©Colette Lewis 2026--Tucson AZ-- A clear and dry morning for the first round of the ITF J300 tournament at the Tucson Racquet club turned into a mess by mid-afternoon, when thunder and lightning arrived in the desert, interrupting the ten singles matches in progress and keeping the last two matches on the schedule from starting. The Tucson Racquet and Fitness Club is large, with pickleball,
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photo credit: Universal Tennis FoundationThis year's Hurd Awards were nearly a foregone conclusion after Reese Brantmeier of North Carolina and Michael Zheng of Columbia won the NCAA singles titles in November in Lake Nona. Both Americans, both seniors, both interested in pursuing careers in professional tennis, it would have been shocking if they had not received the $100,000 grants to assist
2 days ago
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Ryan Cozad won his first ITF Junior Circuit singles title in more than year today at the J200 in Las Vegas, with the top seed defeating doubles partner Ford McCollum, the No. 10 seed, 6-0, 6-1. The University of Virginia recruit, who had claimed his ninth ITF Junior Circuit doubles title Friday, partnering with McCollum, dropped just one set in his six singles victories. Cozad now has three
3 days ago
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My monthly column for the Tennis Recruiting Network is up today, highlighting the top performances from juniors, collegians and former collegians. An unlikely double from the 2022 NCAA singles champion, lots of memorable moments for Wake Forest players, past and present, and first pro titles here in the US for two 16-year-olds. Qualifying for the ITF J300 in Tucson begins Saturday, and the
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Although there are no USTA Pro Circuit tournaments these first two weeks in March, Canada is hosting an M15 and a W15 this week, both of which have drawn many Americans. The men's tournament in Sherbrooke features two Canadian juniors, but mostly former collegians have advanced; in Trois-Rivieres three teens have reached the quarterfinals.Thara Gowda, a 17-year-old from Michigan, is playing in
5 days ago
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Fourteen-year-old Caroline Shao didn't play either of the Florida tournaments in Bradenton and Ft. Lauderdale, but returned to the ITF Junior Circuit in January at the J300 in Costa Rica. Today she posted her best result of the year, with the No. 14 seed beating top seed Nancy Lee 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-2 to advance to the quarterfinals of the ITF J200 in Las Vegas. Shao will play unseeded 2025
6 days ago
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After three days of play, qualifying for the BNP Paribas Open is complete, with three Americans making it through to the main draw.Kayla Day, who received a wild card into qualifying only when Elvina Kalieva did not need hers when she got in on her own ranking, defeated two seeds to advance. The 26-year-old left-hander beat No. 17 seed Aliaksandra Sasnovich of Belarus 6-2, 7-5 in the first round
7 days ago
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The ITF Junior Circuit returns to the United States this week with the J200 in Las Vegas, with the J300 in Tucson and the J300 in San Diego providing a great opportunity for Americans to improve their rankings and earn entry into this summer's junior slams.But other US juniors are in the early stages of their ITF junior careers, including 15-year-old Aarini Bhattacharya, who won two J30s in
8 days ago
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Nineteen-year-old Akasha Urhobo won her second W35 title in as many months, but in keeping with her pattern this week, she needed three sets to get past 17-year-old qualifier Thea Frodin in today's final in Arcadia California 6-2, 2-6, 6-2. Urhobo, who made two W35 titles at the end of last season and won the W35 in Westin Florida in January, will be close to her career-high WTA ranking of 282
9 days ago
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For the second consecutive week, two teenagers will meet in a USTA Pro Circuit W35 final, but it's not either of last week's finalists. Qualifier Thea Frodin ended the winning streak of 16-year-old Kristinia Liutova today in Arcadia California, defeating the Las Vegas W35 champion 6-4, 6-4. Liutova, who had beaten 17-year-old wild card Melije Clarke in last week's final, was facing Frodin for the
10 days ago
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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
11 days ago
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Last month, in my annual Eight Intriguing Questions post for the Tennis Recruiting Network, I raised the prospect that Reese Brantmeier and the NCAA could settle the lawsuit Brantmeier brought before the November trial date. According to reports today, a settlement has been reached, with the parties agreeing to a 60-day pause of deadlines as they work toward finalizing the terms. Terms of the
12 days ago
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The acceptances are out for the ITF J300 San Diego North American Regional Championships, which begin March 16 at the Barnes Tennis Center. Because the San Diego event, unlike the Tucson J300 a week earlier, is limited to players from the United States and Canada, the fields are not as strong, with the boys cutoff 251 (vs 195 for Tucson) and the girls cutoff 202 (vs 187 for Tucson).Many of
13 days ago
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Craig Tileyphoto courtesy of USTAAfter several months of speculation, the official announcement came today: Craig Tiley will be returning to the United States as the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Tennis Association after his 20 years of serving as Australian Open tournament director and 13 years as the CEO of Tennis Australia.Tiley, 64, coached the University of Illinois men's team
14 days ago
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On Saturday I covered the titles for Safir Azam and Adla Lopez at the ITF J200 in the Dominican Republic, but that was just the tip of the iceberg, with US juniors claiming nine additional singles titles on the ITF Junior Circuit last week. Tomas Laukys won his biggest title at the J100 in Trnava Slovakia, with the unseeded 15-year-old defeating No. 2 seed Dominik Macej of Slovakia 7-6(5),
15 days ago
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Last week all four pro tournaments in the United States were won by Americans; this year it was just the ATP 250 in Delray Beach that featured a champion from the United States, with the four other tournaments going to international players.Sixteen-year-old Kristina Liutova, who was born in Moscow but has lived in the United States for many years, captured her first pro title, beating wild card
16 days ago
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Americans won all four titles at the ITF J200 in Punta Cana Dominican Republic, with Safir Azam sweeping the boys titles and Adla Lopez winning her first ITF Junior Circuit singles title.Azam, the No. 3 seed, defeated unseeded Mauricio Schtulmann Gasca of Mexico 6-4, 6-1 in the final to earn his second ITF Junior Circuit singles title, with the first coming last year at a J100, also in the
17 days ago
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Seventeen-year-old Julieta Pareja and 16-year-olds Melije Clarke and Kristina Liutova are through to the all-USA semifinals of the USTA Pro Circuit W35 in Las Vegas, and while the temperatures were in the low 50s, it was sunny there today, allowing the tournament to finish the second round and play all four quarterfinals after a wet day Thursday.Pareja, the No. 3 seed, got a retirement from LSU
18 days ago
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If you weren't able to follow my daily coverage of the ITA Men's Division I Team Indoor Championships, my recap of the tournament for the Tennis Recruiting Network can fill that gap. It was an exciting event that I was fortunate to be able to cover in person and I look forward to seeing how the rest of the season plays out as we head to Athens in May for the NCAAs.The conclusion of the Division I
19 days ago
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Acceptances for the ITF J300 in Tucson were posted today, with Janae Preston and Michael Antonius leading the fields. Tucson is the new site of this tournament, which had been during the second week of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells the past three years.Preston, now up to 21 in the ITF junior rankings after her three straight J300 titles in Central and South America, is one of four Top 50
20 days ago
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©Colette Lewis 2026--Dallas TX--University of Texas head coach Bruce Berque didn't dream that his team would contend for a title at this year's ITA Men's National Team Indoor Championships, and when freshman Kalin Ivanovski delivered a 4-2 victory over top seed Ohio State Tuesday night at SMU's Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex, securing the Longhorns first Team Indoor title, Berque still couldn't
21 days ago
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©Colette Lewis 2026--Dallas TX--Three-time ITA Men's Team Indoor champion Ohio State will face a Texas team seeking its first title Tuesday night at the Styslinger-Altec Tennis Complex at SMU after earning hard-fought wins over Virginia and Baylor in Monday's semifinals.Top seed Ohio State avoided a third consecutive 4-3 decision, beating No. 2 seed Virginia 4-2 in the 3:30 pm match, with a
22 days ago
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©Colette Lewis 2026--Dallas Texas--Six consolation matches were on Sunday's schedule at the ITA Men's Division I Team Indoor Championships, and I watched Mississippi State's 4-3 win over Stanford and Florida's 4-1 win over SMU here in Dallas(John Isner was also in attendance for the latter), with the Clemson - Arizona State match yet to finish. They had another thriller in Waco today, with Wake
23 days ago
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©Colette Lewis 2026--Dallas TX--There will be a new champion Tuesday at the ITA Men's Division I Team Indoor Championships, after No. 5 seed Baylor used its home crowd advantage and some clutch play during two third-set tiebreakers in the deciding matches to earn a 4-3 victory over defending champion and No. 1 seed Wake Forest in Waco. Moments after Baylor's Luc Koenig defeated Charlie
24 days ago
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©Colette Lewis 2026--Dallas TX-- All the drama of the first day of the ITA Division I Men's Team Indoor Championships was front-loaded in the opening two matches Friday at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex, with 4-3 thrillers clinched by players who had never found themselves in that scenario until today.Of the two 4-3 decisions, The more expected of the two 4-3 decision came in the 9:00 am
25 days ago
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