Megan McCray’s journey to championship glory on the ITF World Tennis Tour and USTA Pro Circuit came full circle on Sunday, and she owes it all to USTA Southern California’s SoCal Pro Series.

Twelve years after stepping on a tennis court for her first Futures event in Rancho Santa Fe as a high school student, the Oceanside resident – now 27 years young – gained her first professional ITF women’s singles title by defeating UCLA No. 1 Fangran Tian, 6-1, 0-6, 6-4, for the Rancho Santa Fe Pro Open women’s singles crown.

McCray felt right at home at Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club while playing Sunday’s final in front of her parents, sister and long-time friends. The trials and tribulations McCray has experienced with the grind of having just completed her 41^st ITF tournament on the USTA Pro Circuit makes Sunday’s triumphant outcome all the more fulfilling.

“It means so much because it’s been quite a while coming,” McCray said. “Having this SoCal Pro Series … because I’ve never really traveled. Traveling is super expensive … I was kind of, like, ‘Hopefully something will come close to home’ and here it is, we’ve got a ton of tournaments back-to-back. I got to (win) it this year, right at home, so I got that done in the first (2023 SoCal Pro Series) tournament, which is amazing.

“Definitely right now is some of my best tennis. A first ITF title is good to add on the resume. This is the biggest title. I’ve won junior titles, national juniors. I was a national champion in an adult women’s open here in singles, doubles and mixed, but the ITF takes the cake. Hopefully I can win many more and get my ranking up and play more tournaments. It’s a dream of mine to play on the (WTA) Tour.”

The second-seeded McCray earned 10 WTA world ranking points and a $2,352 winner’s prize. Tian, 19, received six WTA world ranking points and $1,470 runner-up prize as her streak of 10 consecutive straight-set victories, which comprised this tournament and the entire NCAA Division I singles championships, was snapped.

Said Tian, who plans to travel home to Beijing, China in July: “Since coming to America (to begin her freshman year at UCLA in September 2022), I feel like I’ve played so many matches, like non-stop. The last two weeks it was like 11 really intense matches in a row and it’s really challenging for my mind and my body. I was really tired in the third set and she (McCray) just grinded through. She’s a really good player.

“I think it’s really helpful for me to get those matches in. It definitely gives myself more confidence. I’m really looking forward to the future (SoCal Pro Series) tournaments, too.”

In Sunday’s men’s singles final, No. 3 seed Colin Sinclair cruised past fourth-seeded Frenchman Jaimee Floyd Angele, 6-3, 6-2, to claim his third ITF singles championship, 15 ATP world ranking points and a $2,160 champion’s prize. Angele collected eight ATP world ranking points and a $1,272 cash prize.

Southern California players achieved ITF $15K doubles titles at the Rancho Santa Fe Pro Open on Saturday. In the men’s final, San Diego resident Bryce Nakashima and Jack Anthrop knocked off top-seeded Aidan McHugh and Keegan Smith, 6-1, 6-4.

Nakashima, the brother of ATP Tour star Brandon Nakashima who leaves home in August to begin his collegiate tenure at Ohio State, won his second ITF $15,000 doubles title. Ohio State freshman Anthrop won his first ITF doubles title while playing his first ITF event of 2023. Both received 15 ATP world ranking points and split a $930 winner’s prize. The 19-year-old Ohio State teammates to be eliminated James Blake and Hudson Rivera in Thursday’s quarterfinals.

In the women’s doubles final, No. 4 seed Eryn Cayetano and Isabella Chhiv dispatched McCray and Brandy Walker, 6-4, 6-3.

Cayetano, who has split her residence between Long Beach and Corona, and finished her career at USC in reaching the semifinals of May’s NCAA Division I women’s doubles national championships, won her second ITF $15,000 doubles title in as many years – with both titles coming on the SoCal Pro Series. Irvine resident Chhiv, 18, won her first ITF doubles title in her fourth event. Chhiv is graduating from Portola High School and will begin her collegiate tennis career at Princeton University in the fall.

There is new, extra incentive for singles players with active Southern California ties to compete in this second year of the SoCal Pro Series. The “Race to Indian Wells” wild card is available to U.S. citizens who are Southern California residents or full-time Southern California college students.

The top men’s and women’s singles players eligible for the “Race to Indian Wells” wild card and accumulating the most points throughout the seven SoCal Pro Series events will be granted a wild card into the qualifying stage at the 2024 BNP Paribas Open (ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 event).

After the conclusion of this first 2023 SoCal Pro Series event, McCray leads the women’s point standings with 32 points. Smith leads the men’s standings with eight points, earned through his semifinal berth in singles.

“My eyes are definitely on that, so I definitely plan on playing all of these tournaments now and I’ll go even harder for that,” McCray said. “Indian Wells has always been a dream of mine to play. I’ve always done the pre-qualifying events but I didn’t quite get in. Definitely a big opportunity.”

The SoCal Pro Series completed the first of seven consecutive weeks of $15,000 ITF World Tour-level men’s and women’s tournaments within Southern California.

The SoCal Pro Series’ remaining tournament dates and locations are:

• June 5-11 – University of San Diego, San Diego
• June 12-18 – Barnes Tennis Center, San Diego
• June 19-25 – Jack Kramer Club, Rolling Hills Estates
• June 26-July 2 – Racquet Club of Irvine, Irvine
• July 3-9 – Lakewood Tennis Center, Lakewood
• July 10-16 – Lakewood Tennis Center, Lakewood