Michael Augsberger
Nadikatla returns for a title
Updated: Aug 4
The Road to THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
July 29 - UTR - Tennis Curator Classic 12U
July 30 - UTR - Central College Placement 15U
Heavily favored Arnav Nadikatla took care of business in the 12U on Saturday for another Tennis Central Junior Circuit championship. It served as a fine appetizer to Sunday's Central College Placement Classic 15U, which featured eight top competitors. Backham Hoang won the final over Akaash Sachdeva keeping in line with a slight advantage in the UTR metrics.
The many-time champion Nadikatla didn't drop a single game in his march to victory, defeating semifinalist Pilar Conrad and then Cameron Mangal in the final. But it is his first victory in the past year, including a visit to the 2022 Tour Championship. He's now 16th in the 12U rankings, not enough for a Tour Championship spot, but signaling his intention for one.
The real drama of Saturday took place in the third place playoff, in which Conrad and Nicolas Kidd split sets before their 10-7 match tiebreak went Kidd's way for the extra rankings points. Kidd's won at the 10U level and takes his ranking there up even further, from 16th to the Top 10, just two places out of a boys' place in September's Tour Championship.
Finalist Sachdeva indeed had to defeat Nadikatla in the 15U, since Saturday's champion entered both tournaments and won the first round in a tiebreak. In fact Sachdeva needed a tiebreak to get past both Nadikatla and, in the opener, Ivan Teeter, which Sachdeva won 10-3.
In the final Hoang led comfortably before a curfew forced the match to be finished early.
Very little changed in the 18U ranks, but because of the 15U event, we saw sizable effects on the 16U tour. Hoang debuts at 29th thanks to the championship, with Sachdeva also receiving a major boost. Carter Mills's first-round exit at the hands of Vik D following a tight 5-3 first set means he moves up a spot to 18th. He's now 6th at the 14U level, the deepest field of any tour and firmly in a Tour Championship spot.
Nadikatla's 65-point day improved his prospects to 33rd. But Solomon Ravitz still holds that 11-point lead over Jon Ozenci for the No. 1 ranking.
With only a few weeks left to qualify for the Tour Championship, the races are heating up in the 12U. Nadikatla is three places outside the cutoff. Shritha Adapala is the highest ranked girl, followed by Cornelia Touw, Siena Auzoux, Annie Lippard and this year's big winner, Zahra Doriwala. Julia Urbanowska rounds out the six invitations if the year ended today, with Stella Dybczakova on the bubble. The two ahead of Nadikatla are Rohan Bhagat and Braden Walter.
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
7/29 UTR 12U: Arnav Nadikatla
7/23 UTR 18U: Beckham Hoang
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
Apr 30: 10U Green Dot UTR - Anguilla Service Trips Open - rescheduled for June 3
May
May 6: USTA Junior Circuit Orange & Green
May 7: USTA L7 Adult NTRP
May 13: USTA Boys' and Girls' WTN 12-18U
May 20: USTA Junior Circuit Orange Dot (16)
May 21: USTA Boys' and Girls' WTN (Rankings 28-34, 34-40)
May 21: UTR Doubles 14U presented by The Beach Tennis & Pool
June
June 3: 10U Green and 12U UTR - Anguilla Service Trips Open
June 4: 14U and 16U UTR - String48 Open
June 10: 10U and 12U UTR - Tennis Curator Open
June 11: 16U UTR - The Beach Open
June 17: 10U and 12U UTR - Happy Tennis Parents Open
June 18: 14U and 18U UTR - Travel Team Open
June 24: 10U & 12U UTR - Anguilla Tennis Academy Open
June 24: USTA Boys' and Girls' 14U & 18U Singles Waterfall
June 25: 18U Singles & Doubles UTR - Tennis Central Foundation Open
July
July 1: USTA Boys' & Girls' 12U & 16U Waterfall
July 2: 14U & 16U UTR - Central College Placement Open
July 8: 12U Singles & Doubles UTR - Holton Creative Summer Open
July 9: 15U & 18U UTR - Varsity Open presented by Yann Auzoux Try-Out Camp
July 15-16: Adult UTR - Tennis Central Open
July 16: USTA 10U Orange & 10U Green
July 22: 10U & 14U UTR - BGO Cup
July 23: 18U Singles & Doubles UTR - String48 Classic
July 29: 10U & 12U UTR - Tennis Curator Classic
July 30: 15U Singles & Doubles UTR - Central College Placement Classic
August
Aug 5: 12U & 16U Singles & Doubles UTR
Aug 5: USTA Boys' and Girls' 14U Waterfall
Aug 6: USTA Boys' and Girls' 18U Waterfall
Aug 12: 10U Singles & Doubles UTR - Teen World Open Cup
Aug 13: 14U & 16U UTR - The String48 Amateur
Aug 19: 10U & 16U Singles & Doubles UTR
Aug 20: USTA 10U Orange and 10U Green
Aug 20: 12U & 18U Singles & Doubles UTR
Aug 26: 10U UTR
Aug 26: USTA Team Event: College Format 10U Orange & 10U Green
Aug 27: 14U Singles & Doubles UTR
September
September 2: 12U & 18U UTR
September 3: 15U Singles & Doubles UTR
September 9-10: THE TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP