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Seventeen UTR Pro Tennis Tour men’s and women’s $25K events took place in July with four new host cities: Miki, Japan, Newark, N.J., Ann Arbor, Mich., and Belgrade, Serbia. Let's take a closer look at who came away with titles.
College Stars Shine in Newark
The Orange Lawn Tennis Club in New Jersey hosted its first PTT events with one men's and two women's events in July. Universal Tennis ambassador Alex Kotzen (UTR Rating 13.32) captured the inaugural event, following up his PTT title in Boca from the week prior. The Columbia University senior then took his PTT 12-match winning streak overseas to Kuala Lumpur for more tournaments before planning to return stateside for his third year of college tennis.
Former University of South Carolina standout Anna Morgina (10.25) won the Newark PTT women's title during the week of July 17 by upsetting two-time PTT champion Mia Horvit (10.63) in the final. She had previously played PTT events in Europe including in Spain, Bulgaria, and Romania.
"I just recently moved to the U.S., so it's very exciting to play
The third Newark PTT title went to the University of North Carolina senior Anika Yarlagadda (10.58), who beat Canada's Isabelle Boulais in the final.
Ma Wins First Pro Title
Stanford sophomore Connie Ma (11.18) snagged the Newport Beach PTT $25K during the last week of July. The event marked her first tournament since reaching the final of the NCAA individual championships (falling to Universal Tennis ambassador Peyton Stearns). The 19-year-old was named the ITA National Rookie of the Year and the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year, finishing 32-9 overall in singles, including a 15-5 mark at the No. 1 spot.
PTT Arrives in Japan
Miki, a city just outside of Kobe, hosted the first-ever PTT events in Japan with two in the month of July. Tatsuma Ito (13.80) won the first $25K PTT during the week of July 4, beating Japanese compatriot Asahi Harazaki (13.18) in the final.
The following week, Japanese 24-year-old Yuki Mochizuki (13.63) beat Shunya Maruyama (12.47) to take home the winner's check. Mochizuki has reached a career-high ATP ranking of No. 508 with five ITF titles, including one earlier this year in Antalya, Turkey.
Giusca Caps Off PTT-Winning Summer
Bucharest native Teodor Giusca (13.48) wrapped up a successful summer of PTT action in Europe by winning his third title in a row, in Barcelona, during the week of July 4. Giusca won titles in Slovenia and Bulgaria in June, amassing a 23-3 PTT record across five events.
After completing his senior year at No. 1 for Clemson University, the 22-year-old will finish out his college tennis eligibility at the University of Georgia as a graduate student for the 2022-23 season.
Photo Roundup (Newport Beach; Photos by Jonathan Moore)
About the UTR Pro Tennis Tour
The PTT is open to players with a UTR Ranking of 200-2000, and wild cards can be awarded to those players with a UTR Ranking of 1-199 or above 2000. Every PTT event creates matchplay opportunities for up-and-coming, collegiate, and pro players thanks to a unique round-robin format. At every event, a group round-robin stage is followed by a World Cup-style playoff, guaranteeing multiple matches and counting all results towards the UTR Rating, the most accurate rating system in tennis. Every PTT event offers 4-5 matches and a minimum of $20,000 in prize money with an earnings guarantee for every participant.
For more information about UTR PTT and to see all of the results, click here.