Rancho Santa Fe tennis tournament gives future pros a path to the ATP Tour

Ben Higgins
Posted

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Future tennis stars are competing this week in Rancho Santa Fe, looking to take the next step in the USTA Southern California's SoCal Pro Series.

Carmel Valley's Bryce Nakashima is one of the players working his way up the ranks in professional tennis. His older brother, Brandon, is currently the 6th ranked American men's singles player.

"Tennis came from my grandfather. He started me and my brother, like...as soon as we could walk," Bryce Nakashima told ABC 10News after his first-round match on Wednesday.

Bryce is a rising senior at Ohio State, and just last week won his first singles title at the SoCal Pro Series event at the Barnes Tennis Center in Point Loma. In the ultimate twist, Nakashima beat his Buckeyes college doubles partner, Aiden Kim, in the final.

"We practice so much. We know each other, how we play, how the guy thinks and everything. So, it's just like a big chess match, you know?" Nakashima said.

The win earned Nakashima a modest $2,000 first prize. More importantly, he earned points that can help him move up to even higher-profile tournaments in the future.

"I appreciate that these guys are out there fighting for the points, because they know the money's not there, and you watch the matches, they're literally fighting for every single point," SoCal Pro Series Tournament Director John Chanfreau said.

For Nakashima, that means someday trying to join his brother on the ATP Tour.

"It's kind of nice having someone who's done all the steps, and done everything kind of right, and you can kind of follow what his direction and his advice might be," Nakashima said.

Chanfreau said the series has a track record for developing local talent.

"It's proven to help our local players here from Southern Cal and it's a good starting point for them to get those points for where they need to go, on the main tour."

The tournament runs through Sunday at the Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club.

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