The Road to THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP 2024
Jul 28: USTA Boys & Girls 10U Orange and 12U Green, Bethesda
In just one day 35 players competed in Tennis Central's 10 year old and 12 year old events with USTA and TCJC points on the line.
Mirabella Dumesh, Ava Palmer, Celine Kim, and Logan Maglathlin each went an unbeaten 3-0 in their groups of four to win championships at the 10U orange level.
Jony Drichter was responsible for one of the best finishes throughout the day, pushing Palmer to 3-3 to decide the championship in a sudden death game. Palmer prevailed to win 4-3 while the 2-1 Drichter took second place in her second event, following a 40-point championship performance last time out in early July. The silver winner reached No. 59 on Tour, while Palmer breaks the top 100 in just her first tournament.
Dumesh needed no introduction while running rampant in her group matches, dropping not a single game. She heads to No. 95.
Ishan Khanna and Gia Lee came closest to unseating the other two gold medalists, but Eric Qiu grabbed hold of Group D's second place when he defeated Lee 4-1.
An even more robust 12U tournament boasted groups of five, where Matthew Tichenor and Yiyi Liu put on the most gripping display to decide the champion. Opening the event, they also went 3-3 until Tichenor pulled out the last game. In the end that was the factor as neither dropped any of their last three matches.
Whitaker Smith went 16-3; two of those lost games went to Vivaant Wagh, who had to battle to hold onto second place in a tight three way tie amongst Domini de Guzman and Peter Grocholski. De Guzman beat Wagh 4-3, but Wagh defeated the third of the triumvirate 4-2 to win the tiebreak for second place.
Srinivas Ballijepalle and Isaac Rankin contested Group A in a single set for the title, which Ballijepalle won 6-1.
Among the Top 10s, only little movement occurred on the 10U list. Kamsiyonna Odejiofor leapt into the Top 5 at the expense of expiring points from 2023 for Shannon Bu. For similar reasons, Arnav Nadikatla and Elijah Park each moved up a spot to Nos. 6 and 7 on the 12U Tour. Of the weekend's competitors, Anasofia Bladuell climbed the highest at No. 29.
But the major story in the rankings didn't concern movement at all. The gap between Siena and Shiloh Auzoux at the top of the 12U leaderboard is the closest it's been in months. Now just eighteen points separate No. 1 and No. 2, and the next event will give Siena a chance to claim the No. 1 ranking.
Tennis Central is back with a tournament every weekend until Labor Day, starting with the Level 7 USTA 14 and 18U at Hamlet Tennis Club this weekend. Princeton tournaments return August 17.
2024 Points Change
A change to the points applied to higher-level tournaments from lower levels should reflect ages and skills better from now on. It used to be that all points were halved when applied to a higher age group's rankings. Now, the points are halved each step up the ladder, not just once.
So a player can no longer earn 80 points at 10U and count them as 40 at 16U. They would be halved at 12U (40 points), again at 14U (20 points), then again at 16U (10 points). It provides the incentive without disrupting the older players' earnings too much.
However, a younger player earning points in an older tournament, much as Arnav Nadikatla did in this Tour Championship edition, is still a sure way to rise faster in those rankings.
Remember the newly added feature to the rankings: the Plus / Minus, which will tell you how far up or down the player has moved within the last week.
The full tables now look like this.
Each weekend this spring and summer, Tennis Central is bringing you USTA and UTR tournaments at Holton-Arms School. Earn points for advancing through each round, just like on the pro tours, and qualify for the TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP at season's end.
Bigger events offer more points, with the TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP offering the most, as well as prizes.
Check here for updates each week to the Tennis Central Tour Rankings, a 52-week points system based on the pro tours, as well as recaps of all the action and photos. We'll post the 2024 schedule soon!
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