Nadikatla returns for a title

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