From a three-peat at the US Open to a historic Challenger title to Davis Cup heroics, September showcased the continuing success of former college players at the top levels of the sport. The world's best juniors also had their opportunities to shine last month, with nine titles, including US Open championships, among their accomplishments.
Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury
The 39-year-old Ram, who played college tennis at Illinois, and Great Britain's 31-year-old Salisbury, who starred at Memphis, won their third straight US Open men's doubles title last month in New York, with the No. 3 seeds defeating No. 6 seeds Matthew Ebden of Australia and Rohan Boppana of India 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the final. Ram and Salisbury are the first team in the Open Era, and first since 1914, to win three consecutive US Open men's doubles titles.
Abdullah Shelbayh
The 19-year-old from Jordan played intermittently at the bottom of the University of Florida lineup in 2021-22. But shortly after leaving the Gators after his freshman year, he began having success on the Pro Circuit, ending last year inside the ATP Top 500. On Sunday, Shelbayh won his first ATP Challenger title at the Charleston, South Carolina 75, defeating wild card Oliver Crawford, another former Florida Gator, 6-2, 6-7(5), 6-3 in the final. The first player from Jordan to capture an ATP Challenger title and the youngest from an Arab country, Shelbayh is now at a career-high 215 in the ATP rankings.
Alexis Galarneau
The former North Carolina State All-American went 5-0 for defending Davis Cup champions Canada, with his victory over Alejandro Tabilo of Chile in last month's World Group play putting his country into November's quarterfinals. The 24-year-old from Quebec, currently 174 in the ATP rankings, earned a crucial singles victory over ATP No. 38 Lorenzo Sonego of Italy in group play in Bologna, while also claiming three doubles points playing with Vasek Pospisil. (Photo credit: NC State Athletics)
Katherine Hui
The 18-year-old from San Diego earned a wild card into the US Open junior tournament for reaching the final of August's USTA 18s National Championships in her hometown and went on to claim the girls singles title in New York. After defeating No. 2 seed and Roland Garros finalist Lucciana Perez Alarcon of Peru 6-4, 6-0 in the second round, the Stanford freshman continued her march through the draw, losing only 18 games in her first five victories. In the final, Hui defeated No. 9 seed Tereza Valentova of the Czech Republic, 6-4, 6-4, winning the title at what was just the second junior slam of her career.
Joao Fonseca
The 17-year-old from Brazil had been stuck at the quarterfinal stage at junior slams, having lost there in Melbourne, Paris and London in 2023. But the No. 7 seed broke through that barrier in New York, earning three three-set victories from the quarterfinals through the final to capture the US Open boys singles title. Fonseca, who moved to No. 1 in the ITF junior rankings with the title, defeated two-time Kalamazoo 18s champion and Australian Open boys finalist Learner Tien 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the final, with the help of a boisterous group of Brazilian supporters.
The 17-year-old from Michigan, who changed her country affiliation from the United States to Australia earlier this year, won her first two ITF J300 titles last month at the ITF Pan American Closed in Houston. Seeded No. 2 in singles, Joint came from 6-1, 5-3 down to defeat top seed Tyra Grant 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to claim that title. She then partnered with Ariana Pursoo for the doubles title, with the top seeds defeating No. 4 seeds Claire An and Alanis Hamilton 6-7(3), 7-5, 10-7.
The 17-year-old from nearby Conroe, Texas captured his first ITF J300 title at the Pan American Closed, beating another local player who also trained at the host site, the Giammalva Racquet Club in Houston. Frusina, the Pan American's top seed after a run to the quarterfinals at the US Open earlier in the month, defeated No. 2 seed Alex Razeghi 7-5, 6-2 in the final. After a two-month run of results that began with the Kalamazoo 18s doubles title, Frusina has reached the Top 20 in ITF junior rankings for the first time.
Gilles Bailly
The 18-year-old from Belgium, who reached the boys singles final at Roland Garros and the US Open last year, won his second ITF men's World Tennis Tour title of his career last month at a $25,000 tournament in Italy. A qualifier, Bailly claimed all seven of his victories in straight sets, beating an Italian in every match, including the final, a 6-1, 6-2 decision over No. 3 seed Enrico Dalla Valle. Bailly, the 2022 ITF World Junior Champion, will move inside the ATP Top 500 when the points from last week's title are added.
Nikola Bartunkova
An ace in August for her second ITF women's World Tennis Tour $25,000 title, the 17-year-old from the Czech Republic added her third career Pro Circuit title in September at the $25,000 tournament in Italy. The 2023 Wimbledon girls finalist, seed No. 7, earned the title when No. 6 seed Katharina Hobgarski of Germany retired in the final trailing 6-0, 1-0. Bartunkova, a former Top 10 ITF junior, will move into the WTA Top 300 when the points are added next week. (Photo credit: Paul Ballard)
Taylah Preston
The 17-year-old Australian captured her second career ITF women's WTT title last month at a $25,000 tournament in Perth. Preston, the No. 7 seed, didn't drop a set in her five victories, defeating compatriot and fellow teen Talia Gibson, the No. 6 seed, 7-5, 6-1 in the final. Preston, who had lost to Gibson in the semifinals of the $25K in Perth the previous week, is now up to a career-high WTA ranking of 317. (Photo credit: Paul Ballard)
Celine Naef
The 18-year-old from Switzerland won her sixth and biggest ITF women's WTT title last month at the $80,000 tournament in France. Seeded No. 4, Naef defeated 16-year-old, two-time junior slam champion Alina Korneeva of Russia, seeded seventh, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6(7) in the final, saving two match points in the third-set tiebreaker. Naef, who is 30-11 this year on the ITF Women's WTT and WTA circuits, is now at a career-high of 124 in the WTA rankings.
Petra Marcinko
The 2022 Australian Open girls champion is up to a career-high WTA ranking of 142 after the 17-year-old from Croatia captured her sixth ITF women's WTT title at the $60,000+Hospitality tournament last month in Portugal. The seventh-seeded Marcinko, the 2021 ITF World Junior Champion, didn't drop a set in claiming the title, beating No. 3 seed Leolia Jeanjean of France 6-4, 6-1 in the championship match.
Marina Stakusic
The 18-year-old from Canada missed the first six months of the year with an injury, but had an emphatic return to competition with her results last month, earning her first two titles on the ITF women's World Tennis Tour. Stakusic, who was unseeded, won a $25,000 tournament in Spain to start the month, defeating unseeded Anna Kubareva of Belarus 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 in the final. Two weeks later, she won the $60,000 USTA Pro Circuit tournament in Berkeley, California, again unseeded, beating qualifier Allie Kiick 6-3, 6-4 in the final. Stakusic, who reached No. 31 in the ITF junior rankings, is now at her career high of 297 in the WTA rankings.
Andres Martin
The 22-year-old American, in his fifth year at Georgia Tech, won his first two ITF men's World Tennis Tour titles last month at the $15,000 tournament in Tunisia. Unseeded, Martin beat top seed Constantin Bitten Kouzmine of France 6-2, 6-4 in the singles final. Partnering with teammate Keshav Chopra, who lost to Martin in the singles semifinals, Martin won the doubles title as well, claiming all four victories in straight sets. The unseeded pair defeated Thomas Braithwaite of Australia and Max Wiskandt of Germany, also unseeded, 6-1, 6-4 in the final. (Photo credit:Conor Kvatek/USTA)
Ryan Seggerman
The 24-year-old Californian won his first ITF men's WTT singles title last month at the $25,000 tournament in Tunisia. The unseeded Princeton graduate, who played at North Carolina as a graduate student last year, defeated No. 4 seed Ilia Simakin of Russia 7-5, 6-4 in the final. Seggerman and Patrik Trhac also won their seventh consecutive doubles title, dating back to July's SoCal Pro Series, with a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Thomas Braithwaite and Timothy Gray of Australia. Their 28-match winning streak ended at the Charleston Challenger.
Hady Habib
The former Texas A&M All-American won his fourth ITF men's WTT singles title of the year and the ninth of his pro career last month at the $25,000 tournament in Egypt. The 25-year-old from Lebanon, the No. 5 seed, defeated No. 6 seed Kris Van Wyk of South Africa 6-4, 6-4 in the championship match. With his second career $25K title, Habib has moved to a career high of 348 in the ATP rankings. (Photo credit: Bill Kallenberg)
Giles Hussey
The 26-year-old from Great Britain, who played at Georgia State and Tennessee, earned two ITF men's WTT titles last month at the $15,000 level, the second and third of his career. In the first, as the No. 2 seed in Hungary, he defeated No. 4 seed Gabriel Decamps of Brazil 2-6, 6-3, 6-3. His second title came in Sweden as the No. 4 seed, defeating No. 3 seed Mats Rosenkranz of Germany 6-2, 6-3 in the championship match. Hussey is now back into the ATP Top 500, close to his career-high ranking of 475. (Photo credit: Manuela Davies/USTA)
Liam Draxl
The Kentucky All-American, who announced this summer that he was turning pro with a year of eligibility remaining, won two $15,000 titles on the USTA Pro Circuit last month. As the top seed at the Champaign, Illinois tournament, the 21-year-old Canadian defeated Will Grant 6-1, 6-3 in the final. Two weeks later as the No. 2 seed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, Draxl again faced Grant and again came away with a routine victory, 6-0, 6-2, for his fourth career ITF men's WTT title, all at the $15,000 level. He will be at a career-high 434 in the ATP rankings when the New Mexico points are added next week.
*Unless otherwise noted, photo credit Zoo Tennis
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