Randy Walker

The recent Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships $15,000 USTA Pro Circuit ITF World Tennis Tour event received over one million media impressions during its week-long event May 4-10 at the Sea Oaks Beach & Tennis Club.

The tournament and its storylines received media coverage in such major media oulets as the New York Times, Tennis Channel, SportsIllustrated.com, the Cincinnati Enquirier, the Bradenton Herald, WorldTennisMagazine.com, TCPalm.com among other outlets. The tournament also received hundreds of thousands of impressions on social media, most notably Instagram and Twitter/X. The over one million media impressions equals about the amount of people who watched the respective 2026 singles finals at Roland Garros in the United States, by comparison.

Most of the media attention focused on three major storylines.

The first was the incredible run to the singles title by Joaquim Almeida of Brazil, from being the 28th player on the alternate list, to saving eight match points en route to winning his first ITF singles title as a player without an ATP or ITF singles ranking, as written about here https://www.aol.com/news/unranked-tennis-pro-joaquim-almeida-153630158.html
The victory received significant media attention among Brazilian tennis blogs and social media accounts as seen here
https://x.com/RaqueteNaMaoBR/status/2053639602334818455 and here https://www.instagram.com/p/DYNFLz2nKCJ/

En route to the title, Almeida defeated former top 40 ATP pro J.J. Wolf, who chose Vero Beach to be one of the stops on his return to pro tennis after a serious shoulder injury that kept him off the tour for a year.
https://floridatennis.com/blogs/news/j-j-wolf-headlines-sold-out-mardy-fish-tennis-championships-in-vero-beach
Wolf’s appearance in Vero Beach also in Vero Beach also received quite a lot of media attention, including a feature story in the Cincinnati Enquirer, as can be seen here https://www.cincinnati.com/story/sports/2026/05/07/jj-wolf-tennis-injury-update-mardy-fish/89980258007/?link_source=ta_first_comment&taid=69fd3c9aa22e4b00014eb3b0&utm_campaign=trueanthem&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwY2xjawScAO9leHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFyczRwaUdma1EyNnB0a0Jic3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHmkWxMu1txWPkMP55XSPuKGlG7sLD6pCAJwdiloVstOas0hybDwG6p2RgIVM_aem_n-m6Zh88fQblt5jwxrwdkg

Unfortunately, Wolf suffered a set back to his comeback when he had to retire after the first game of the third set to Almeida in the quarterfinals.

Perhaps the most viral story of the week came in the final round of the qualifying tournament when Teodor Davidov, at age 15 and the youngest player ranked in the ATP Tour singles rankings, played against 45-year-old Ryan Haviland, the oldest player ranked in the ATP Tour singles rankings in a match-up that has never happened and will probably will never happen again. The match was featured on Tennis Channel, as can be seen here https://youtu.be/Z9V6I6m7_sE?si=XdngFjyzwnHG_FSx and also featured in the New York Times here https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7263052/2026/05/11/tennis-oldest-youngest-ranked-atp-davidov-haviland/?source=athletic_user_shared_article_copylink&smid=url-share-ta
The Bradenton (Florida) Herald also carried the story here https://www.bradenton.com/sports/tennis/article315647164.html

Justin DiMaio has been named the new Director of Tennis for the Riverside Racquet Complex in Vero Beach. He comes with more than a decade of experience leading tennis programs across Florida and a track record of developing players at every level of the game. His junior development work has helped send 27 athletes to college on scholarship and produced multiple nationally ranked competitors, while his adult and family programming has built loyal communities around the clubs he has led. He most recently was the Director of Tennis at The Moorings Yacht and Country Club in Vero Beach. 

DiMaio is known for a hands-on coaching style that blends technical instruction with steady, honest communication, an approach that resonates with parents, juniors and adult players alike. He brings deep operational experience as well, having overseen multi-site facilities, adult leagues, signature events and staff development throughout his career. A South Florida native, DiMaio holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Furman University and carries certifications as a USPTA Elite Professional, PTR-certified instructor, USTA High Performance Coach and Certified Racquet Sports Executive.  

At Riverside, he plans to focus on growing junior pathways, expanding adult programming and strengthening the complex’s role as a welcoming entry point into the sport for new players and families.  

USTA Florida and the City of Vero Beach have signed a three-year extension that will keep USTA Florida at the helm of Riverside Racquet Complex, the public facility that serves close to 8,000 players each year. Alongside the renewal, USTA Florida is announcing the hiring of Justin DiMaio, a longtime Florida tennis professional, as the complex’s new Director of Tennis. 

The agreement builds on a partnership that began June 1, 2023, when the Vero Beach City Council voted unanimously to license the facility to USTA Florida. The renewal keeps Riverside Racquet Complex on a steady growth path as one of the Treasure Coast’s most active public tennis destinations. 

The extension reflects one of USTA Florida’s Big Bold Moves, a strategic priority focused on raising the quality of public tennis facilities across the state. USTA Florida views investment in public courts as the single biggest driver of long-term participation in the sport, since most players take their first lessons at parks before going on to join private clubs, coach the next generation or volunteer in their communities. 

“The City of Vero Beach has been an outstanding partner for us in making public tennis courts accessible for all,” Laura Bowen, USTA Florida Executive Director said. “We are excited to welcome our new Director, who grew up playing on these courts, and to expand our tennis program and event offerings in the months ahead.” 

About Riverside Racquet Complex  

Riverside Racquet Complex offers year-round programming for players of every age and ability, including leagues, clinics, camps and tournaments. The facility partners with the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation on summer camps that introduce new families to the sport, and it has become a gathering spot for the Vero Beach racquet sports community. With the management extension in place, USTA Florida plans to expand the complex’s offerings and bring even more players onto the courts in the seasons ahead.  

by Harvey Fialkov

On his first match point, unranked Brazilian Joaquim de Almeida ripped a forehand at the toes of top seed Alex Rybakov, who was unable to poke his half-volley attempt over the net to put an exclamation point on arguably the most incredible journey from qualifiers to a professional tennis title in the history of the sport.

What’s more improbable, Almeida, a teaching pro living in Orlando and part-time aspiring tennis professional, was the 28^th alternate just to get into the 30-player qualifying draw of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation $15,000 ITF Futures tournament held at a sold-out Sea Oaks Beach & Tennis Club.

Do you want more? Almeida, a top-spinning, 24-year-old lefthander, saved eight match points in three of his seven victories just to reach his first pro final.

No wonder when the Mother’s Day miracle concluded with his 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 victory, Almeida, who sports his spirituality on his sleeve and in his heart, collapsed in a heap on the clay court and from there raised his arms to the heavens before rising and pointing skyward.

Almeida shed some tears when told his name would be inscribed on the Mike Rahaley Memorial Trophy, not to mention winning 15 precious ATP ranking points to jump-start his career.

“This week was crazy, but every single victory is not mine; it’s Gods,’’ said a choked-up Almeida, who played two seasons for Virginia Commonwealth University and then Liberty University, a private evangelical Christian university that houses a major theological seminary in Lynchburg, Va. 

“A lot of times I thought that it could be [over] in this tournament since the qualifying, but I always had something in my heart saying that I wasn’t done yet, that this tournament I was going to achieve something big, and here I am. … I haven’t believed it yet, to be honest.

“There was one person that gave me a motivation in that third set that I was kind of remembering. She said, ‘Remember who got you here or how did you get here?’ At that point, I was saying, ‘That’s true. It’s not me. I’m not playing. It’s God that lives inside of me.’”

That person was Fran Henig of Vero Beach, who gave Almeida a victory hug after the trophy ceremony

Almeida entered with a ranking of zero because his No. 1244 rank obtained over his first and only professional season in 2024 came off the board because of his inactivity in all of 2025.

“This might be the story of the year in professional tennis and probably the greatest story ever in the history of the ITF World Tennis Tour, the minor leagues of pro tennis,’’ Walker said.

Almeida became one of the eight qualifiers to gain a spot in the 32-player main draw. But he needed more great escapes than Houdini to win this tournament.

In his second qualifying round, he had to stave off two match points before winning 13-11 in the decisive 10-point tiebreaker. Then in his first-round match of the main draw he survived a 3-hour-20-minute battle and again had to save four match points before outlasting seventh-seeded Strong Kirchheimer in a third-set tiebreaker.

Next up was ambidextrous qualifier Matthew Segura, who had been 20-0 in wild-card tournaments at Sea Oaks, but the great-nephew of legendary Ecuadorian Pancho Segura succumbed to the oppressive heat as well as Almeida’s wall-like defensive prowess in three more sets.

Almeida’s quarterfinal featured a David and Goliath matchup in which he was being blown off the court 0-6, 0-2 before wearing down former world No. 39 J.J. Wolf, who’s on the comeback trail from shoulder surgery. Wolf, 27, held two match points but was unable to put Almeida away before retiring with shoulder pain, trailing 0-6, 7-6 (7), 1-0.

“I was actually close in the games,’’ Almeida said of Wolf’s head start. “I had opportunities. I was a little scared playing JJ, someone who I’ve seen on TV many times. I was a little anxious to play him. It was close, and then I missed some shots because of anxiety that I was playing this guy, but then as soon as I got in the match,

“I saw I had an opportunity. I kind of started to believe more and that’s what kind of happened.”

He then dispatched fourth-seeded Quinn Vandecasteele in straight sets in the semis with his customary clay-court style of returning forehand blasts as if he’s sitting in a rocking-chair looping deep topspin forehands to the baseline in extended rallies until his exhausted adversary committed an unforced error.

“Grinding competing, I think this is the type of mindset that I always arrive to play and I try to mix in a lot of stuff,’’ Almeida said. Sometimes I just make balls; sometimes I go for the ball; sometimes I do drop shots; and sometimes I’m at the net. So I’m trying to be everywhere where the guy doesn’t know what I’m going to do.”

 In the final battle of lefthanders, Rybakov, 29, who owns an aesthetically beautiful one-hand backhand and the better serve, was far more experienced than Almeida. He has won five Futures titles, competed in qualifiers of 10 ATP-level tournaments, as well as playing in two US Open qualifiers in 2019 and ’22.

He was ranked a career-high No.261 last October, and has been a regular in Challenger tournaments, a level above ITF Futures but a level below ATP events. Almeida had played in just eight main-draw pro Futures tournaments all in 2024 and had never gone further than the quarterfinals.

Rybakov, a Long Island native, who has lived in Coral Springs (South Florida) since he was 7, said he struggled with the heat and humidity this week. He had to endure two three-hour matches in the early rounds and admitted he was low on energy at times.

While Rybakov gave Almeida credit for his victory, he agreed with his religious opponent that perhaps divine intervention did play a part in his unlikely title run.

“It’s a matter of a couple points here and there,’’ said Rybakov, whose older sister Katie was an All-American tennis standout at Florida State. “Even down the stretch in the third. He broke me at 3-2 with me serving, and that was a super long game. He hit some amazing shots. He hit a pass from the fence right inside the baseline.

“You got to give credit to him. He played good tennis at big moments and as you said, it kind of felt like everything lined up for him this week. Even the last game at 5-3, he hit one net-cord winner and one full shank. Not to say he’s lucky, but it just felt like everything at the end kind of fell his way and some days that happens.

“An unbelievable story, 28th alternate to not even getting into the qualifying. And then he wins 13-11 in the last round of qualies.This guy has just been hanging out by a thread, and now he’s lifting a trophy. Unbelievable effort.”

Almeida hasn’t lived at home since he was 13 to join a tennis academy in Buenos Aires. He fell into a bad crowd and had to overcome several troubled teenage years involving drugs and alcohol. At one point he considered suicide, before turning his life around through his religious beliefs and his love of tennis.

“I tried to give my life away and literally God saved my life,’’ Almeida said. “If it wasn’t for him, I wasn’t going to be alive right now, so everything that I do is to glorify him.

“It was in a big city and that’s when I kind of got lost, but thanks for my family that since I was young they gave me the foundation. God found me when I was in the deepest time of my life, and that’s when my life started to go back to normal.’’

On a hot Sunday afternoon, Almeida also launched his tennis career, and couldn’t wait to call his mother, Naira, with the amazing news and to wish her a wonderful Mother’s Day.

WATCH the review video of the final here https://youtu.be/d2jN0aAPNcc?si=re1AljjCYJZASPbX

Okonkwo and Heck win doubles title

The top-seeded dynamic duo of Minnesotan Hunter Heck and Oliver Okonkwo continued their dominant form this week with their fourth consecutive straight-set victory, this time a 6-2, 6-2 victory over the much taller tandem of Preston Brown of Boca Raton and Chile’s Diego Jarry Fillol Saturday afternoon to win the doubles title.

It marked the second consecutive doubles title for Okonkwo and Heck, who just dropped one set in their Orange Park doubles championship run last week. The 6-foot-2 Okonkwo, 26, who owns a massive serve, also has won doubles titles this year in Sherbrooke, Canada and Las Vegas with different partners.

“Obviously, we can play doubles, but we love singles as well,’’ said Okonkwo, now living in Evanston, a suburb of Chicago.

This was Heck’s second career pro title after seven previous finals appearances.

“It makes my job a lot easier when he’s serving the way he has been,’’ said the 5-7 Heck, 23, who briefly played doubles with Okonkwo when the two attended the University of Illinois. Okonkwo graduated from University of Iowa but got his Masters’ degree in Kinesiology at UI.

It was no easy task to lob over or blast through 6-foot-6 Preston Brown of Boca Raton and 6-5 Diego Jarry Fillol of Chile.

Fillol, 23, reached his first pro final after spending two years playing college tennis at Saint Mary’s College in the Bay area and two years at the University of North Carolina.

He is hoping to follow in the clay-court footsteps of his ATP-playing brother Nicolas Jarry and grandfather Jaime Fillol, both who reached the Top 20 at one point of their sterling professional tennis careers. Diego

“It’s amazing,’’ said Fillol, whose parents Allan and Cecilia were professional volleyball players and Aunt Catalina Fillol serves as tournament director in the ATP 250 Santiago event in their hometown. 

“They chopped down the trees and made a path, and we just got to follow it. I would say it’s a balance, and also you got to learn what perspective and what mindset to take it. They dealt me the cards, and some people rather see the pressure that gives you, and I just like to see all the lessons, all the tips that they can give you. I think it’s a little bit more healthy to look at the other side.”

By Harvey Fialkov

Alex Rybakov came up through junior tennis with close friends Tommy Paul and Reilly Opelka.

 Yet, while Paul and Opelka have reached career-highs of world No. 8 and No. 17 respectively, and have won a combined nine ATP titles, Rybakov is still toiling in the minor leagues of tennis, ranked No.  341.

At 29, Rybakov, a Long Island native who has lived in Coral Springs since he was 7, hasn’t given up on his dreams of joining his friends in the upper echelon of the sport and competing in Grand Slams and Masters 1000 events.

On a blistering humid Saturday afternoon, the top-seeded Rybakov came from behind to notch a 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over No. 1,240-ranked, 23-year-old Liam Krall of Bronxville, N.Y., to reach the final of the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation ITF Futures USTA Pro Circuit event at the Sea Oaks Beach & Tennis Club.

“Those are the guys that are kind of my peers,’’ said Rybakov, who reached a career-high No. 261 last October. “Obviously, I got up to 14 in the world in juniors, so I had a pretty good junior career. I mean, those guys, they turn pro. I went to college, so those are really like my buddies. So, it’s awesome seeing them up there and kind of doing what I aspire to do.”

Rybakov was a three-time All-American at Texas Christian University and made it to the NCAA semis in 2019. He has also reached qualifying rounds in 10 ATP Tour tournaments, only making one draw at the ATP 250 Dallas Open in 2023 where he lost a first-round match to Marcos Giron, then ranked No. 55.

He wants more. That can start with his sixth lower-tier pro title (and 15 precious ranking points) on Sunday morning where he will face an unranked opponent in Brazilian qualifier Joaquim de Almeida, who seems to have a cat-like nine lives this week. More on that later.

“I was playing almost a full schedule of Challengers last year,’’ said Rybakov, who smacked five aces and a basket of winners off his sweet one-handed lefty backhand. “I got up to 261. So, obviously the next goal is to get back there closer to Slam [qualifying] points. Obviously, being in the Slam qualifying is a huge goal of mine. So hopefully that’s what I’m shooting towards. But this is the first time I’m dropping down to play Futures in a while. So, to get to a final right away is really positive for me.”

Krall, 23, a four-year standout at Southern Methodist University, features a whippet forehand, but after playing a flawless first set ending with two consecutive aces, he came back from a long set break and immediately dropped nine consecutive points to help give the more experienced Rybakov an early 3-0 lead. Rybakov’s pinpoint serves, deft drop shots and mature net attack led to a 6-1 set to send the semifinal into a decisive third set.

“I think I checked out a little bit, and my focus was elsewhere on my shot selection and serve awareness,’’ Krall said. “My movement went away as a result. I spent the whole set trying to get it back but at that point he’s got momentum. I have to be more mentally solid throughout the course of the match.”

Krall, perhaps not used to the oppressive heat of Florida, seemed out of gas. After dropping the second set, the two exchanged early breaks but Rybakov went up 3-1 in a game he double-faulted twice. Rybakov made a nifty stretch volley for 4-2 and eventually converted his second match point when Krall’s rocket forehand drifted into the alley. Rybakov raised his arms to the sunny sky and took a bow in celebration.

“Luckily, I’ve been in these conditions before, so I know kind of how to treat it, but it’s not easy,’’ Rybakov said. “Liam came out hitting the ball huge, hitting his spots. I was just trying to hang in there. I thought he outplayed me in the first set. So, I just hung around and I’m lucky to get through and looking forward to it tomorrow.”

However, Sunday’s 11 a.m. Mother’s Day final won’t be a day at the nearby beach, as Almeida is a classic South American clay-courter, who seems content to get everything back with high topspin forehands until his tiring opponent commits an error. He outlasted fourth-seeded Quinn Vandecasteele of Murray, Utah, 6-4, 6-2 to reach his first career final at any pro level.

The match contained 11 service breaks, including the first five games of the second set. It was a virtual break-fest. While the 23-year-old Vandecasteele seemed to jump out of his shoes when hitting huge forehands, expending a lot of energy, Almeida was a wall, who occasionally would rip a forehand down the line to set up an easy angled volley.

Vandecasteele, who played four years at the University of Oregon, led 4-2, 15-30 in the second set when the match was delayed so the trainer could bandage his bloody shin after he inadvertently slammed it with his racket. A fatigued Vandecasteele, who’s ranked No. 449, then dropped the next four games and first set.

At 3-2 of the second set, Almeida finally held on a huge overhead to elicit a celebratory scream. He immediately broke again and ended the match on a thrilling rally with a forehand volley into the open court.

“It was very hot, but I prepared myself before with the mentality of going for each ball with a purpose,’’ said Almeida, who only played one year of pro tennis in 2024, while attending Virginia Commonwealth University and Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. “Understanding what I needed to do. These conditions are very slow, which definitely helps me out on the type of game that I like to play.”

Almeida, 24, who was ranked a career-high 1244 in 2024, lost his ranking for inactivity in singles in 2025, and played his first tournament of 2026 this week in Vero Beach when he barely got selected (second to last) to get into qualifying.

Almeida was nearly knocked out in his first-round match, having to save four match points to upset seventh-seeded Strong Kirchheimer in a grueling three-setter. He then took advantage of qualifier Matthew Segura’s heat sickness in another marathon three-setter.

In the quarterfinals, Almeida dropped the first set 0-6 to wild card J.J. Wolf, the former world No. 39 who’s early in his comeback from major shoulder surgery, before winning 0-6, 7-6 (7), 1-0 (retired).

Wolf was unable to convert two match points late in the second set to force a third set. However, after Almeida took the first game, the 27-year-old Wolf of Cincinnati (and now Boynton Beach] chose to retire due to pain in his surgically repaired shoulder.

From her two qualifying matches to the finals, Almeida saved eight match points in three different matches enroute to the final.

Almeida spoke of a troubled youth when he was on his own after leaving home at 13 and getting involved with drugs and alcohol.

“I have to glorify God to everything that he has given to me, and the opportunity to be here is just because of him,’’ he said. “I tried to give my life away and literally God saved my life. I mean, if it wasn’t for him, I wasn’t going to be alive right now, so everything that I do is to glorify him.

“It was in a big city and that’s when I kind of got lost, but thanks for my family that since I was young, gave me the foundation. God found me when I was in the deepest time of my life, and that’s when my life started to go back to normal.’’

Okonkwo and Heck win doubles title

The top-seeded dynamic duo of Minnesotan Hunter Heck and Oliver Okonkwo continued their dominant form this week with their fourth consecutive straight-set victory, this time a 6-2, 6-2 victory over the much taller tandem of Preston Brown of Boca Raton and Chile’s Diego Jarry Fillol Saturday afternoon to win the doubles title.

It marked the second consecutive doubles title for Okonkwo and Heck, who just dropped one set in their Orange Park doubles championship run last week. The 6-foot-2 Okonkwo, 26, who owns a massive serve, also has won doubles titles this year in Sherbrooke, Canada and Las Vegas with different partners.

“Obviously, we can play doubles, but we love singles as well,’’ said Okonkwo, now living in Evanston, a suburb of Chicago. “We like to focus on singles.”

This was Heck’s second career pro title after seven previous finals appearances.

“It makes my job a lot easier when he’s serving the way he has been,’’ said the 5-7 Heck, 23, who briefly played doubles with Okonkwo when the two attended the University of Illinois. Okonkwo graduated from University of Iowa but got his Masters’ degree in Kinesiology at UI.

It was no easy task to lob over or blast through 6-foot-6 Preston Brown of Boca Raton and 6-5 Diego Jarry Fillol of Chile.

Fillol, 23, reached his first pro final after spending two years playing college tennis at Saint Mary’s College in the Bay area and two years at the University of North Carolina.

He is hoping to follow in the clay-court footsteps of his ATP-playing brother Nicolas Jarry and grandfather Jaime Fillol, both who reached the Top 20 at one point of their sterling professional tennis careers. Diego Fillol was asked if it was more pressure to obtain the success of his 30-year-old brother -– who has won three ATP titles (4 finals including the 2024 Rome Masters 1000 to reach his career-high No.16 ranking) – and his grandfather (8 ATP titles, 15 finals and No. 14 in 1974) or easier.

“It’s amazing,’’ said Fillol, whose parents Allan and Cecilia were professional volleyball players and Aunt Catalina Fillol serves as tournament director in the ATP 250 Santiago event in their hometown. 

“They chopped down the trees and made a path, and we just got to follow it. I would say it’s a balance, and also, you got to learn what perspective and what mindset to take it. They dealt me the cards, and some people rather see the pressure that it gives you, and I just like to see all the lessons, all the tips that they can give you. I think it’s a little bit more healthy to look at the other side.”