Two-time Australian Open quarterfinalist Tennys Sandgren leads a talented group of both veteran and young, up-and-coming pro tennis players looking to move their way up the rankings ladder during the Southern California Open ATP Challenger 50 to be played over two consecutive weeks starting this Sunday, January 14 through January 28.

It will all take place at the famed Indian Wells Tennis Garden in the Coachella Valley, site of the BNP Paribas Open in March. Together branded the Southern California Open (2 ATP Challenger 50s, 2 weeks, 1 world-class location, 1 brand), the events are a springboard opportunity for aspiring pro players.

Week one of the men’s singles and doubles events will take place January 14-21 and Week 2 January 21-28. The total prize money is $82,000 for the two tournaments with 50 valuable ATP ranking points going to the singles winner for each of the tournaments.   

“We have an amazing mix of veteran pros looking to get back into top ATP Tour level events, as well as some young talented prospects,” said Cathy Jacobson-Guzy, Southern California Open Tournament Director for both week’s events. “Our players include a former two-time Australian Open quarterfinalist, NCAA singles and doubles champions and the reigning back-to-back Kalamazoo USTA Junior Nationals winner.”

The 33-year-old Sandgren from Tennessee is currently ranked No. 259 in the ATP World Tour rankings. In his Australian Open main draw debut in 2018, Sandgren upset 2014 and No. 9 seed Stan Wawrinka and then beat world No. 5 Dominic Thiem to reach the final eight. In 2020, Sandgren fell in the quarters to all-time great Roger Federer in five sets.

Former NCAA singles champion from England Paul Jubb (University of South Carolina 2019) is entered in the main draw for Week 1, alongside Southern California products such as Aidan Mayo (No. 293), former Pepperdine standout Sebastian Fanselow (No. 321), Irvine’s Omni Kumar (No. 372), former UCLA national champion in doubles Evan Zhu (No. 425) and Irvine’s Learner Tien (No. 452), the former Kalamazoo champ who has played in two US Open main draws and is just 18-years-old. 

Awarded a wild card into the main draw during Week 1 is 25-year-old former USC All-American Brandon Holt from Rolling Hills Estates. In 2022, Holt qualified for the US Open and upset world top 10 player and fellow Southern Californian Taylor Fritz.

Sandgren leads the way during Week 2 and will be joined in the main draw by the likes of Holt, American Mitchell Krueger (No. 283), 2017 NCAA singles champion Thai-Son Kwiatkowski (No. 315), Fanselow and Kumar, to name a few. 

Players with Southern California ties taking part in qualifying during Week 1 include: Former USC star Daniel Cukierman (No. 488), former UCLA national champion Keegan Smith (No. 593), Coronardo’s Ryan Seggerman (No. 629) and Fullerton’s Kyle Kang (No. 630). Calabasas’ Jacob Bullard and UCLA’s Govind Nanda from Redlands captured pre-qualifying tournaments to earn their way into qualifying.

Jacobson-Guzy said the tournaments could not have been played without the partnership of sponsors such as: Refix (Official Recovery Drink), UomoSport (Official Apparel Brand), Enterprise, ALOHA Bar, Alsco, and J’s Deli.

Admission and parking is free and tennis players and fans are encouraged to come out and support the young generation of ATP players who very well could be among the next generation of top professionals. All matches will also be streamed live during the tournaments.

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To learn more about the Southern California Open, visit southerncaliforniaopen.com.