From the clay of Roland Garros to the hard courts of Southern California and the grass of Europe, great performances from juniors, current collegians and former collegians on all surfaces produced a wide variety of highlights in June.
Kaylan Bigun
An Ace in May for his title at the ITF J500 in Milan, Italy, the 18-year-old left-hander validated his clay court prowess by claiming the Roland Garros boys title, extending his winning streak on the ITF Junior Circuit to 12 matches. Seeded No. 5, Bigun came from a set down in both the semifinals and final, beating No. 2 seed Joel Schwaerzler of Austria 2-6, 6-3, 6-4, then unseeded Tomasz Berkieta of Poland 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 for the title. The first US boy to win Roland Garros since Tommy Paul in 2015, Bigun ascended to the No. 1 spot in the ITF junior rankings with the title.
Tereza Valentova
The 17-year-old from the Czech Republic had quite a month, sweeping the Roland Garros girls titles at the start, then claiming a second ITF WTT W75 title in her home country at the end. In Paris, Valentova didn't drop a set and beat three of the top four seeds, including Australian Open girls champion Renata Jamrichova of Slovakia, closing with a 6-3, 7-6(0) win over No. 3 seed Laura Samson in the first all-Czech junior slam final. She then went on to claim the doubles title with Jamrichova. Last Sunday, Valentova won her fifth ITF Women's title of the year as an unseeded wild card, defeating Czech qualifier Aneta Kucmova 6-3, 7-5 in the final. No. 4 in the ITF junior rankings, Valentova is currently at a career-high 287 in the WTA rankings.
Sara Saito
The 17-year-old from Japan played her last junior tournament at the Australian Open this January, then began focusing on improving her WTA ranking. Going 27-10 over that time in women's ITF WTT tournaments at the W50 through W100 levels, Saito earned her biggest title last month in France. Unseeded at the W100 on clay in Biarritz, Saito defeated wild card Margaux Rouvroy of France 5-7, 6-3, 6-3 in the final for her second title on the Pro Circuit. The former ITF Junior No. 2 now sports an WTA ranking of 169.
Jake Fearnley
The recent TCU graduate, who helped the Horned Frogs to their first NCAA team title in May, had immediate success on the brief grass court portion of the professional tour just a few weeks later. The 22-year-old from Scotland qualified for the ATP Challenger 125 in Nottingham and went on to claim his first title, beating fellow British qualifier Charlie Broom, a former collegiate star at Dartmouth and Baylor, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final. Fearnley, who finished his collegiate career at No. 8 in the ITA national rankings, moved his ATP ranking from 525 to a career-high 274 with the title.
Federico Agustin Gomez
The former University of Louisville Cardinal captured his first ATP Challenger title last month as a qualifier at the 75 event in Milan, Italy. The 27-year-old from Argentina, who faced only one seed in his run to the title, came from a set down in his second round and semifinal wins, but earned a straightforward 6-3, 6-4 victory in the final over unseeded Filip Jianu of Romania. Gomez, who never played higher than No. 3 in the Louisville lineup, won a $25,000 tournament in France to start the month, elevating his ATP ranking to a career-high ATP of 224. (Photo credit: Louisville Athletics)
Carson Branstine
The 23-year-old from Southern California, who represents Canada, returned to College Station for the postseason and played an integral role in delivering Texas A&M's first NCAA team title in May. Last month, Branstine rode that momentum to her biggest women's ITF World Tennis Tour title at the W75 in Sumter, South Carolina. Unseeded, Branstine fought through three three-setters, including in the final, where she defeated unseeded Sophie Chang of the United States 7-6(6), 6-7(6), 6-1 for her fifth Pro Circuit title, and her second this year. With the title Branstine, rose to a career-high of 337 in the WTA rankings.
Learner Tien
The two-time defending Kalamazoo 18s champion won three consecutive singles titles last month at men's $15,000 tournaments in the SoCal Pro Series, while also collecting a doubles title in the San Diego event that kicked off the summer Pro Series. The top seed in all three tournaments, the 18-year-old left-hander from Irvine, California defeated No. 2 seed Karue Sell of Brazil in the Week 1 final, and No. 2 seed Alafia Ayeni of the United States in the Week 2 final. After a week off, Tien extended his winning streak to 15 with a straight-sets stroll through the draw, defeating British qualifier Matthew Summers 6-3, 6-1 in the final. With the 45 points from last month's titles, Tien is now inside the ATP Top 350 for the first time.
Janice Tjen
The recent Pepperdine graduate, who capped her career in May by reaching the NCAA doubles final, started her pro career with three titles in as many weeks at ITF W15s in Monastir, Tunisia. A qualifier at the first tournament, the 22-year-old from Indonesia defeated Patricia Paukstyte of Lithuania in the final, then received special exempt entries the next two weeks. In Week 2, Tjen defeated No. 3 seed Anna Kubareva of Belarus in the final, then ran her winning streak to 15 with a 6-1, 6-0 win over Marine Szostak of France. Dropping only one set in her 15 victories last month, Tjen's first three career ITF WTT titles have moved her inside the WTA Top 750 for the first time.
Patrick Maloney
The former University of Michigan standout won three titles last month while competing in the SoCal Pro Series. The 24-year-old New Yorker earned his second and third ITF men's WTT doubles titles in Rancho Santa Fe and Los Angeles $15Ks, both with former Oregon Duck Joshua Charlton of Australia. The LA doubles title was followed the next day by Maloney's first singles title on the Pro Circuit, with the No. 8 seed defeating qualifier Colton Smith, a rising senior at Arizona, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the final. Maloney will move into the ATP Top 700 for the first time when the points from this title are added.
Gabriella Broadfoot
The 19-year-old from South Africa didn't play regularly as a freshman at NC State last season, but she has made her case for a slot in the lineup with her performances last month. She started June with a title at the SoCal Pro Series W15 in San Diego, coming through qualifying and beating top seed Haley Giavara, a former Cal All-American, 6-3, 6-3 in the semifinals and No. 4 seed Lisa Zaar of Sweden, a recent Pepperdine All-American, 6-2, 7-6(2) in the final. She then went on to play for South Africa in the Billie Jean King Cup, going 9-0 in singles and doubles to lead her country's promotion to Europe/Africa World Group II in 2025.
The 15-year-old from Carlsbad, California received a wild card into the SoCal Pro Series W15 in nearby Rancho Santa Fe and used it as her ticket to her first professional title. The blue chip, currently No. 2 in the class of 2027, won her first pro match in San Diego to start the Series, then won two matches the following week, also in San Diego, before beating three seeds in her third week of pro competition. Pareja defeated UCLA rising senior Kimmi Hance, the No. 7 seed, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4 for the Rancho Santa Fe title, and she now has her first WTA ranking, 969, with those June results.
Micah Braswell
The University of Texas All-American, who just completed his career in Austin ranked No. 3 in the nation, won his second $25,000 tournament in Wichita, Kansas, as a qualifier. The 22-year-old from Florida, who dropped just one set during the week, found himself across the net from a teammate in the final, with Braswell, who played line 2 for the Longhorns, beating Eliot Spizzirri, who played line 1, 6-4, 6-3. With the title, Braswell saw his ranking rise to a career-high of 710 as he begins his professional career.
Eliot Spizzirri
The 22-year-old ITA Player of the Year for 2023 and 2024 got his revenge over Texas teammate Braswell with a straight-sets quarterfinal win over Braswell at the following week's $25,000 tournament in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Spizzirri, who was unseeded, then went on to earn the second $25K title of his career, beating No. 2 seed Bernard Tomic of Australia 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) in a three-hour, 11-minute battle in the championship match. With the title, Spizzirri moves to a career-high ATP ranking of 525.
Eudice Chong
The GOAT of Division III women's tennis as a four-time singles champion at Wesleyan, Chong won two titles at W50s in Portugal last month. To start the month, the 28-year-old from Hong Kong earned a doubles title, her 29th on the ITF women's World Tennis Tour, but her first with Madeleine Brooks of Great Britain. The following week she won her fifth and biggest singles title as the No. 5 seed, defeating top seed and former Syracuse star Gabriela Knutson of the Czech Republic 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in the final, while also reaching the doubles final with Lucrezia Musetti of Italy.
Diana Shnaider
The former NC State star, who won her first WTA title earlier this year at a 250 tournament in Thailand, collected her second last weekend at the 500 tournament on grass in Bad Homburg, Germany. Unseeded, the 20-year-old left-hander from Russia defeated No. 3 seed Emma Navarro in the semifinals, then took out unseeded Donna Vekic of Croatia 6-3, 2-6, 6-3 in the final. Ranked 108 in February, Shnaider is now at a career-high of 30 in the WTA rankings. A three-time junior slam doubles champion, Shnaider is also Top 100 in the WTA doubles rankings. (Photo credit: Manuela Davies/USTA)
Kholo Montsi
The rising sophomore at Oklahoma won his first two ITF men's WTT titles last month, claiming the singles and doubles championships at the $25,000 tournament in his home country of South Africa. The 21-year-old had to qualify for singles, which he did easily, then posted five main draw wins without losing more than four games in any set. Montsi defeated unseeded compatriot Devin Badenhorst, a rising sophomore at Baylor, 6-4, 6-2 in the final. Montsi partnered with Egypt's Akram El Sallaly in doubles, with the unseeded pair defeating No. 3 seeds Jesse Flores of Costa Rica and Vasilios Caripi of South Africa 6-2, 6-4 in the championship match. (Photo credit: Joe Jordan)
Clement Chidekh
The former University of Washington All-American won his ninth ITF men's WTT singles title last month at a $25,000 tournament in Bakio, Spain. The 23-year-old from France, a wild card who was the top seed on the hard courts last week, defeated No. 2 seed Robin Bertrand of France 7-6(3), 6-3 in the final to earn his fourth title of 2024. Chidekh, who left Washington after his junior year in 2022, will move to a career-high ATP ranking of 246 when the points are added.
The 16-year-old from Northern California won back-to-back J200 titles last month in Mexico. After reaching the quarterfinals and semifinals at two SoCal Pro Series W15s in Southern California early in the month, Schuman returned to junior competition as the No. 1 seed in Veracruz and Tampico, dropping just one set in her nine victories. In Veracruz, she defeated No. 4 seed Claire An 6-1, 7-5; the following week in Tampico, she beat No. 2 seed Maya Iyengar 6-3, 7-5 in another all-US girls singles final. With the two titles, Schuman is at a career-high 33 in the ITF junior rankings.
James Trotter
The former Ohio State Buckeye swept the titles at the ATP Challenger 75 last month in Tyler, Texas, winning his first Challenger in singles and his fifth in doubles. The unseeded 24-year-old from Japan defeated former USC star Brandon Holt, also unseeded, 6-2, 7-6(3) in the singles final. He partnered with former Abilene Christian star Hans Hach of Mexico for the doubles title, with the No. 2 seeds defeating unseeded former Florida Gators Andre Andrade of Ecuador and Abdullah Shelbayh of Jordan 7-6(3), 6-4 in the final. Trotter, the 2023 NCAA doubles champion, moved his ATP singles ranking up to a career-high 272 and is at 152 in the ATP doubles rankings. (Photo credit: Manuela Davies/USTA)
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5-Jun-2024 NCAA, Clay Court Success Among May Standouts
While collegians were busy in the United States at the NCAA Championships, many top juniors were preparing for this week's Roland Garros Junior Championships by finding success on clay, while former collegians continued to prosper as professionals.
5-May-2024 Former NCAA Champions Among April's Top Performers
Former NCAA champions earned titles on the ATP and WTA tours, while juniors excelled on both the ITF Junior and Pro circuits. They are all featured among the players who excelled across the group in April.
5-Apr-2024 Busy March Brings Abundance of Titles at All Levels
Always a busy month, as the hard court season begins to transition to clay, March produced so many junior and college champions that former collegians had to win two titles or a first $50,000 tournament to make the cut.
Colette Lewis
has covered topflight U.S. and international junior
events as a freelance journalist for over a decade.
Her work has appeared in Tennis magazine, the Tennis
Championships magazine and the US Open program. Lewis is active on
Twitter,
and she writes a weekly column right here at TennisRecruiting.net.
She was named
Junior Tennis Champion
for 2016 by Tennis Industry Magazine.
Lewis, based out of Kalamazoo, Michigan, has seen every National
Championship final played since 1977, and her work on the
tournament's ustaboys.com website
led her to establish
ZooTennis,
where she comments on junior and college tennis daily.
Colette Lewis has covered topflight junior events as a freelance journalist for over a decade.
Read her weekly column, follow her on Twitter, and
and find more of her daily commentary at ZooTennis.
