Updated: June 15, 2026

The fifth annual USTA Southern California SoCal Pro Series officially kicked off recently as the first of six men’s and women’s Pre-Qualifying tournaments got underway at Jack Kramer Club in Rolling Hills Estates.

Featuring many of Southern California’s top junior, collegiate, and rising professional players, the Pre-Qualifying events offer competitors the opportunity to earn coveted main draw wild cards into the SoCal Pro Series, a seven consecutive weeks tournament stretch of professional events taking place across the region this summer.

Here is more on the winners and how they did it:

Claremont

> RISHVANTH KRISHNA (IRVINE)

AGE: 17

ROAD TO THE TITLE: The No. 4 seed Krishna def. Darren Huang (Whitestone, N.Y.), 6-0, 6-1, in 1st round; def. Peyton Barrett (San Marino), 6-1, 6-2, in 2nd round; def. Ulysse Verrando (Irvine), 7-5, 6-2, in 3rd round; def. Simon Catanzaro (Santa Monica), 6-3, 6-0, in quarters; def. Siba Raja (Austin, Texas), 6-3, 6-4, in semis; def. Timo Barthes (San Diego), 7-6 (5), 6-3, in final. 

BIG-TOURNEY PLAYER: Krishna won the Ojai Boys’ CIF singles title in 2025 and the Easter Bowl USTA Spring Nationals Boys’ 18s in March. 

COLLEGE CHOICE: A rising high school senior, he is headed to Rice University in Houston. 

GIVE HIM A FOLLOW: @rishvanth.krishna. 

> NICOLE WENG (SOUTH PASADENA)

AGE: 18. 

ROAD TO THE TITLE: The No. 1 seed Weng had a 1st round bye; def. Ava Min (Rolling Hills Estates), 6-0, 6-0 in quarters; def. Lillian Xu (San Diego), 6-0, 2-0, ret. in semis; def. Elena Goodman (Burbank), 6-4, 4-6, 10-1 in final. 

BIG-TOURNEY PLAYER: Was a finalist in the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 16 Nationals last August. Last summer, Weng won the USTA Clay Court National 18s in singles. 

FIRST WTA POINT: Won her first world ranking point at the SoCal Pro Series in San Diego in 2024. She also won a round at Lakewood during week 2 of the series. 

COLLEGE CHOICE: a recent high school grad, Weng is headed to Vanderbilt. 

San Diego

> BENJAMIN BERGER (LAGUNA BEACH)

AGE: 18.

HIGH SCHOOL: Laguna Beach High; ICL Academy.

COLLEGE: Committed to Cal-Berkeley in the fall.

COACHES: Eric Diaz and Jay Leavitt from Tier One Academy.

ROAD TO THE FINAL: No. 11 seeded, Ben beat Colin Palmer (Del Mar), walkover in 1st round; def. Alejando Flores (Calexico, Mexico), 7-6 (8), 7-6 (4) in 2nd round; def. No. 1 Eugenio Gonzalez (San Diego), 6-3, 3-0, ret. in Round of 16; def. No. 6 Timo Barthes (San Diego), 6-3, 6-2 in the quarters; def. f. No. 4 Sohrob Yavari (Irvine), 6-1, 6-0 in the semis; def. No. 12 Alex Guajardo (San Diego), 6-3, 6-0, in final.

FIRST ITF PRO EVENT: This was the first ITF pro event and only second ever as he lost in the second round of the ITF J300 in San Diego juniors in March 2025.

CHOOSING CAL: Ben said he chose Cal after head coach Kris Kwinta came to see him play and train at a tournament a year ago.

GIVE HIM A FOLLOW: On Instagram @BenjaminBerger4.

> ELENA GOODMAN (BURBANK)

AGE: 21.

HIGH SCHOOL: California Pacific Charter.

COLLEGE: Currently a senior at Cal-State Northridge.

ROAD TO THE FINAL: No. 2 seed Goodman def. Millie Skelton (Dallas), 6-2, 6-1, in 1st round; def. Maika Adair (San Diego), 6-0, 6-1, in 2nd round; def. Veronica Chernova (Irvine), 6-2-, 6-0 in semis; def. No. 1 Zoe Olmos (Fremont), 6-4, 6-2 in final.

AS A COLLEGE SOPHOMORE: Competed in 15 singles duals and 14 doubles duals on the season. Finished with a 10-5 record in singles play while starting off the year with a 5-1 record.

FRESHMAN HIGHLIGHTS: Goodman competed in 18 duals, posting a 6-3 record in singles and 10-3 record in doubles as a freshman … competed at No. 6 in singles, registering a 4-1 record in Big West play.

WHY CSUN: Chose CSUN because of head coach Gary Victor who has watched her grow up during junior tournaments, and he has always believed in her.

FAVORITES: Include Grigor Dimitrov, Joe Burrow, Grey’s Anatomy, and Morgan Wallen.

BEST THING ABOUT BEING AN ATHLETE: Being able to do what she loves everyday.

TOUGHEST THING: The injuries and pains that come with training and competing.

FAVORITE PLACE TO RELAX: The beach.

FIRST ITF PRO EVENT: Elena has never played an ITF pro event before this one.

BIGGEST OBSTACLE TO OVERCOME: Recovering from tearing her ACL which required three surgeries, and forced her to miss three seasons of competition.

GIVE HER A FOLLOW: On Instagram @elena_goodman.

Note: Information gathered from Cal-State Northridge player bio page.

Rancho Santa Fe

Note: the men’s winner of the Rancho Santa Fe Pre-Qualifying tournament was Jean-Baptiste Badon from Los Angeles who also won the Lakewood 2 Pre-Qualifying event (see capsule below). Kingsley Wolf won the women’s event following a default by her sister Alexandra Wolf.

> KINGSLEY WOLF (MANHATTAN BEACH)

AGE: 17. 

HIGH SCHOOL: Junior at Notre Dame-Sherman Oaks. 

COACH: Trains with Johnny Lee at Flint Canyon TC La Canada. 

ROAD TO THE FINAL: 1st round bye; def. Kari Katzenmeier (San Diego), 6-1, 6-1, in 2nd round; def. Sophie Lau (San Diego), 6-4, 6-3 in quarters; def. Arianna Morrison (Laguna Beach), 7-5, 6-4, in semis; def. Alexandra Wolf (Manhattan Beach) by default in final. 

SISTER LOVE: Has never played her older sister Alexandra (headed to play at USC in the fall) in a real match. 

DOUBLES LOVE: Won a USTA Bronze ball at the Easter Bowl in 16s doubles last month; also won USTA Junior Sectionals Doubles last fall with her best friend Julia Severson. 

QUOTABLE 1: “I can start talking to college coaches on June 15th. So that’s really so and I’m super excited for that whole process. 

PRO EXPERIENCE: “I made the final of one other pre-qualifying event and played in regular qualifying last year in Lakewood. I had such a tough match against Kayla Chung who plays for UCLA. I had three match points and lost 13-11 in the tiebreaker. 

FAVORITE TOURNAMENT: “I would say Easter Bowl.” 

GIVE HER A FOLLOW: On Instagram @Kiki.Wolf1.

Irvine

> TIMO BARTHES (SAN DIEGO)

AGE: 21

COLLEGE: Sophomore at University of San Diego 

MAJOR: International Business

NATIVE LAND: Was born in Paris, France. 

ROAD TO THE FINAL: The No. 6 seed def. Elijah Noel (Bakersfield), 4-6, 6-3, 10-7; def. Jack Dermenjyan (Burbank), 6-3, 6-3 in 2nd round; def. Mario Garcia (San Diego), 6-0, 3-0, ret. in 3rd round; def. Blake Anderson (Texas) 6-4, 6-2 in quarters; def. Will Steinberg (Goleta) 6-0, 6-1 in semis; def. Alex Guajardo (San Diego) 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 in final. 

FUN FACT: Can speak three languages.

HEALTH NUT: Enjoys learning about health and nutrition and is also interested in sports phychology. 

> TANVI PANDI (IRVINE)

AGE: 14

ROAD TO THE FINAL: The No. 3 seed def. Nelia Johnson (San Dimas), 6-1, 6-0 in 1st round; def. Miah Webb (San Pedro) 6-0, 6-4 in 2nd round; def. Valeria Efirmenko (Sherman Oaks) 6-0, 6-2 in quarters; def. Ariana Morris (Laguna Beach) 6-3, 6-4 in semis; def. Kaia Giribalan (Irvine) 3-0, def. in final. 

FIRST TIMER: This will be Tanvi’s first-ever pro event. 

FAMILIAR FINALIST: Tanvi has played Kaia Giribalan several times; Kaia was forced to retire with a stomach ailment. 

ONLINE SCHOOL: Eighth-grader at California Public (formerly Connections)

NEXT JUNIOR EVENT: Plans to play the 16s at Billie Jean King Girls’ 16 & 18s Nationals at the Barnes Tennis Center in August. 

EASTER BOWL: Finished fourth place at the Easter Bowl in March in the Girls’ 16s singles. 

QUOTABLE: “I’ve been playing good. My return has gotten better and my forehand has been good at making opponents run. I’ve just been trying to play more aggressively.” 

COACH: Javier Pulgar, a Spaniard who played his college tennis at San Diego State.

Lakewood

> ARMIRA KOCKINIS (LA HABRA HEIGHTS)

AGE: 16. 

ROAD TO THE LAKEWOOD FINAL: The No. 4 seed had 1st round bye; def. Kiana Huerta, 6-1, 7-5 in 2nd round; def. Gwyneth Britton, 6-3, 6-0 in 3rd round; def. Alexandra Wolf, 6-1, 7-5 in quarters; def. Kaia Giribalan, 6-1, 6-2 in semis.

LAKEWOOD WILD CARD: Will play in main draw singles week 1.

PAST OJAI CHAMPION: In 2022, Armira won the Girls’ 14s at The Ojai Tennis Tournament.   

PAST EASTER BOWL CHAMPION: In 2025, Armira won the Girls’ 16s singles title at the prestigious Level 1 Easter Bowl USTA Spring Nationals.

COACHES: Works with Jay Leavitt and his team at Tier One Academy in Fountain Valley.

HIGH SCHOOL: Rising junior at Bridgeway Academy.

FIRST WTA POINT: At last year’s Kramer Club SoCal Pro Series, Armira won her first WTA ranking point beating Gabriella Lindgren in three sets.

YOUNG DEBUT: At just 14 years old in July of 2024, Armira made her pro debut in the Lakewood SoCal Pro Series qualifying event.

QUOTABLE: “My goal is to get to the US Open juniors. I’m going to try and play all seven (events) and still have some junior tournaments left.”

GIVE HER A FOLLOW: On Instagram @Kockinis_Armira 

> AMY LEE (BEVERLY HILLS)

AGE: 18

ROAD TO THE LAKEWOOD FINAL: The No. 5 seed had 1st round bye; def. Elena Goodman, 6-1, 6-4 in 2nd round; def. Mia Sandblom, 6-1, 6-1; def. Melody Lee, 6-2, 6-4 in quarters; def. Vessa Turley, 6-4, 6-1 in semis.

LAKEWOOD WILD CARD: Will play in main draw singles week 2.

CURRENT COACH: Brian Dabul in Scholl Canyon/Glendale Tennis Academy.

COLLEGE CHOICE: Will play for Columbia University in the fall.

FAMOUS ZIP CODE: “Sure we live in a fancy zip code (90210) but to be honest both my parents are immigrants from Korea and they came here seeking the typical American dream. There are going to be general stereotypes, but I love L.A. and am so grateful for growing up in such a great place.”

HIGH SCHOOL: Amy formerly trained at Evert Academy in Boca Raton, Fla., and currently attends ICL Academy.

JOURNEY BEGAN AT LA CIENEGA TENNIS CENTER: Amy used a mini racquet and would hit foam balls for hours against a backboard at age 4. Her father served in the Korean military and played lots of tennis teaching her and her older brother the sport.

QUOTABLE: “I’m kind of grateful we didn’t play the final (since both finalists received Lakewood wild cards). I felt like my body was exhausted having played nine matches in 10 days.”

> ADAM CHODUR (CASTAIC)

AGE: 21

ROAD TO THE LAKEWOOD FINAL: The No. 1 seed had 1st round bye; def. Atlas Tupper, 6-1, 1-0 ret. in 2nd round; def. Danh Nguyen, 6-0, 6-1 in 3rd round; def.  Justin Zhang 6-3, 6-4 in quarters; def. Aaron Bailey 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 in semis.

LAKEWOOD WILD CARD: Will play in main draw singles week 2.

COACH: Worked previously with Desi McBride at the Paseo Club in Valencia.

COLLEGE: Formerly played at Sacramento State and transferred to BYU past two years; will graduate in the fall.

PLANS FOR THE SUMMER: “To play pro tournaments and try to get into as many Futures as I can.”

STILL SEEKING FIRST ATP POINT: “It’s what I’ve always wanted to do and just focusing on tennis.”

GIVE HIM A FOLLOW: On Instagram @ChodurAdam

> ALEXANDER GUAJARDO (SAN DIEGO)

AGE: 19

LAKEWOOD WILD CARD: Will play in the main draw Week 1 in singles starting next Tuesday.

ROAD TO THE LAKEWOOD FINAL: The No. 5 seed had a bye in 1st round; def. Kai Beeler, 6-3, 0-6, 10-5 in 2nd round; def. Maximillian Cichon, 6-2, 6-4 in 3rd round; def. Alejandro Daniel Garcia, 7-6 (4), 6-4 in 4th round; Def. Adrian Sharma, 6-4, 1-6, 12-10 in quarters; def. Pavel Bushuev, 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in semis.

HIGH SCHOOL: A 2025 graduate of ICL Academy.

FIRST COACH: Ed Collins, former head coach at University of San Diego.

CURRENT COACH: Mike Saunders, head coach at UC-Irvine.

COLLEGE: Finishing up freshman year at UC-Irvine. “I have two more weeks of school so I’m balancing tournaments and school and it’s been pretty busy.”

SEEKING FIRST ATP POINT: Played in qualifying at one SoCal Pro Series event that summer in San Diego. “I’m just so happy for this opportunity.”

QUOTABLE: “I was down two match points (7-9) in the quarterfinals and somehow came back to win. I didn’t push the ball and just played aggressively.”

–

Jack Kramer Club

> MEN’S WINNER: JEAN-BAPTISTE BADON (LOS ANGELES)

AGE: 23. 

TITLE TIME: Badon was top-seeded and didn’t drop a set with five wins, beating Castaic’s Adam Chodur in the final, 6-3, 6-3.

ROAD TO THE KRAMER CLUB FINAL: Def. Ian Sweeney (La Jolla) in 1st round, 6-1, 6-1; def. Alexey Ryabov (Ojai) in the 2nd round, 6-3, 7-5; def. Jamie Wei (Georgia) in 3rd round, 6-0, 6-2; def. Rishvanth Krishna (Irvine), 6-3, 6-4 in quarters; def. Nathaniel Suh (Orange) in semis, 6-1, 6-1.

PAST OJAI CHAMPION: In 2024, Badon won the California Community College Athletic Association State Championship at Ojai playing for Glendale Community College. 

ARKANSAS CALLING: After one season at Glendale, Badon transferred to the University of Arkansas before moving on to Utah State. 

CLIMBING MOUNTAIN WEST: Playing No. 1 for the Aggies, Badon won the clinching match as Utah State won the postseason title and Badon was named Mountain West Conference Most Valuable Player. A week later, Utah State fell to No. 9 Oklahoma in the NCAAs.   

COACHING TREE: Badon is still privately coached by Glendale CC head man Chris Tissot. 

ALL ABOUT BUSINESS: Badon received his BA degree from Utah State in finance and is hoping to get his Masters next in business analytics. 

SEEKING FIRST ATP POINT: Badon has yet to win an ITF ATP point having played in four ITF events, including making the final round of qualifying at the 2022 Lakewood SoCal Pro Series event, his only appearance in the series.  

MOTHERLY TIES: Badon’s mother, Veronica Badon, runs the Badon Tennis Academy in the Altadena area. She was a two-time All-American at Cal State L.A. 

QUOTABLE 1: “I remember when the SoCal Pro Series started when I was still a junior. It’s great that the local juniors get to play some of the college guys. It’s so exciting to see the younger generation coming up and the depth of players has gotten so much better over the past few years.” 

QUOTABLE 2: “I would say my game is ascending at the right time. We still have more to improve. I kind of signed up for it begrudgingly. I took five days off after we lost and was emotionally cooked. But my coach said there was no way I was pulling out.”

QUOTABLE 3: “I want to feel the pressure of playing in SoCal. I’ve always kind of felt like the underdog. I want to play all the ITFs this summer.” 

GIVE HIM A FOLLOW: On Instagram @rootstorackets.

YOU CAN CALL ME…: “People call me J.B. I would respond to J.B., but I prefer just Jean-Baptiste. Just don’t call me G-E-N-E.” 

> WOMEN’S WINNER: KAIA GIRIBALAN (LOS ALTOS)

AGE: 17.

ROAD TO THE KRAMER CLUB FINAL: Def. Isidora Jelicic (Thousand Oaks), 6-1, 6-1 in 1st round; def. Kara Garcia (Sylmar), 6-2, 6-3 in quarters; def. Delaney Letzel (Los Angeles), 7-5, 6-0 in semis; def. Amy Lee (Beverly Hills) in final, 6-2, 6-3.

PREPS: Kaia is a high school senior currently training full-time in SoCal with personal coaches Kevin Jackson and Frank Giampaolo. 

FLORIDA TRAINED: Spent two years at the famed Evert Academy in Boca Raton, Fla.   

COLLEGE CHOICE: “I chose Stanford because it gives me the opportunity to play tennis at the highest level while pursuing an equally strong path in the classroom,” Giribalan said. “It also feels special to be part of a school so close to home. It really is a full-circle moment.”

COACH QUOTE: Stanford women’s coach Frankie Brennan: “Kaia really came onto our radar when she made the finals of the Orange Bowl in singles and doubles last year. She is really into college tennis, will help make us a better team and is a good cultural fit.” 

SEEKING FIRST WTA WORLD RANKING POINT: In her only SoCal Pro Series appearance, Kaia lost in the first round last year at Lakewood after receiving a wild card. 

QUOTABLE 1: “It was quite a journey actually with my recruiting process as I originally committed to Princeton in 2024. Stanford has always been my dream school since I grew up around there.” 

QUOTABLE 2: “Last year I was injured with a torn quad muscle and I was basically out the whole year.”

GIVE HER A FOLLOW: On Instagram @kaia.giribalan.

The next SoCal Pro Series Pre-Qualifying tournaments are set for this Friday, May 15-19 at the Lakewood Tennis Center. The remaining schedule: Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club, May 22-24; Racquet Club of Irvine, May 29-June 2; Barnes Tennis Center, June 6-8; Biszantz Family Tennis Center, June 12-14.