With the two 15Ks in Orlando last week and two more this week, American juniors aren’t as prevalent as usual on the ITF Junior Circuit, although the ITF’s US junior clay swing is ramping up now. With a J30 in Raleigh serving as the kickoff of it two weeks ago, a J60 was played in Atlanta last week, with a J100 this week in Charleston South Carolina and two new J200s, on red clay in South Carolina and Tennessee, following.
Two players swept the titles last week in Georgia, with 15-year-old Daniella Sales and 17-year-old Kayden Colombo winning both singles and doubles titles.
Colombo had won only doubles titles on the ITF Junior Circuit prior to Saturday, but he won his first singles title by going undefeated in his group play in the new round robin/knockout format, then continuing his straight-sets run from the quarterfinals. He defeated Daniil Berezin 6-1, 6-4 in the singles final, avenging his loss to Berezin in the J30 Raleigh semifinals the week prior. In the doubles final that followed, Colombo partnered with Griffin Goode, with the unseeded pair defeating No. 4 seeds Carson Kuchar and John Murphy 6-1, 6-3.
Sales, the 2025 14s Nationals champion, also won her round robin group without dropping a set, but needed three sets to get past Alina Vysochenko of Ukraine in the quarterfinals. After a walkover put her in the final, Sales defeated another Ukrainian, Anastasiya Muravia, 6-4, 6-3 for her second ITF singles title, both at the J60 level.
In doubles, Vysochenko and Sales, the top seeds, beat unseeded Capri Butera and Puerto Rico’s Aurora Lugo 2-6, 6-2, 11-9 in the final.
Seventeen-year-old Jack Kennedy, who reached the semifinals of the Tallahassee Challenger last week, received entry as part of the ATP/ITF Accelerator program that grants main draw spots to boys who finish in the Top 20 of the ITF junior rankings. He plays Sascha Gueymard Wayenburg of France in Tuesday’s opening round. Sixteen-year-old Michael Antonius, the youngest American male to win a Pro Circuit event when he captured the Bakersfield M25 last month, received a wild card into the main draw, where he’ll play Mitchell Krueger.
The third teen earned his spot today, with 16-year-old Andy Johnson advancing through qualifying to make his Challenger debut. Johnson defeated the fourth seed in qualifying, Garrett Johns(Duke), 7-6(4), 6-4 on Sunday and beat Roberto Cid Subervi(USF) of the Dominican Republic 6-2, 7-6(7) in the final round of qualifying today. Johnson will play No. 2 seed Nishesh Basavareddy(Stanford) in the first round Tuesday, although Basavareedy retired from his quarterfinal match in Sarasota two weeks ago and withdrew from the Tallahassee Challenger.
The other Americans who qualified are Aidan Mayo and Tyler Zink(Georgia, Oklahoma State); Braden Shick(NC State) received entry as a lucky loser. Liam Draxl(Kentucky) of Canada is again the top seed, as he was in Tallahassee last week.
Several weeks ago I made my annual change to the banner ad from my longtime sponsor John McEnroe Tennis Academy, as it’s the time of year when registration for their College Combine opens. I hope you noticed it, but if not, here’s additional information on the event from JMTA:
Today, JMTA announced the 10th Annual John McEnroe Tennis Academy College Recruiting Combine, to be held June 27th and June 28th, 2026, at SPORTIME Port Washington NY. This will be the third consecutive year that the Combine is being held at that location.
Now in its milestone tenth year, the JMTA College Combine has become one of the premier recruiting events in junior tennis. The Combine will provide both JMTA and non-JMTA players the opportunity to showcase their technical and tactical tennis skills, and their athletic abilities, in front of coaches from top colleges and universities. The Combine also features a live-streaming platform, which gives players the opportunity to perform for a wider group of coaches. Last year, over 100 coaches from across the country “attended” the event virtually, joining those who attended in-person.
“Helping players reach the next level has always been central to what we do at JMTA,” said John McEnroe. “Ten years ago, we created the Combine to give committed players a serious opportunity to be seen and evaluated in a meaningful way. Watching our Combine grow into one of the most respected recruiting events in the country has been incredibly rewarding. Bringing it back again to Port Washington, where my brother Patrick and I trained as kids, makes this milestone year especially meaningful for us.”
SPORTIME Port Washington, formerly the Port Washington Tennis Academy, is one of two JMTA locations on Long Island. The facility has been operated by SPORTIME, following an $8.5 million renovation, since 2023. The club holds a storied place in American tennis history. In addition to John and Patrick McEnroe, alumni include Vitas Gerulaitis, Mary Carillo and Tracy Austin.
The 2026 JMTA College Combine will welcome 50 boys and 50 girls. Coaches representing all three NCAA Divisions are expected to attend, with 2026 coach commitments to-date including coaches from Brown, Baylor, Cornell, Wake Forest, Yale, Colgate, Bryant, Villanova, Williams, and many other top programs, and with many more coaches expected to confirm their attendance in the weeks to come. Representatives from prestigious leagues, including the Ivy League, ACC, Big East, SEC, Big 10, Patriot League and NESCAC attended in previous years and are expected again this year.
Applications for the 100 available Combine spots will be accepted from now through May 31st. A dedicated Selection Committee will evaluate each application based upon objective competitive criteria. Players will be notified of their status as admitted or wait-listed on a rolling basis.
Each Combine day will begin with an 8:00 a.m. check-in. Participants will compete in singles and doubles match-play, with tracked results that count toward their UTRs. Players will also receive athletic performance assessments and will be invited to participate in Sports Vision Testing and in a College Coaches’ Panel Discussion. Combine partner Tennis Analytics will be video-recording all matches and will offer participant packages, including match videos with detailed analytics. Included for each Combine participant is an integrated recruiting package, including the match videos, which are made available, digitally, to both participants and coaches, at the touch of a button on their personal Player Portals.
For further details, and for information about JMTA’s College Placement Service, visit www.SPORTIMENY.com/JMTACombine or email jmtacombine@sportimeny.com.