©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 with a 6-1, 2-6, 6-2 victory over Tucson champion Camille Allegre.
“This is my 17th match, my third tournament in a row,” said Kockinis, who received a wild card into the main draw. “So my arm is on its way out. So lately, I’ve been trying to play with more variety and brain, be a little smarter, not just smash winners, work through points, use my legs and work hard. The legs are holding up for now.”
Allegre had just one day off between her title and a first round this week, as she was not seeded in San Diego due to the one week lag in the rankings used. Her first serve was not as reliable as it had been last week, and Kockinis’s strategy of staying in rallies rather than trying to end them quickly paid off.
Kockinis was not able to serve out the match at 5-1, with Allegre playing more aggressively on return and flashing some of the form she displayed in Tucson, but Kockinis showed no sign of frustration, and broke Allegre to secure the win.
“I knew it was going to be a battle, because she’s coming off a really good win in Tucson,” Kockinis said. “I knew she had a little bit of confidence and momentum from Tucson, so I just went into it with the mindset to give it all I got, work hard, and hopefully it would work out for me, and it did.”
Kockinis’s draw doesn’t get any easier, as she faces top seed Nadia Lagaev of Canada Tuesday.
“I think going into that match, I’ll just do what I did here,” Kockinis said. “Do the best I can, focus on every point, don’t focus on who I’m playing, focus on my own game. I’ll just be smarter, do more than just blasting balls, and stay positive.”
Allegre avenged the singles loss in doubles, with Allegre and partner Ciara Harding beating Kockinis and Ariana Morris 4-6, 6-4, 10-7 in first round doubles action this afternoon.
Tucson finalist Allison Wang also had a quick turnaround with a first round match today. The 15-year-old from San Jose California beat Harding 6-4, 6-3 and will play No. 7 seed Capucine Jauffret, whom she beat 6-3, 6-2 in the Tucson semifinals last Friday.
Fifteen-year-old Teodor Davidov made his 2026 junior debut today at the Barnes Tennis Center, defeating qualifier Keshav Muthuvel 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Davidov had stuck close to his Bradenton Florida home for the USTA Pro Circuit M15 circuit on green clay, earning his first ATP points in a run to the quarterfinals in Naples, while adding another win the following week.
“It’s a totally different game,” Davidov said of going from Pro Circuit back to juniors. “And it’s one of my first tournaments on hard courts in a few months. So today’s match took a little more adjusting. In the pro tournaments you always play free, you’re always the underdog, and here it’s a little different. But I try to relax myself, just not think about that, just get better every day and just improve.”
Davidov also had to adjust to calling his own lines again, which he did not have to do on the Pro Circuit.
“Actually I got used to the clay courts having marks,” Davidov said. “So I remember a few times in this match when the ball was really far out, but I didn’t call it. But it’s ok, I’m getting used to it.”
Davidov is also used to being something of a celebrity in tennis circles, as he does not hit a backhand, but switches the racquet from his right hand to his left hand as required to hit only forehands.
“I try to put that to the side and just focus solely on my game, get better every day,” Davidov said of the many comments he receives from people who are seeing him play for the first time. “I pretty used to it, I don’t give it much thought.”
Davidov sees several advantages to his unconventional playing style. “You have two weapons and you can accelerate the ball more on each side,” Davidov said. “You can cover the court more, hit more angles. That’s my game, opening the court, playing aggressive.”
Davidov will face No. 6 seed Vihaan Reddy in the second round Tuesday.
With excellent weather on Monday and ideal conditions forecast for Tuesday, 19 first round doubles matches were played today, with second round matches in both singles and doubles set for tomorrow.
Tucson champions Ryan Cozad and Gavin Goode, the top seeds again this week, will play Davidov and Jerrid Gaines Jr. in the second round.
Carrie-Ann Hoo and Sarah Ye are the No. 1 seeds in the girls doubles.
Carson Kucher and Indra Vergne won the boys doubles titles, beating Ernesto Del Valle and Marco Perez of Puerto Rico 6-4, 6-2 in the final.
David Bvunzawabaya won the doubles title in El Salvador, with partner Thomas O’Neil of Canada. The No. 3 seeds defeated the unseeded team of Nistad and Guatemala’s Antonio Carlos Castellanos 6-2, 6-4 in the final.
Sarah Stoyanov and her partner Sandra Talamo Pinto of Venezuela won the girls doubles title, with the No. 1 seeds beating No. 4 seeds Payton Dith and Romy Gravenor of Canada 6-3, 3-6, 12-10 in the final.