Michael Augsberger
- Jun 8, 2023
- 4 min read

Van Horne wins battle, but Ozenci wins war

The Road to THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP 2023

June 3 - UTR 10U Green Ball and 12U - Anguilla Service Trips Open

June 4 - UTR 14U and 16U - String48 Open

A record fifty players took part in the Tennis Central Junior Circuit events over June 3-4, the most ever for UTR tournaments and rivaling the most-attended USTA weekends in Tennis Central history. Jon Ozenci's performance may have brought him just short in the final against William Van Horne, but it means he now leads the top four divisions on the Tour.

The fifty points awarded for second place catapulted Ozenci to pole position in the 14U and 16U leaderboards. He'd already led 12U and 16U. Van Horne took the 14U final to improve three places in 12U to sixth, and eleven places in 14U to 13th.

The greatest match of the weekend saw Alvaro Orlove clinch the 16U championship in a tiebreak that went all the way to 12-10 against newcomer-to-remember Riece Grice-Thomas, who with those fifty points debuts in the Top 40 in the rankings.

Nicolas Kidd cooly sauntered through the round robin at Saturday's 10U tournament, dropping only four games in three matches. The biggest challenge came from Shannon Bu, who at this time last year had only just begun playing competitively. Her massive strides placed her second for the first time, and she hopped 46 places in the rankings.

Another newcomer made an even more lasting impression. It was Jake Bowman who claimed the 12U tournament, pushed to a long first set and a tight second in the final by Amol Kedar. The 5-3, 4-2 finish gave Bowman the championship.

Though idle, Ilan Faraci and Kiran Mathura moved into the Top 10 at 16U thanks to the shifting plates underneath the rankings. Last year's results around this time of June were dropped. Devin Leung earned his entry into the Top 10 at 10U by grabbing a quarterfinal finish at the 12U.

Those were the only new Top 10 entrants on the entire Tour, save for 18U, which saw a massive adjustment to its leaderboard. Aside from Ozenci claiming first, Faraci, Van Horne, and Benjamin Kaufman all landed firmly among the best of the 18U players.

Only Shiloh Auzoux remains in first place apart from Ozenci, though Siena Auzoux took one step closer to catching him. The gap is cut to forty points after her first-round breakthrough at the 12U, while Shiloh bowed out in the Round of 16.

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.

Champions

6/3 UTR 10U Green: Nicolas Kidd

6/3 UTR 12U: Jake Bowman

6/4 UTR 14U: William Van Horne

6/4 UTR 16U: Alvaro Orlove

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.

2023 Tour Schedule

March

Mar 18: USTA L7 Boys and Girls 12U

Mar 19: USTA L7 Boys and Girls 14U

April

Apr 8: UTR 14U - Sweet Spotter Open

Apr 16: USTA L7 Boys and Girls 12U

Apr 16: USTA L7 Boys and Girls 14U

Apr 23: UTR 14U and 16U - Potomac Spring Tennis Festival Open

Apr 29: 15U UTR - Teen World Open Classic

Apr 30: 12U UTR - Anguilla Service Trips Open

Apr 30: 10U Green Dot UTR - Anguilla Service Trips Open