©Colette Lewis 2026--San Diego CA--Armira Kockinis is into week three of her ITF Junior Circuit swing, having reached the semifinals of the J200 in Las Vegas and the quarterfinals as a qualifier at last week's J300 in Tucson. Yet despite all that tennis, the 16-year-old from La Habra Heights California still found the energy to start this week's ITF J300 North American Championships in San Diego
about 4 hours ago
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The players have made their way six hours west for the second of the J300s this month, although the San Diego tournament, as an ITF Regional Closed event, allows only players from Canada and the United States. Most of the boys seeds are the same as last week's in Tucson, although three of them did not play last week: Canadians Dani Szabo and Joshua Adamson and New Yorker Izyan Ahmad.The top two
1 day ago
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©Colette Lewis 2026--Tucson AZ--Sixteen-year-old Southern Californians Andy Johnson and Camille Allegre both claimed a first ITF J300 title Saturday at the Tucson Racquet and Fitness Club, although they began the week at much different places in their junior careers.The top-seeded Johnson, No. 16 in the ITF junior rankings, had won an M15 USTA Pro Circuit event in Sunrise Florida last month,
2 days ago
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©Colette Lewis 2026--Tucson AZ--No. 5 seed Ryan Cozad and top seed Andy Johnson continued their stellar form to advance to the boys singles final Saturday at the ITF J300 Tucson, while unseeded Camille Allegre and Allison Wang meet for the first time in a first final for both at the J300 level.All four semifinal matches, played simultaneously on a hot and clear morning at the Tucson Racquet and
3 days ago
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©Colette Lewis 2026--Tucson AZ-- The desert heat and motivated opponents were too much for three of the top seeds Thursday in the quarterfinals of the ITF J300 at the Tucson Racquet and Fitness Club. Girls top seed Melije Clarke lost to No. 8 seed Capucine Jauffret 6-4, 0-6, 6-3; No. 2 seed Hollie Smart of Great Britain was beaten 6-0, 6-2 by unseeded Camille Allegre, and boys No. 2 seed Gavin
4 days ago
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©Colette Lewis 2026--Tucson AZ--Top seeds Melije Clarke and Andy Johnson came into this week's ITF J300 in Tucson on the heels of notable results on the USTA Pro Circuit, and both have managed that often tricky transition by reaching Thursday's quarterfinals at the Tucson Racquet and Fitness Club.Clarke defeated No. 15 seed Kennedy Drenser-Hagmann 6-4, 6-2 and Johnson bounced back for a 6-1, 1-6,
5 days ago
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©Colette Lewis 2026--Tucson AZ--Rain Monday afternoon and evening produced a late start to matches on Tuesday, with 12 first round matches and 32 second matches packed into the schedule on a cool and partly cloudy day in the desert. Although several matches finished under the lights, the third round is set for Wednesday, and it will include only six of the 16 girls seeds that took to the courts
6 days ago
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©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,
7 days ago
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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
8 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
9 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
10 days ago
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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
11 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
12 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
13 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
14 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
15 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
16 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
17 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
18 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
19 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
20 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),
21 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
22 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
23 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
24 days ago
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