Inspiring Storylines Highlight Seven-Week USTA SoCal Pro Series

For seven straight weeks from May 25 to July 12, six different venues in Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties played host to $15,000-purse World Tennis Tour and USTA Pro Circuit men’s and women’s tournaments which comprise the SoCal Pro Series. These events offer a critical pathway of player development at a professional level and invaluable opportunities and experience for these talented young players.

This year, five women and three men—who are either Southern California residents or played collegiate tennis in Southern California—earned their first WTA/ATP world ranking point in singles through the circuit hosted and managed by the USTA Southern California section. That brings the five-year total to 41 women and 24 men who have established a world ranking in singles through the SoCal Pro Series.

UCLA’S JOHNSON WINS THIRD STRAIGHT TITLE: UCLA senior Spencer Johnson, from Ladera Ranch, wrapped up his 2026 SoCal Pro Series run on a 15-match win streak after squeezing out a 7-6(2), 7-5 victory over San Diego native Noah Zamora in the men’s singles final of the $15,000 USTA Pro Circuit and World Tennis Tour event hosted at Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club. Johnson finished the SoCal Pro Series winning his first three pro singles crowns in each of the last three events he played – in Irvine (Week 4), Claremont (Week 5) and on Sunday. Johnson, 23, received a wild card into this week’s ATP Challenger Tour $75,000 event in Lincoln, Nebraska.

RUSSIAN’S STREAK STOPPED: University of Oklahoma product Alina Shcherbinina emerged as the top women’s player on the circuit, but her bid for a fourth SoCal Pro Series title fell just short on the final Sunday. Her 22-match SoCal Pro Series winning streak was halted by Ukrainian Veronika Miroshnichenko, who ousted the Moscow native, 6-3, 6-4, in the final. An Irvine resident and former Loyola Marymount star, Miroshnichenko completed a weekend sweep of the singles and doubles titles in the same World Tennis Tour event for the first time. Since entering the SoCal Pro Series in Week 3 at Jack Kramer Club as a qualifier, Shcherbinina, 22, ran off three singles crowns and 22 consecutive victories through two qualifying draws and main draw play over the past five weeks. She did not play Week 5 of the series in Claremont.

MOVING UP THE LADDER: Johnson’s third singles title on Sunday placed him second all-time in SoCal Pro Series men’s singles titles, moving beyond two-time winners such as La Jolla natives and brothers Zach Svajda and Trevor Svajda, and 2026 University of San Diego graduate Oliver Tarvet. Irvine native Learner Tien is the circuit’s all-time leader with five singles titles. Through his five 2026 SoCal Pro Series events, which began with semifinal appearances at Lakewood Tennis Center and Jack Kramer Club, Johnson’s ATP ranking has climbed almost 300 spots, from No. 965 (when he began in Lakewood) to No. 682.

DOUBLES TROUBLE: Ukrainian Anita Sahdiieva, 22, won her 10^th career SoCal Pro Series doubles title, and 15^th overall pro doubles title, while teaming with Miroshnichenko for a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Sophia Webster and Jessica Bernales in the final event in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

NAME GAME: There were some big-name players who took part in the SoCal Pro Series, including last year’s Wimbledon doubles junior finalist Jagger Leach, who is currently a sophomore at Stanford. The son of International Tennis Hall of Famer Lindsay Davenport, Leach was given a wild card into Week 5 at Claremont and advanced to the semifinals where he fell to Johnson. Leach’s Stanford teammate, Nico Godsick, whose mother is tennis great Mary Joe Fernandez, qualified for the Claremont event with two wins before falling in the first round. Bryce Nakashima was watched by his older brother, Brandon, on the way to his first professional singles crown during Week 6 at Barnes Tennis Center in his native San Diego. Ranked No. 32 on the ATP Tour, Brandon’s lone ATP Tour singles title came at the 2022 San Diego Open, also played at Barnes Tennis Center.

TIES THAT BIND: El Segundo’s Sophia Webster, who plays for Vanderbilt, is the daughter of Stella Sampras Webster – UCLA’s women’s tennis coach for the past 30 years as well as a four-time NCAA All-American and a 1988 NCAA individual doubles champion with the Bruins. Webster won her first WTA singles ranking point during Week 4 at the Racquet Club of Irvine. The niece of 14-time Grand Slam champion and American tennis legend Pete Sampras, Webster also made it to the doubles final in Rancho Santa Fe. Read more here https://worldtennismagazine.com/the-niece-of-pete-sampras-just-earned-her-first-wta-tour-ranking-point/27897

FIRST POINTS: The following players with SoCal ties won their first WTA and ATP singles points during the SoCal Pro Series (not including Webster listed above): Zoe Olmos (San Diego State), Natalie Kha (Chino Hills), Tanvi Pandey (Irvine), Abigail Haile (Los Angeles), Roshan Santhosh (Newbury Park), Jean-Baptiste Badon (Los Angeles), Alexander Guajardo (San Diego)

ZOOM INTERVIEWS: Kaylan Bigun and Andrew Johnson, two of the most promising young American players, competed in the USTA SoCal Pro Series and conducted zoom interviews with Randy Walker from the Jack Kramer Club. Watch the Bigun interview here https://youtu.be/tjY57x-wpdo?si=_vgR4E0fNIlDJVW-and the Johnson interview here https://youtu.be/NvYMYGDjX7I?si=WNL85VL_XlwccOd9

NOTABLE ALUMS: Current pro players who have used the series to catapult onto the professional tour include:

• Learner Tien (Irvine): Current ATP No. 15; 2026 Australian Open Quarterfinalist.
• Alex Michelsen (Aliso Viejo): Current ATP No. 46.
• Iva Jovic (Torrance): Current WTA No. 16; 2026 Australian Open Quarterfinalist.
• California natives: Ethan Quinn (Fresno) – Current ATP No. 47; Zach Svajda (Pacific Beach) – Current ATP No. 72; Tristan Boyer (Altadena) – Current ATP No. 164; Keegan Smith (San Diego) – Current ATP No. 204; Stefan Dostanic (Irvine) – Current ATP No. 276; Brandon Holt (Rolling Hills Estates) – Current ATP No. 657; Julieta Pareja (Carlsbad) – Current WTA No. 317; Katherine Hui (San Diego) – 2023 US Open Girls’ Singles champion.