Learner Tien photograph by Pete Staples/USTA
The USTA Southern California Part’s widespread SoCal Professional Sequence is returning for the fourth consecutive 12 months, starting Could 26 at Barnes Tennis Heart in San Diego.
The SoCal Professional Sequence consists of seven consecutive weeks of males’s and ladies’s $15,000-purse professional tennis tournaments that are affiliated with the USTA Professional Circuit and Worldwide Tennis Federation (ITF) World Tennis Tour and happen in San Diego and Los Angeles counties.
The Sequence places Southern California junior and collegiate gamers on the quick observe to earn useful ATP and WTA world rating factors and make their approach up the world rankings ladder. SoCal Professional Sequence fundamental draw and qualifying-round wildcards will likely be obtainable to U.S. residents who’re authorized Southern California residents or full-time Southern California faculty college students.
The SoCal Professional Sequence’ upcoming seven event dates and areas are:
Could 26-June 1 – Barnes Tennis Heart, San Diego
June 2-8 – College of San Diego, San Diego
June 9-15 – College of San Diego, San Diego
June 16-22 – Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Membership, Rancho Santa Fe
June 23-29 – Lakewood Tennis Heart, Lakewood
June 30-July 6 – Jack Kramer Membership, Rolling Hills Estates
July 7-13 – San Diego State College, San Diego
Whereas the SoCal Professional Sequence returns to 5 venues which have yearly hosted its skilled competitors, San Diego State College is a brand new web site to the circuit and can host the collection’ concluding event within the second week of July.
“The SoCal Professional Sequence has been known as a real stepping stone for thus lots of our junior and faculty gamers,” stated Trevor Kronemann, USTA Southern California Government Director. “However lately considered one of our present gamers stated it was extra like a trampoline into greater tournaments on the ATP and WTA excursions and he’s precisely proper. This was the objective all alongside of the SoCal Professional Sequence and we’re excited for the return of those seven straight weeks of play for our part’s prime gamers.”
Holding true to its preliminary mission, the SoCal Professional Sequence has uncovered elite juniors and collegiate gamers in and round Southern California to tennis competitors on the skilled stage and has served those that have launched into such professional careers in growing their expertise and offering a springboard to greater collection of tennis such because the Challenger and ATP/WTA Excursions.
By way of the primary three years of the SoCal Professional collection, 29 girls and 16 males who’re both Southern California residents or performed collegiately in Southern California have earned their first WTA/ATP world rating level via the circuit, together with eight females and 4 males who achieved the feat in 2024.
Success tales abound. One must look again no additional than January’s Australian Open, the place three SoCal Professional Sequence merchandise – Altadena’s Tristan Boyer, Aliso Viejo native Alex Michelsen and Irvine’s Learner Tien – received opening-round matches, and Michelsen and Tien superior into the second week of a Grand Slam occasion for the primary time by reaching the Spherical of 16 in Melbourne.
Michelsen’s meteoric stand up the skilled ranks started on the inaugural SoCal Professional Sequence in 2022, whereas Tien received his first SoCal Professional Sequence occasion in his hometown in 2023 and added 4 extra singles titles on the circuit simply final summer season. He’s the winningest participant within the SoCal Professional Sequence’ transient historical past.
The 2 aces who grew up as pals and coaching companions in Orange County discovered themselves competing in December’s Subsequent Gen ATP Finals (open to the world’s eight highest-ranked gamers underneath 21) in Saudi Arabia and they’re now the world’s highest-ranked American males underneath age 21 (the 20-year-old Michelsen at No. 33, and 19-year-old Tien at No. 67).
Different previous SoCal Professional Sequence males’s singles champions and finalists within the ATP rankings’ prime 250 embrace Rolling Hills Estates native Brandon Holt (No. 102), Ethan Quinn (No. 106), of Fresno, College of San Diego graduate August Holmgren (No. 188) and Pacific Seaside’s Zach Svajda (No. 227).
Females who parlayed SoCal Professional Sequence success as youngsters into greater, heralded achievements embrace San Diegan Katherine Hui, who simply months after enjoying within the 2023 SoCal Professional Sequence went on to win the 2023 US Open ladies’ singles title, and Carlsbad resident Julieta Pareja, who earned her first WTA rating level in Week 1 of the 2024 SoCal Professional Sequence, then received her first professional singles event simply over three weeks later on the SoCal Professional Sequence occasion in Rancho Santa Fe at age 15. She went on to achieve the third (and remaining) 2024 US Open qualifying spherical in August, and Pareja is now ranked No. 317 within the WTA rankings.
Southern California gamers can register to play in pre-qualifying occasions for an opportunity to earn their approach into the principle draw as wild playing cards. The upcoming pre-qualifying schedule contains: Could 24-26, College of San Diego; Could 30-June 3, Lakewood Tennis Heart; June 13-15, Jack Kramer Membership; June 20-22, San Diego State College. SoCal gamers can register for occasions at: https://www.ustasocal.com/proseries.
