Three Unseeded Southern Californians Reach Easter Bowl 18s Finals; Battle of Maryland in G16s Final; Wild Card Plays for B16s Title; Qualifier Karki Advances to M25 Las Vegas Final

©Colette Lewis 2026–
Indian Wells CA–

Southern Californians have always had success at the USTA Level 1 Easter Bowl, with winners this decade including Alex Michelsen, Iva Jovic, Andy Johnson and Tianmei Wang. Another champion from the SoCal section is guaranteed Sunday, with unseeded Peter Jorniak and Rishvanth Krishnan meeting for the Boys 18s title after straight-sets wins today at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Jorniak defeated top seed Alexander Suhanitski of New York, 6-2, 6-3 on Stadium Court Saturday morning, using the scouting he had done yesterday to formulate a game plan.

“I noticed his forehand was a little slower than his backhand,” said the 17-year-old from Arcadia California, who trains with Chuck Brymer and his son Gage, the 2013 Easter Bowl 18s champion. “So I was just targeting that. I didn’t hit a single second serve to his backhand, because it was a little more solid than his forehand, and I think that gave me a little edge.”

Jorniak, who describes himself as a late bloomer, won a USTA Level 3 tournament last week in Camarillo, but was not expecting that USTA winning streak to stretch to 10.

“Honestly, going into this unseeded, I didn’t really think I had anything, I was just going to play my best,” said Jorniak, who beat No. 5 seed Yashwin Krishnakumar in the second round in a match tiebreaker and won another match tiebreaker in the third round to boost his confidence. “Then I started winning a couple, and then it was, ok, shoot, I can do something here. But I think my level started to rise back in November, when I won a Level 3 in Louisiana.”

Jorniak’s opponent in Sunday’s final, the second consecutive B18s Easter Bowl final between unseeded players, is Rishvanth Krishna of Irvine California, who avenged his 2025 Easter Bowl third round loss to David Wu, a No. 9 seed, with a 7-6(5), 6-1 victory.

“I lost to him in the round of 16 and it was a three-setter,” said Krishna, who credits his older brother Rithvik, who played at UC-Irvine, for inspiring him to improve. “My serve has gotten a lot better, so I’ve gotten a lot more free points this year. Last year, it was a lot of long rallies, I got tired in the third set, but this year my served bailed me out a lot.”

Krishna said he’s been playing well all week, but considers himself fortunate to have escaped his quarterfinal encounter with unseeded Justin Anson 4-6, 6-3, 10-8. 

“I had a tight 10-pointer, 10-8 in the third, so it could have gone either way,” Krishna said. “But I’m happy to get through that, and other than that, I’ve been playing pretty solid, all in straight sets.”

Both Jorniak and Krishnan will receive their first USTA ball tomorrow.

The third unseeded Southern Californian to advance to the 18s championship match is a repeat Easter Bowl finalist, 16-year-old Yilin Chen of Poway. Unlike the boys finalists, Chen hasn’t had to play a match tiebreaker, dropping just 15 games in five matches.

Despite beating four seeds, including No. 3 seed Alyson Shannon by a score of 6-1, 6-1 today, Chen said she got lucky with the draw.

“I feel like I’ve been working really hard and I got lucky with the draw,” said Chen, who reached the Easter Bowl 12s final in 2022. “It allowed me to play my game a little bit more, which was nice.”

Chen said she has been working on being aggressive and making more first serves.

“I feel it’s important to raise your first serve percentage and do some damage with your first serve,” said Chen, who works with Josh Milton and David Rice at LaValle Club in Rancho Santa Fe. “It’s been working for me also to take a lot of time away from my opponents, rush them a bit when I get the chance. I used to play really defensive, so when I add a bit of offense to my game it helps.”

Chen has not played top seed Ellery Mendell, who defeated unseeded Isabelle DeLuccia 7-6(4), 6-2.

Mendell got through a long and competitive first set before taking control at 2-all in the second.

“I was down 3-4 (in the tiebreak), and I was really trying to dictate the points, not playing passive,” said the 16-year-old from Watkinsville Georgia, who will play for Ohio State in 2027. “I wanted to go for it, be brave at the end of the set, finish on a good note, and it worked well for me.”

The 18s singles finals are scheduled for 10:30 a.m., after the completion of the 16s singles finals, which begin at 8 a.m.

The girls 16s final is an all-Maryland battle, with top seed Sylvana Jalbert facing No. 4 seed Shristi Selvan.

Jalbert had the much less dramatic semifinal, with the 15-year-old from Mt. Airy posting her fifth consecutive straight-sets win in defeating unseeded Caroline Coan of Elmhurst Illinois 6-3, 6-3.

Selvan was down a set and 4-3, with wild card Tanvi Pandey serving in the second, before reeling off the next three games. The 10-minute break between sets didn’t halt her momentum, and she reached her second straight USTA Level 1 final with a 2-6, 6-4, 6-1 victory.

For Selvan, who saved match points in her run to the 16s title at the Winter Nationals, took confidence from that escape in this one.

“It definitely helped,” said the 15-year-old from Laurel Maryland, who trains at the Junior Tennis Champions Center in College Park. “Winter Nationals, quarterfinals, I was down like ten match points. I think that helped me, knowing that it wasn’t over yet and I could get myself back up. I’ve done it before, why can’t I do it again? At 3-4, I was just like, I’m going to stop (going for it), I’m just going to grind the point, every point I can get.”

Selvan is looking forward to the final against Jalbert.

Kulkarni, who has won three ITF Junior Circuit singles titles, said he appreciated the opportunity to play the Easter Bowl.

“I didn’t get in off (USTA) ranking, so I applied for a wild card, said the 16-year-old from Gilbert Arizona. “And luckily I was able to get in to this amazing tournament. I’m just grateful for the people who got me in.”

Kulkarni, who won two third set match tiebreakers during the first four rounds, was able to apply the pressure to Rybak at the end of each set, breaking him at 5-6 and at 4-5 to earn his spot in Sunday’s final.

“There’s a lot of tight situations in moments in matches, and everyone is so good here,” said Kulkarni, who trains with Casey Was. “Personally I just try to get one ball in at a time, not what it could mean later. I think I was just able to win a couple of important points when I needed to, and thankfully I got it done.”

Gradzki is playing in his first Easter Bowl, with the Clay Courts last year his first appearance at a Level 1.

“I started playing tournaments pretty late, I was 12 or 13,” said the 15-year-old from Ridgewood New York. “This my first time playing every L1.”

Against Kaminski, Gradzki found his form in the second set, and when he broke and held for a 4-2 lead in the third set, he managed to keep from looking too far ahead. With Kaminski serving at 3-5, Gradzki had four match points, but was unable to convert any of them. So when some good serving at 5-4 gave him a fifth, he decided to use what he had learned in the previous game.

“I was really tight to close it out, it was the first time I was so tight,” said Gradzki, who did not play a third set match tiebreaker in his first four matches. “On my second match point, up 30-40, I decided just to go for it and I missed a backhand line by a couple of inches. So I’m like, I need to play more safe, wait for the perfect ball.”

“It feels amazing,” Gradzki said. “It feels like with all my hard work, I’ve finally achieved something. This really means a lot to me.”

The unrelenting sunshine took an occasional break Saturday, with high clouds providing welcome relief with the temperatures still reaching the upper 90s by the time the doubles semifinals were played in the afternoon. Below are the results from today’s action, with the doubles finals to follow the singles finals Sunday.

In the doubles final, No. 3 seeds Oliver Okonkwo(Iowa, Illinois) of Great Britain and Billy Suarez(Tulane) defeated unseeded Daniel Milavsky(Harvard) and Jack Vance 6-4, 6-3.