ITA Operating Committee Votes to Play No-Ad this Fall; ITF Junior Update

Although I haven't received the confirmation I've requested from the ITA, I have heard today's operating committee conference call resulted in a decision to continue to play the no-ad format throughout the fall, including at both ITA majors.  My understanding is that there were three votes taken: for no-ad in doubles (same format as ITF, ATP, WTA) and regular scoring for singles; no-ad in some situations, but not all; and no-ad as originally approved, for both singles and doubles.

When I hear back from the ITA, who has characterized this process as open and transparent one, I will provide the breakdown on each vote, but I do know there were four coaches who voted against the no-ad as currently adopted: Lin Loring(Indiana women), Brian Kalbas(North Carolina women), Brian Boland (Virginia men), and John Roddick(Oklahoma men).

How this impacts the dual match season, I don't know now, but I hope to learn when the ITA provides more information.

In junior news, Sofia Kenin is in Albuquerque, preparing for the altitude of San Luis Potosi Mexico, where the Junior Fed Cup will be held later this month. In qualifying for the $75,000 tournament there, the 15-year-old Floridian defeated No. 2 seed Maria Sanchez(USC) 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 today, and will qualify if she can defeat Nicole Melichar on Tuesday.  CiCi Bellis, also representing the USA in Junior Fed Cup, lost to Stanford sophomore Carol Zhao 7-5, 6-4.  The third member of the Junior Fed Cup team, Tornado Alicia Black, had not completed her second round match against top qualifying seed Sanaz Marand(UNC).

After the US Open, the Junior Fed Cup and Junior Davis Cup, which begin a week from tomorrow, take center stage on the ITF junior calendar.  But lower level tournaments continue, with the Grade 2 in Canada drawing many of the international players who were in New York for the junior championships.

No. 7 seed Destanee Aiava of Australia, who lost in the first round of qualifying to Johnnise Renaud, won the girls singles in Canada, defeating No. 3 seed Kimberly Burrell, also of Australia, 7-6(3), 6-2 in the final.  Aiava, 14, defeated top seed Iryna Shymanovich of Belarus in the quarterfinals.  No. 2 seed Petros Chrysochos of Cyprus won the boys singles, defeating top seed Yunseong Chung of Korea 5-7, 6-0, 7-5. 

Three American juniors made the quarterfinals, No. 5 seed Jessica Ho and unseeded Mwendwa Mbithi and Jack Barber. Jessica Golovin lost in the doubles final, with she and her partner Aiava falling to Gabby Ruse of Romania and Vera Lapko of Belarus 7-5, 6-0.  Alafia Ayeni was another American reaching the doubles final; he and Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece lost to Chung and Seongchan Hong of Korea 1-6, 6-3, 10-7.

In other parts of the world, Ally Miller Krasilnikov took the singles title in the Togo Grade 4, with the No. 2 seed defeating top seed Nicole Dzenga of Zimbabwe 6-4, 7-5 in the final. Krasilnikov also reached the doubles final.   At the Honduras Grade 5, top John Jorgeson won an all-American final, defeating No. 4 seed Xavier Oshinowo 6-0, 6-1. Jorgeson and Nikola Samardzic, the No. 2 seeds,  won the doubles title.