The acceptances for the final two major ITF Junior Circuit events of the year were released today, with the J300 at IMG Academy in Bradenton Florida and the J500 Orange Bowl in Fort Lauderdale Florida featuring similar fields.Three Top 10 boys and two Top 10 girls have entered, with Andres Santamarta Roig of Spain, the defending champion in both events, leading the acceptance lists. Santamarta,
27 days ago
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With six USTA Pro Circuit tournaments this week, there's a lot to cover, and I'll start with the No. 1 seeds losing in the first round at the M15 in Orlando and the ATP Challenger 75 in Champaign Illinois.Seventeen-year-old Gavin Goode defeated No. 1 seed Toby Kodat 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 in the first round today at the USTA National Campus. The left-hander from Raleigh North Carolina, currently No. 40
28 days ago
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USTA National Campus Hosts NCAAs next weekThe seeds for next week's NCAA Division I individual championships were announced today, and although there are often a notable omission or two, this is at another level in the men's field.Defending champion Michael Zheng of Columbia, currently 185 in the ATP rankings, is not seeded. Nor is Trevor Svjada of SMU, ATP 387 and Edward Winter of
29 days ago
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photo of both USA teams, with Caption Georgi Rumenov,upper left and Sylvain Guichard lower rightphoto via ITFThe US girls won their fourth straight Junior Billie Jean Cup title and the US boys claimed their second consecutive Junior Davis Cup championship in dominating fashion today in Santiago Chile. Neither team dropped a point in their six victories, with the deciding doubles point in the
30 days ago
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The domination of the top seeded teams from the United States in the ITF Junior Billie Jean King Cup and Junior Davis Cup Finals continued today in Santiago Chile, with the girls beating No. 4 seed Czech Republic 2-0 and the boys defeating No. 8 seed Turkey 3-0 to reach the championship match for the second year in a row.Neither team has dropped a point in their five victories this week, and the
about 1 month ago
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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
about 1 month ago
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Orlando has proven to be fertile ground for many young Americans this week, with three boys and three girls who are still eligible for junior competition advancing to the quarterfinals in the two USTA Pro Circuit events taking place at the USTA National Campus.At the W35, 15-year-old qualifier Welles Newman defeated No. 5 seed Victoria Hu(Princeton) 6-3, 6-2 to reach her first pro quarterfinal.
about 1 month ago
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The United States teams came into this week's ITF Junior Davis Cup and Junior Billie Jean King Cup 16-and-under World Finals as the defending champions and No. 1 seeds, and both teams have lived up to those expectations after the completion of group play today in Santiago Chile.The US girls posted their third straight 3-0 victory, this time over No. 6 seed Poland, with Kristina Penickova
about 1 month ago
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Two more J500s remain this year on the ITF Junior Circuit, both on clay, with Merida Mexico tournament beginning in less than three weeks. The Orange Bowl, beginning December 8th, closes out the year.The Merida acceptances were released today, with ITF girls No. 1 Kristina Penickova entered, and ITF No. 3 Andres Santamarta Roig of Spain the top player entered in the boys field. No. 6 Yannick
about 1 month ago
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The first day of the ITF's Junior Davis Cup and Junior Billie Jean King Cup in Santiago Chile produced few surprises, with defending champions and No. 1 seeds the United States posting 3-0 wins in the first round of group play.The US girls defeated Austria, with ITF Junior No. 1 Kristina Penickova, playing No. 2 singles, defeating Lea Haider-Maurer 6-3, 6-1, and Julieta Pareja, playing No. 1
about 1 month ago
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University of Virginia sophomore Rafael Jodar of Spain won his third Challenger title since August today at the home of his collegiate team, defeating Martin Damm 6-3, 7-6(2) in the final at the ATP Challenger 75 at the Boar's Head indoor courts in Charlottesville.Seeded No. 7, Jodar repeated his win over No. 6 seed Damm in the final of the Challenger 75 in Lincoln Nebraska two weeks ago; while
about 1 month ago
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Martin Damm and Rafael Jodar will meet again in a Challenger final, just two weeks after Jodar claimed his second career Challenger title with a 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-3 victory in the championships match in Lincoln Nebraska.No. 7 seed Jodar, a sophomore at the University of Virginia, advanced to his third Challenger final with a 6-4, 4-2, retired win over No. 8 seed Johannes Monday(Tennessee) of Great
about 1 month ago
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From ATP Masters 1000s to W15s titles and everything in between, the top 20 performances by current and former collegians and juniors in October are highlighted in my monthly Aces column at the Tennis Recruiting Network. As has been the case for years now, I've found it impossible to cover all the titles won by former collegians, or even top juniors, so I apologize if one of your favorites isn't
about 1 month ago
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With top seed Rinky Hijikata(UNC) of Australia losing to qualifier Mats Rosenkranz of Germany 6-3, 6-4 in today's second round action at the ATP Challenger 75 in Charlottesville Virginia, only three seeds have reached the quarterfinals: Nos. 6, 7 and 8.No. 6, Martin Damm, will play Daniil Glinka of Estonia, No. 8 Johannus Monday(Tennessee) of Great Britain will face Mitchell Krueger and No. 7
about 1 month ago
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The ATP Challenger 75 in Charlottesville has always been a focal point for University of Virginia players during the fall, with many taking advantage of their home courts and local support to jump-start their pro careers. While UVA sophomore Rafael Jodar has managed to make the ATP Top 200 (he's 198 in the live rankings after his first round win last night) without a boost from this tournament,
about 1 month ago
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With just two more Challengers left on the USTA Pro Circuit after this week, nearly every match feels significant with players eyeing the Top 100 for direct entry into the Australian Open, or the Top 230 for entry into qualifying in Melbourne. Sioux Falls Challenger 100 champion Patrick Kypson(Texas A&M), who is now 146 in the ATP rankings, lost his first round match today at the
about 1 month ago
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As of today, Kristina Penickova has reached the top of the ITF Junior Tennis rankings, after the 16-year-old advanced to championship match of the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals last week in Chengdu China. Despite losing to US Open girls champion Jeline Vandromme of Belgium 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-5, Penickova overtook fellow American Julieta Pareja on the strength of her results last week, her
about 1 month ago
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Seventeen-year-old Jeline Vandromme of Belgium and 18-year-old Max Schoenhaus of Germany won the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals Sunday in Chengdu China in contrasting fashion.No. 4 seed Vandromme, the US Open girls champion last month in New York, got her third win this year over top seed Kristina Penickova in another three-set battle. After beating Penickova 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 in group play
about 1 month ago
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Sixteen-year-old twin sisters Kristina and Annika Penickova are, unusually, half a world apart this month, but both have advanced to finals Sunday.Kristina will play for the title at the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals against Jeline Vandromme of Belgium, while Annika has advanced to her first pro final at the W15 in Hilton Head South Carolina.Kristina posted her third victory in four
about 1 month ago
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The semifinals have been determined for the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu China, with Kristina Penickova reaching the Knockout stage and Jack Kennedy falling short, despite his victory today.Round robin qualifications can be very wonky, and that was the case in two of the four groups. In Kennedy's Group B, Andres Santamarta Roig of Spain handed Max Schoenhaus of Germany his first
about 2 months ago
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The final matches in the round robin stage of the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals are set for Friday, after all three Americans dropped their matches Thursday in Chengdu China. Top seed Kristina Penickova and No. 5 seed Jack Kennedy lost to put their records at 1-1, with wins Friday likely necessary if they are to advance to Saturday's semifinals. Benjamin Willwerth is now 0-2 in group
about 2 months ago
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Kristina Penickova and Jack Kennedy picked up victories in the first day of play at the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu China Wednesday. Penickova, the top seed, defeated Julia Stusek of Germany 6-0, 6-4, coming from 4-1 down in the second set to close out the No. 5 seed in 61 minutes.Kennedy, the No. 5 seed, defeated No. 2 seed and former ITF Junior No. 1 Andres Santamarta
about 2 months ago
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The ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals begins with round robin play Wednesday in Chengdu, which is late tonight in the Eastern Time Zone of the United States. The two groups for boys and the two groups for girls, shown below, will produce the four semifinalists, with the knockout round beginning Saturday.The Americans competing in the Junior Finals are Jack Kennedy, Benjamin Willwerth and
about 2 months ago
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Last week was a quiet one on the ITF Junior Circuit, with J60s the highest level of tournaments on the schedule. One of those J60s was in Lexington South Carolina, where Rowan Qalbani and Carlota Moreno swept the titles.Qalbani, the No. 2 seed, beat doubles partner and top seed Marcel Latak 6-4, 6-2 in the singles final, after partnering with Latak for the doubles title the previous day. Qalbani,
about 2 months ago
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University of Virginia sophomore and 2024 US Open boys champion Rafael Jodar of Spain won his second ATP Challenger title today at the 75 in Lincoln Nebraska, defeating No. 8 seed Martin Damm 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-3. I apologize for my previous references to Lincoln as a 100-level Challenger; I must have been confused by the prize money, which is not related to the ATP points at stake. Jodar,
about 2 months ago
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