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Jack Kennedy, Fan Favorite From 2025 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships, Is U.S. Open Bound With USTA Boys’ 18s Title At Kalamazoo

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By Randy Walker

@TennisPublisher

Jack Kennedy, the regally-named 18-year-old who captured hearts at the 2025 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships in Vero Beach, won the USTA Boys’ 18 National Championship at Kalamazoo College Sunday to earn a main draw singles wild card into the U.S. Open. Kennedy won the title in a disappointing three-game final as his opponent, Wimbledon junior champion and 2026 Mardy Fish competitor Jordan Lee, was forced to retire down 2-1 with a chest problem. Lee, however, is accorded with the traditional U.S. Open qualifying wild card with the runner-up showing.

The boys’ 18s championship at Kalamazoo is a title that comes with something no junior tournament offers: an automatic wild card into the men’s singles main draw at the U.S. Open. It was an anticlimactic ending to a tournament that had, until that point, been anything but easy for either player and featured some of the most promising group of American teenage talent seen in years. Colette Lewis ZooTennis has the complete and detailed coverage from on-site here: https://tenniskalamazoo.blogspot.com/2026/08/kennedy-wins-kalamazoo-18s-title-and-us.html

Kennedy’s title is now the highlight of his résumé that already reads like that of a player on the doorstep of the professional game. Kennedy climbed as high as No. 5 in the ITF Junior World Rankings and he won the 2025 U.S. Open boys’ doubles title alongside Keaton Hance. He has twice played US Open men’s singles qualifying, losing to Thiago Tirante of Argentina, who just beat 24-time major winner Novak Djokovic in Cincinnati this week, by a 6-4, 6-4 scoreline in 2025. In 2024, he lost 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of U.S. Open qualifying to then world No. 100 Maximilian Marterer of Germany. This spring he beat former world No. 4 Kei Nishikori in the second round of the Savannah Challenger, before falling in the final to Nishesh Basavareddy. He won the $15,000-level event in Boca Raton, Florida also in the Spring.

In Vero Beach, Kennedy was an instant fan favorite with his tenacious play and his small stature standing at only 5-feet 7 inches. He reached the quarterfinals in singles, falling to eventual champion Blu Baker and reached the doubles final with fellow American junior Keaton Hance. The doubles final was actually his first official pro final. (WATCH HERE: https://youtu.be/E-hpBRdVa5g?si=GuixnVHgAraqVbYK His pro results in Futures and Challengers have earned him a No. 392 ATP Tour singles ranking.

While named for the former President of the United States, Kennedy has no relation to the family, as he discussed in Vero Beach here: https://youtu.be/HVYuZCrP6Ow?si=jK48evQQ3A_DOIec His middle name is Spencer, not Fitzgerald like the President.

Also earning a U.S. Open main draw spot in doubles was another 2025 Mardy Fish competitor, Noah Johnston. The rising sophomore at the University of Georgia, Johnston won the boys’ 18s doubles title at Kalamazoo with Yannik Alvarez of Puerto Rico. Johnston lost in the first round of singles in Vero Beach to Kennedy and then lost in the second round of doubles, losing to Kennedy again.

J.J. Wolf: From Vero Beach To U.S. Open Main Draw In 14 Weeks

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Just 14 weeks after competing at the $15,000 Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships in Vero Beach, Florida, J.J. Wolf has earned a main-draw wild card into the 2026 U.S. Open by winning the USTA’s U.S. Open Wild Card Challenge.

The former world No. 39 officially clinched the U.S. Open wild card by winning the most amount of ATP points over the post-Wimbledon period among players not directly accepted into the tournament. His best result was winning the Challenger title in Vancouver, Canada, as documented here https://worldtennismagazine.com/jj-wolf-comeback-continues-on-track-with-vancouver-challenger-title/

It is an extraordinary turnaround for a player who was once ranked inside the ATP Top 40 but was forced off the tour for a year with a severe shoulder injury. And Vero Beach was one of the stops during his comeback attempt to the upper levels of pro tennis.

Wolf, then ranked No. 947 in the ATP Tour rankings, was the headline player at the Sea Oaks Beach & Tennis Club last May and he dazzled fans with his powerful groundstrokes and booming serve. He advanced into the tournament’s quarterfinals with wins over Raphael Perot and Jordan Lee, (who went on to win the Wimbledon junior boys singles title in July.) In a quarterfinal evening match in front of an overflowing crowd at Sea Oaks, Wolf dominated Joaquim Almeida before the Brazilian found a rhythm and saved two match points before winning a second-set tiebreaker. Feeling pain in his troubled shoulder, Wolf retired from the match after just one game in the third set. Almeida went on to claim a miracle tournament title win two matches later, which you can re-live here: https://youtu.be/CAC5RuILkn4?si=GhnDthz54MdfBHCO

Wolf talked about his comeback after his first-round post-match interview at Sea Oaks here: https://youtu.be/aQMR5A8zRvo?si=HEoN4ijf08DUCyI6

A discussion on his track from injury to the U.S. Open is further explained here https://youtu.be/0Kq2itOdAbY?si=AszZQVjSVJWNos2H

From the courts of a $15,000 tournament in Vero Beach to the main draw at Arthur Ashe Stadium, J.J. Wolf’s journey is a powerful reminder of how quickly fortunes can change in professional tennis. And perhaps most remarkably, the comeback that began on the smaller stages of the sport has now earned Wolf a ticket back to one of tennis’ biggest stages.

Mardy Fish Wins Third American Century Celebrity Golf “Major”

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STATELINE, Nev. – Former ATP Tour tennis player Mardy Fish posted 20 points with a consistent performance in the final round of the American Century Championship on Sunday and it was enough to capture his third title in the annual celebrity competition.

Fish, also a former U.S. Davis Cup team captain, had three birdies and four bogeys, finishing with a total of 72 points to edge defending champion and former NHL player Joe Pavelski (66 points) in the 37th tournament at Edgewood Tahoe Golf Course.

“It was kind of a weird round today,” said Fish, who also won in 2020 and 2024.

He four-putted the par-5 third hole and made bogey. On the sixth, after three straight bogeys, he said he did a mental reset and then played the final 13 holes at 2-under par.

“I did enough to win,” he said. “I didn’t play my best today, but I did enough.”

Pavelski, the first-round leader, had just one birdie through the first 14 holes.  “It was tough. I had a few opportunities to make it a real race,” he offered after posting his fifth straight top-three finish.

Fish became the sixth celebrity to reach three titles, joining Rick Rhoden, Dan Quinn, Billy Joe Tolliver, Mark Mulder and Tony Romo. Rhoden, a former major league pitcher, holds the record with eight victories.

Fish, 44, won $150,000 from the $750,000 purse and took home the White Lab Coat, introduced this year by American Century Investments in honor of ACI founder Jim Stowers and the Stowers Institute for Medical Research.

NBA superstar Stephen Curry was the only player near the lead to make any sort of run, putting up five birdies on the day. But the Golden State Warriors guard and 2023 winner here also had four bogeys and two double bogeys. He finished alone in third with 59 points, one point ahead of Annika Sorenstam.

“Obviously you’d love to have played a little bit better and be in contention,” said Curry, a four-time NBA champion with the Warriors. “Golf game is in shape, but just too many mistakes in the middle of the round.”

Sorenstam, who won 72 times on the LPGA Tour, including 10 majors, birdied two of her first four holes to take the early lead, but had a pair of double bogeys and no more birdies the rest of the way.

“Obviously extremely disappointed,” Sorenstam said. “The first five holes was very steady and fine.  But no, I played a little too aggressively and I didn’t make the putts I needed to.” 

The 54-hole tournament uses a modified Stableford scoring system that rewards points for eagles (6), birdies (3) and pars (1). Bogeys are worth zero points and double bogeys or worse are minus-2 points.

Fan favorite Charles Barkley had one of his best-ever rounds Sunday with minus-4 points, but it wasn’t enough to move into the top 63. Caesars Sportsbook offered a proposition bet where bettors could wager on him finishing better or worse than the top 63.5 in the field of 90.

“I always appreciate the support,” Barkley said after his final round. “I’m going to keep battling and keep going.”

Former pitcher John Smoltz finished alone in fifth place (55), and former NFL quarterback Romo finished sixth (52).

Jordan Lee, From The Courts at Sea Oaks To The Wimbledon Junior Boys’ Singles Title

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by Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher

Jordan Lee, the 16-year-old who graced the courts of the Sea Oaks Beach & Tennis Club during the Mardy Fish Children’s Foundation Tennis Championships USTA Pro Circuit event in May, served notice that he may be a force in American tennis on the pro tour in the years to come by winning the Wimbledon junior boys singles title.

Lee came back from a 4-2 deficit in the final set to defeat Cruz Hewitt, the 17-year-old son of 2002 Wimbledon champion Lleyton Hewitt 4-6, 6-4, 7-5 in the championship match played on Court 1 at the All England Club. Lee broke Hewitt at love to close out the match after saving a break point the previous game that would have given Hewitt the chance to serve for the title himself.

Lee celebrated his 16th birthday on the opening day of the Mardy Fish event at Sea Oaks and, as a wild card entry, defeated Jon Gamble in the first round to earn his second career ATP ranking point. In the second round, Lee faced former Top 40 star J.J. Wolf and played tough despite losing 6-4, 6-2.

“He’s got so much firepower for someone so young” said Wolf of Lee after their match in Vero Beach.

Lee’s ITF junior ranking at Wimbledon was No. 47 and he has an ATP singles ranking of No. 1768 on the basis of two ranking points in the four pro events he has played. Lee did not directly qualify for the Wimbledon junior boys singles field and had to win two matches in the event’s qualifying tournament just to get into the 64-player field. He joins fellow American Noah Rubin, the Wimbledon junior champion in 2014, as the only players to win the Wimbledon junior boys singles title as a qualifier. He is first American player to win the boys’ singles title at Wimbledon since 2021, when Samir Banerjee defeated Victor Lilov in an all-American final. He also becomes the 13th American player to win the boys’ singles title at the All England Club, and the fifth American player to do so since 2000 – after Donald Young (2007), Rubin (2014), Reilly Opelka (2015) and Banerjee.

Lee has been described as “A Legend at the USTA National Campus” as the 100-court facility in Lake Nona, just outside of Orlando, has been in his home courts, mainly because his mother, Tina Lee, is the center’s head tennis professional. He has excelled in junior events on the campus – and elsewhere – and even earned his first ATP ranking point at $15,000 pro event held on the campus in November of 2025.

“He’s been on the radar with some of the USTA coaches but even more so now on the scene and even more people will take notice,” said former top 10 star James Blake on ESPN.

Lee’s win will certainly open up many opportunities in events and also with corporate brands. His win will give him strong consideration on its own for a wild card entry into the U.S. Open qualifying tournament later this summer, but if Lee is able to win the USTA National Boy’s 18s Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan in August, he would earn the traditional main draw U.S. Open singles wild card invitation.