the women's race, with Kayla Day in second and Vavarva Lepchenko in third. Both Urhobo and Day have won their first round matches at the W100 in Charlottesville Virginia. This week is the fourth of the five-week window to earn ATP and WTA points. There is another W100 and another W35, both in Florida, next week, but the Savannah Challenger is the last USTA Pro Circuit tournament above the M15 level in the five-week period. 

Roland Garros Wild Card Challenge standings after three weeks.

Women's Standings 1. Akasha Urhobo — 100 2. Kayla Day — 60 3. Varvara Lepchenko — 54   Men's Standings 1. Emilio Nava — 53 2. Stefan Dostanic — 44 3. Nishesh Basavareddy — 37

NCAA Division II and Division III are also approaching the conclusion to their seasons, with new rankings out today. The individual rankings for Division III are the first since last November, although there will be weekly updates through May 13, with the Division III singles and doubles championships continuing to be after the team event next month.

ITA Rankings April 22, 2026

Division II

MEN:

Team:
1. West Florida
2. Barry
3. Flagler
4. Columbus State
5. Saint Leo
6. UT-Tyler
7. Catawba
8. Rollins
9. Florida Southern
10. Lubbock Christian

Singles:

1. Yan Kodjoed, Barry

2. Sebastian Rondon, West Florida

3. Diego Duran, West Florida

4. Kelly Giese, Lubbock Christian

5. Pedro Liborio, North Georgia

6. Lukas Janousek, Cameron

7. Mario Garoz, Florida Southern

8. Lawson Prather, Rollins

9. Thomas Cardona, Columbus State

10. Harry Pugh, Lander

Doubles:

1. Sebastian Rondon and Diego Duran, West Florida

2. Jose David Segovia Perez and Kodai Kato, Saint Leo

3. Adrian Solorzano and Cian Mikkelsen, Harding

4. Angel Guerrero and Alejandro Flores Monteverde, Biola

5. Noe Milliard and Lukas Janousek, Cameron

WOMEN:

Team:

1. Barry

2. Embry-Riddle

3. West Florida

4. West Alabama

5. Nova Southeastern

6. Catawba

7. Mississippi College

8. Florida Southern

9. Columbus State

10. Lynn

Singles:

1. Kristyna Hranacova, Nova Southeastern

2. Salma Djoubri, Lynn

3. Alyssa Novoa, Rollins

4. Emily Buchanan, Mississippi College

5. Carlota Verdu, West Florida

6. Dana Heimen, Barry

7. Shaira Rivera, West Alabama

8. Selin Sepken, Midwestern State

9. Natasha Sengphrachanh, Grand Valley State

10. Yona Bancarel, UT-Tyler

Doubles:

1. Kristyna Hranacova and Katja Markus, Nova Southeastern

2. Alexa Milliam and Shaira Rivera, West Alabama

3. Emily Buchanan and Ann Cabot Stockett, Mississippi College

4. Andrea De Bernardo and AnaMaria Zoric, Lubbock Christian

5. Carlota Verdu and Sandra Recuenco Tarin, West Florida

Division III

MEN:

Team:

1. University of Chicago

2. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

3. Denison

4. Tufts

5. Carnegie Mellon

6. Case Western

7. Johns Hopkins

8. Swarthmore

9. Kenyon

10. Washington-St. Louis

Singles:

1. Advik Mareedu, CMS

2. Ruilin Feng, Emory

3. Michael Melnikov, Swarthmore

4. Kael Shalin Shah, Denison

5. Mark Kneiss, Bowdoin

6. Emil Grantcharov, Chicago

7. Alex Merson, Babson

8. Drew Goldman, Pomona-Pitzer

9. Gage Gohl, Gustavus Adolphus

10. Alex Ganchev, Tufts

Doubles:

1. Advik Mareedu and Caleb Settles, CMS

2. Jared Perry and Kishan Kersten, Trinity

3. Sacha Maes and Alex Ganchev, Tufts

4. Trey Lambright and Bryce Ware, Case Western

5. Ethan Green and Kael Shalin Shah, Denison

WOMEN:

Team:

1. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps

2. Washington-St. Louis

3. Wesleyan

4. Chicago

5. Johns Hopkins

6. Carnegie Mellon

7. Babson

8. Emory

9. Trinity

10. MIT

Singles:

1. Matia Cristiani, Babson

2. Sarena Biria, Chicago

3. Eliana Hann, Washington-St. Louis

4. Rebecca Kong, CMS

5. Tina She, Amherst

6. Ananya Sriniketh, CMS

7. Emily Kantrovitz, Emory

8. Elise Van Wieren, Middlebury

9. Lindsay Eisenman, CMS

10. Maegan Deng, Redlands

Doubles:

1. Lindsay Eisenman and Rebecca Kong, CMS

2. Eleanor Archer and Caitlin Bui, Washington-St. Louis

3. Iris Berman and Emily Kantrovitz, Emory

4. Matia Cristiani and Alessandra Sikharulidze, Babson

5. Kamila Wong and Ava Li, Johns Hopkins

Easter Bowl 12s Finals Videos; Change in D-I Eligibility Rules Allows Unlimited Prize Money Prior to Enrollment; Combs and Ye Earn First Pro Circuit Wins at Orlando W15; SI Interview with Michael Antonius

After finishing the Tucson ITF J300 and San Diego J300 finals the last few days, I've processed the first two videos from last month's USTA Level 1 Easter Bowl, with the 12s finals available below. To view the other videos from my recent trip out west, see the tenniskalamazoo YouTube Channel. 

The NCAA announced today that its D-I Cabinet has adopted changes to pre-enrollment eligibility rules that will affect all sports, including tennis.

Tennis had carved out a special exemption allowing $10,000 in prize money per year prior to enrollment, without regard to expenses, but that will no longer be necessary with all sports now allowing unlimited prize money prior to enrollment.

However, the issue of student-athletes accepting prize money after enrolling has not changed, so any collegiate player who makes substantial prize money prior to January of their senior year will continue to face the prospect of declining it to retain eligibility. That was the case for Fiona Crawley of North Carolina, who qualified for the US Open in 2023 after her junior season, but could not accept the prize money if she wanted to return to Chapel Hill for her senior season, and more recently, Oliver Tarvet, who could not accept his second round Wimbledon prize money if he wished to return to San Diego for his senior year, which he did. 

The lawsuit that Reese Brantmeier filed against the NCAA is being settled, but this announcement references that settlement as pertaining only to prospects, and it will not include any carve-out for enrolled student-athletes. It appears that an initiative from the USTA, LTA or some other governing entity, allowing any prize money to be put in a trust for post-graduation use, is still the only solution to the dilemma enrolled student-athletes will continue to face.

Another key topic of discussion is an age eligibility rule, but no decision has been made on that, according to this NCAA announcement on the eligibility of prospects.

Today at the W15 in Lake Nona, 15-year-old wild card Emery Combs and 16-year-old Sarah Ye, an ITF Junior Reserved entry, earned their first wins on the USTA Pro Circuit. 

Combs defeated 19-year-old Valentina Mediorreal Arias of Colombia 6-1, 6-3 in just her second USTA Pro Circuit match; Ye beat former Michigan All-American Jaedan Brown, a qualifier, 7-5, 6-3. Eighteen-year-old qualifier Capucine Jauffret also won her first round match, beating Carolina Bohrer Martins of Brazil 6-4, 6-3. Combs will play No. 3 seed Carla Markus of Argentina next; Ye's opponent in the second round is No. 7 seed Jessica Hinojosa Gomez of Mexico.

It's unusual for any pro tennis journalist to interview a junior, but Sports Illustrated's Jon Wertheim spoke to 16-year-old Michael Antonius about his win last month at the M25 in Bakersfield California, his coaching (correction on the spelling of the last name of USTA National Coach Troy HAHN) at the USTA, his game style, his college plans, and what making Pro Circuit history means to him. As long as I've known Michael, I did not know he spoke Norwegian.

My Article on Junior Practice Partners at ATP Dallas Open; Zheng, Jodar Receive BNP Paribas Open Main Draw Wild Cards; Exsted Faces Wolf at Naples M15; Three Teens Advance to W35 Arcadia Semis; Easter Bowl Entry Lists

As I mentioned earlier this month, when I wrote about attending the Dallas Open while I was there for the ITA Men's Team Indoor, I don't see much professional tennis live. I catch a game here and there at Wimbledon and the US Open, but I'm usually too busy with the juniors to see much more than that, so mostly I see pro tennis at ATP Challenger or WTA 125 level.

Although I enjoyed my day at the Dallas Open and wrote about two of the matches I saw here, but I was also preparing an article focusing on the local juniors who were serving as practice partners for the pros. I enjoyed talking with both Eliot Spizzirri and Ethan Quinn about their experiences in that role as juniors, and with four of the juniors who were on site that day warming up and practicing with the pros. I'm not sure I grasped what a rite of passage such a role is for juniors, but I hope this Tennis Recruiting Network article conveys the importance of that apprenticeship. 

The full list of wild cards for the BNP Paribas Open was announced today, with two-time NCAA champion Michael Zheng,  in his senior year at Columbia, receiving a main draw wild card. He is joined by Gael Monfils of France, Rafael Jodar(Virginia) of Spain, Martin Damm and Zachary Svajda.

The women's main draw wild cards were awarded to Venus Williams, Bianca Andreescu of Canada, Donna Vekic of Croatia, Jennifer Brady(UCLA), Sloane Stephens, Alycia Parks, Katie Volynets and 2025 Roland Garros girls champion Lilli Tagger of Austria. 

The men's qualifying wild cards feature five teenagers, with the oldest 19-year-old SMU junior Trevor Svajda. Stanford freshman Jagger Leach, 18,  received a qualifying wild card for winning the ITF J300 Indian Wells title last March; he is joined by reigning Kalamazoo champion Darwin Blanch, 18, 16-year-old Andy Johnson and 15-year-old Izyan Ahmad, who is part of the BNP Paribas-sponsored high performance group at the John McEnroe Tennis Academy.

In contrast, the women's qualifying wild cards were given to an older group: Elli Mandlik, 24, Elvina Kalieva, 22, Mary Stoiana(Texas A&M), 22, and teens Akasha Urhobo, 19, Julieta Pareja, 17 and Emerson Jones of Australia, 17. Pareja, like Leach, earned her qualifying wild card as the 2025 ITF J300 Indian Wells champion.

Eighteen-year-old Max Exsted, a freshman at USC, is through to his second M15 semifinal this week in Naples Florida, beating No. 8 seed Kaylan Bigun(UCLA) 6-3, 6-3 in their first meeting. Exsted, who reached his first M15 semifinal in December, played for over four hours yesterday, but that didn't translate to any advantage for the 19-year-old Bigun. Exsted will play wild card JJ Wolf(Ohio State), who has had no trouble at this level in his first competitive matches in over a year. Wolf defeated unseeded Evan Bynoe(Cornell) 6-2, 6-1 in today's quarterfinal. The top half semifinal will feature No. 4 seed Miguel Tobon of Colombia and unseeded John Hallquist Lithen(Ole Miss) of Sweden.

Exsted and Tobon, the top seeds, will play for the doubles title Saturday against unseeded Adam Jones and Toby Martin of Great Britain.

For the second week in a row, three teenagers have advance to the semifinals of a USTA Pro Circuit W35. One of them, 16-year-old Kristina Liutova, won the title last week in Las Vegas; this week in Arcadia California, Liutova has added to her winning streak, beating No. 7 seed Haley Giavara(Cal) 7-5, 6-0 today. 

Liutova will play 17-year-old qualifier Thea Frodin, who beat No. 4 seed Hanna Chang today 6-4, 6-1. They have not played in juniors or on the Pro Circuit. Frodin, an Australian Open girls semifinalist, reached the semifinals of a USTA Pro Circuit W15 last fall, but will be playing in her first semifinal at the W35 level Saturday.

Top seed Akasha Urhobo defeated No. 5 seed Eryn Cayetano(USC) 6-7(5), 6-0, 6-1 and will play No. 3 seed Lea Ma(Georgia), who defeated No. 6 seed Julieta Pareja, a semifinalist last week, 6-4, 7-6(6).

The selections for next month's USTA National Level 1 Easter Bowl have been published for all four age divisions, with the 12s and 14s scheduled to play from Saturday March 21st through Thursday March 26th and the 16s and 18s competing from Tuesday March 24th through Sunday March 29th.

Winter Nationals champion Dimitriy Flyam tops the boys 12s acceptance list, with Summer Yang, the Winter Nationals doubles champion, at the top of the girls 12s list.

Les Petits As quarterfinalist Nadia Poznick, Bolton and National Indoor champion Anna Kapanadze and recent ITF J60 Claremont champion Isha Manchala lead a strong girls 14s field, with National Indoor champion Ishaan Marla topping the boys 14s list. 

Lennart Hammargren and National Indoor champion Eli Kaminski are 1 and 2 on the boys 16s acceptance list, with National Indoor champion Sylvana Jalbert and Winter National champion Shristi Selvan the top two on the girls 16s list.

Omar Rhazali and Yashwin Krishnakumar led the boys 18s field, with Kalamazoo 16s champion and last year's Easter Bowl 16s champion Marcel Latak also entering. Tristan Stratton, who Latak beat in the Easter Bowl 16s final is also on the acceptance list.

Calla McGill and Ellery Mendell are the top two entrants in the girls 18s, with Easter Bowl 16s champion Armira Kockinis looking to add another Easter Bowl title to her resumé. 

See the Easter Bowl website for more on the upcoming tournament.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

My Article on Cozad's Commitment; USA Teams Advance to Semis at Junior Davis and BJK Cups; Blanch Reaches Challenger Semis; Teens Urhobo, Hance and Johnston Move On in Orlando; Tien Makes Second ATP Final; Zheng Will Defend NCAA Title After Qualifying Today

Ryan Cozad, who turned 17 a few weeks ago, is No. 1 in Tennis Recruiting Network's Class of 2027 rankings and after visiting TCU, Georgia, Texas and Virginia, he made his decision to commit to the Cavaliers late last month. I spoke to Ryan and his father Matt about the whirlwind of the past four months which began with Ryan speaking with college coaches in June, narrowing his search to the schools he wanted to visit, and finding the best fit with Andres Pedroso and the Cavaliers, for today's article at the Tennis Recruiting Network.

After a day off Thursday, the ITF Junior Davis Cup and Junior Billie Jean King Cup resumed today in Santiago Chile with quarterfinals matches. Both top-seeded teams from the United States, both defending champions, again posted 3-0 victories, with the girls beating unseeded Japan and the boys defeating unseeded Spain.

Captain Georgi Rumenov has not made any changes to his No. 1 and No. 2 singles lineups, with ITF World Junior No. 1 Kristina Penickova at No. 2 singles and Julieta Pareja, WTA No. 347, at the No. 1 spot. Neither has lost a set, and that continued today, with Penickova beating Miyu Nishiwaki 6-1, 6-2 and Pareja defeating Yui Komada 6-2, 6-4. Because it's the knockout stage, the doubles matches often aren't played after clinch, but Kristinia and Annika Penikcova played a short-sets match with Aoi Watanabe and Nishiwaki, winning it 4-2, 4-0.

The girls will face No. 4 seed Czech Republic in Saturday's semifinals, after the Czech Republic beat No. 7 seed Great Britain 2-0. The other girls semifinal will feature No. 6 seed Poland, who beat No. 2 seed Romania 2-1 and No. 3 seed France, who defeated No. 8 seed Taiwan 3-0.

The US boys have lost two sets in singles, with one coming in today's win over Spain. Jordan Lee dropped the opening set to Adolfo Abascal 7-5, but rebounded to take the second and third sets 6-3, 6-2. Andrew Johnson, playing No. 1 singles for the first time this week, defeated Alberto Pulido Moreno 6-0, 6-4 to clinch the tie. Johnson and Michael Antonius won the doubles match 6-2, 6-3.

The boys will play No. 8 seed Turkey, who beat No. 7 seed Korea 2-1. The surprise of the day was unseeded Germany's 2-1 win over No. 2 seed France, with Eric Dylan Mueller beating France's No. 1 Daniel Jade 5-2, 5-7, 6-3 to even the match, then partnering with Jannik Soetebier for a 6-4, 6-1 win in the deciding doubles over Jade and Amaury Abbas. Germany faces No. 4 seed Japan, who beat No. 3 seed Czech Republic 2-1.

Links to streaming(subscription) and live scoring can be found at the ITF Junior Circuit site. Selected replays are available without a subscription at the MEGA YouTube channel. Today's US boys match with Spain is here. 

Kalamazoo 18s champion Darwin Blanch continued his run at the Knoxville Challenger 50, reaching his first Challenger semifinal with a 6-3, 7-6(5) win this afternoon over No. 2 seed Jay Clarke of Great Britain. Blanch will play No. 6 seed Daniil Glinka of Estonia, who beat qualifier Shunsuke Mitsui(Tennessee) 7-5, 6-3. In the top half, No. 5 seed Mitchell Krueger defeated Inaki Montes(Virginia) of Spain 7-5, 6-4 and will face unseeded Cedrik-Marcel Stebe of Germany, who beat qualifier Murphy Cassone(Arizona State) 7-6(13), 6-3.

Seventeen-year-olds Keaton Hance and Noah Johnston reached their first USTA Pro Circuit semifinals today, with Hance following up his win over top seed Tristan McCormick Thursday with a 6-4, 6-1 victory over Christopher Li(UNC, Tennessee, Ohio State) in today's quarterfinals at the Orlando M15. He will play qualifier Ryan Colby(USC, Georgia), who reached his first Pro Circuit semifinal with a 6-4, 6-4 win over No. 3 seed Felix Corwin(Minnesota).

Johnston posted his third win in the past four months today over fellow left-handed junior Nikolas Stoot, taking a 7-6(5), 6-1 decision. Johnston will face unseeded Aleksa Ciric(Georgia Gwinnett) of Serbia, who beat No. 5 seed Ryan Fishback(Virginia Tech) 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

Eighteen-year-old Max Exsted will play for the third Pro Circuit doubles title of his career Saturday in Orlando when he and William Nolan(Auburn), the top seeds, face the unseeded team of Colby and Noah Zamora(UC-Irvine).

In the quarterfinals of the women's W35 in Orlando, the veterans overcame the juniors, with the exception of 18-year-old Akasha Urhobo. Urhobo, the No. 8 seed, beat University of Georgia sophomore Anastasiia Gureva of Russia 6-4, 6-1 and will face No. 2 seed Eva Bedder of the Netherlands, who beat No. 6 seed Madison Sieg(USC) 6-1, 6-3. Top seed Viktoria Hruncakova of Slovakia defeated 15-year-old qualifier Welles Newmman 6-0, 6-2 and will face No. 3 seed Katarina Jokic(Georgia) in the semifinals. Jokic defeated 16-year-old wild card Thea Frodin 6-1, 2-6, 7-5.

Although they lost in singles, Frodin and Newman have advanced to the doubles final. They defeated Sophia Biolay(Central Florida) of France and Katerina Mandelikova(Florida International) of the Czech Republic 7-6(6), 6-4 and will face another unseeded team in Samantha Alicea(Arizona State, Nebraska) and Malkia Ngounoue(Kansas) Saturday.

At the M25 in East Lansing, Michigan State senior Ozan Baris and Yale senior Vignesh Gogineni continued their confidence-building runs prior to the NCAA championships by advancing to the semifinals. Gogineni defeated Gavin Young(Michigan) 7-5, 6-3 to reach his second semifinal in just his fourth Pro Circuit tournament played, all this year. The 22-year-old from Ohio will play LSU freshman Erik Arutiunian of Belarus, who beat No. 7 seed Maik Steiner(Western Michigan) of Germany 6-1, 6-4.

Baris, who had saved seven match points in his first round win over No. 2 seed Paul Jubb(South Carolina) of Great Britain, saved another one today in his second set tiebreaker with No. 5 seed Adhithya Ganesan(Florida).  Down 5-2 in the third set, Baris won the final five games of the match for a 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-5 win.

His opponent in the semifinal, No. 4 seed Aidan McHugh of Great Britain, prevented an all-Spartan semifinal with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Michigan State sophomore Matt Forbes. McHugh and Baris played last summer in the quarterfinals of the M25 in East Lansing, with McHugh winning 6-2, 2-6, 6-4.

At the W15 in Lincoln Nebraska, 18-year-old Anna Frey advanced to her second W15 semifinal, beating No. 4 seed Kristina Novak(Oklahoma State) of Slovenia 6-4, 6-1. The North Carolina recruit will face top seed and Oklahoma freshman Edda Mamedova of Russia, who beat Pepperdine freshman Sonja Zhiyenbayeva of Kazakhstan 6-2, 6-3. Duke sophomore Irina Balus of Slovakia, the No. 2 seed, will play unseeded Lucia Peyre(Oklahoma State) of Argentina in the other semifinal. Balus beat Duke recruit and No. 5 seed Aspen Schuman 6-2, 6-3 today.

At the WTA 125 in Austin Texas, both Mary Stoiana and Elli Mandlik lost today, so I believe that means Mandlik clinches the USTA's Australian Open wild card, although it will be Monday before the USTA is likely to confirm it. Top seed Iva Jovic beat Stoiana 6-0, 6-1 and No. 3 seed Renata Zarazua of Mexico defeated Mandlik 6-1, 6-3. Jovic will play unseeded Marina Stakusic of Canada in the semis; Zarazua's opponent is University of Texas sophomore Carmen Herea of Romania, who won the battle of the Longhorn wild cards with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Malaika Rapolu.

Learner Tien(USC) has reached his second ATP final, both this fall, with the 19-year-old beating lucky loser Vitaliy Sachko of Ukraine 6-1, 6-4 at the ATP 250 in Metz today. Tien hasn't had the toughest draw this week, beating a wild card and two lucky losers, but he did beat former ATP Top 10 player Matteo Berrettini of Italy 5-7, 6-2, 6-3 in the quarterfinals Thursday. In Saturday's final, Tien will play No. 7 seed Cam Norrie(TCU) of Great Britain for the fourth time this year; Tien has won the past two meetings.

Eight more players have booked their spots in the D-I NCAA singles championships in Orlando, which begin in 11 days, after winning quarterfinal matches at the ITA Conference Masters today.

The women's semifinalists are Georgia's Aysegul Mert[1], UNC-Charlotte's Ni Xi[7], USC's Eugenia Zozaya Mendendez[8] and Cal's Mao Mushika[2]. Reigning men's NCAA champion Michael Zheng will return to defend his title, after surviving two set points in the opening set to beat No. 7 seed Veljko Krstic of Elong 7-6(5), 6-1.

NC State's Martin Borisiouk[4], Florida's Jeremy Jin[6] and Pepperdine's Edward Winter[2] are the other men's semifinalists advancing to Orlando.

August's San Diego Final Opens Door to North Carolina for Wygodzki; Top Seeds Penickova and Goode Begin Play Tuesday at ITF J300 Pan American Closed

©Colette Lewis 2025--

Spring, Texas

Although those living in South Texas scoffed at the suggestion that it was more like summer than fall today for the opening round of the ITF J300 Pan American Closed, but temperatures in the low 90s with little breeze did challenge many of those engaged in long three-set battles at the Giammalva Racquet Club outside Houston. 

But New Yorker Paige Wygodzki was able to work her way back from a slow start Monday afternoon, beating wild card Alexandra Patton of Texas 7-5, 6-4 on Stadium Court.

Patton received her wild card from Tournament Director Victor Pinones as this summer Texas Closed 16s champion, and she jumped out to a quick 5-2 lead over Wygodzki, the 2025 USTA National 16s finalist, who wasn't familiar with Patton's game.

"She played some very good points, but I also definitely gave her a lot of errors," said the 16-year-old left-hander from Huntington. "But even though I was down 2-5, I was only down one break, so I knew if I was able to hold my serve, I could get the break at 3-5. That return game at 3-5 really changed the first set, and allowed me to win the five game in a row I needed."

Wygodzki turned the tables on Patton in the second set, going up 5-2, and she too, was unable to serve it out on her first attempt, but made no mistake during her second opportunity.

"I did realize she didn't really like it when I hit fast and deep, and she would give me some short balls," Wygodzki said. "At that point it was just executing on the short balls."

Wygodzki said her run in San Diego in August definitely came at the right place and the right time.

"It didn't necessarily change my outlook or my perspective," Wygodzki said. "I always have the perspective of getting better each match, fighting through each match no matter how I'm feeling. But one thing the final did for me was unlocked a lot of doors towards college and that's something I'm tremendously grateful for. It's the one tournament where you do really well, you'll get a lot of recognition, and I was fortunate to have my mind straight for those seven days."

Wygodzki, who is a junior, wanted to commit early for two reasons.

"One, I didn't want to worry about my spot being taken, and Two, I wanted to make my choice so that I could continue to develop the next two years, see how good I could get before entering college," Wygodzki said.

After taking three official visits, Wygodzki verbally committed to North Carolina for 2027.

"One of my dream schools for sure," said Wygodzki, who trains with Steve Kaplan and Robbie Wagner Tennis's Adrian Chirici. "I'm very excited. I want to thank coach Brian (Kalbas) and coach Tyler (Thomson) for giving me the opportunity and allowing me to come on a visit so early. I'm so grateful. And I also want to thank all the other coaches for giving me the opportunity."

Wygodzki will play No. 14 seed Marianne Angel of Mexico in the second round Tuesday.

All seeds are in action on Tuesday.

Girls:

(USA unless noted)

1. Annika Penickova

2. Nancy Lee

3. Capucine Jauffret

4. Kori Montoya

5. Carrie-Anne Hoo

6. Chukwumelije Clarke

7. Thara Gowda

8. Isabelle DeLuccia

9. Zaire Clarke

10. Ireland O'Brien

11. Maggie Sohns

12. Karlin Schock

13. Janae Preston

14. Marianne Angel, MEX

15. Jordyn Hazelitt

16. Clemence Mercier, CAN

Boys:

1. Gavin Goode

2. Ryan Cozad

3. Michael Antonius

4. Andrew Johnson

5. Roshan Santhosh

6. Volodymyr Gurkeno, CAN

7. Dani Szabo, CAN

8. Benjamin Azar, CAN

9. Sklar Phillips

10. Tanishk Konduri

11. Vihaan Reddy

12. Xavier Massote, CAN

13. Ford McCollum

14. Joshua Adamson, CAN

15. Caden Colburne, CAN

16. Mason Taube

The first round of doubles was also played today, with all seeded teams in action Tuesday. Ryan Cozad and Gavin Goode are the top seeds in the boys draw, with Capucine Jauffret and Annika Penickova the No. 1 seeds in the girls draw.