While Illinois hosted the ATP Paine Schwartz Partners Challenger last week, court time had to be rationed. With 32 singles players and 16 doubles teams in the main draw, players signed up for training time on four spare courts while the tournament played out on courts one and two. This presented the opportunity to hit with a wide range of professional players, and junior Kenta Miyoshi took full advantage.
“It’s always nice to practice with the guys who’ve played on tour,” Miyoshi said. “Good to practice with my teammates as well, but it just gives you a different intensity. I’ve also been enjoying those moments and trying to get some hits with other players.”
The Nov. 10-17 challenger served as a warm-up for Miyoshi, the only Illinois player to qualify for the NCAA Individual Championships. Select Illini participated in qualifying tournaments throughout the fall.
Depending on the tournament, reaching a certain point in the bracket grants a player a bid to the NCAA Individual Championships. Miyoshi earned his place at the ITA Midwest Regional in early October after a dominant trip to the finals. He was defeated by the top college singles player, No. 1 Ozan Baris, in the finals, but being a finalist was the threshold.
Despite qualifying much earlier in the season, Miyoshi said he has been training without it on his mind.
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“I qualified for regionals a month ago,” Miyoshi said. “Since then, I’ve played (at challengers) in Sioux Falls, Knoxville and here. It’s not in my head much at all, NCAAs. I’m just trying to progress, trying to get better every day and getting used to this challenger level. I think I’m playing really well right now, so I am confident going into NCAAs.”
All eight members of the Illinois team participated in the challenger alongside Miyoshi. Assistant coach Zeke Clark and recently graduated players Oliver Okonkwo (2022-24) and Lucas Horve (2018-24) also competed.
Miyoshi started in the main singles draw along with redshirt junior William Mroz and sophomore Jeremy Zhang. However, Miyoshi was the lone Illini to make it out of the first round. His journey did not stop in the round of 16 either, as he took down Aidan McHugh and Jack Pinnington Jones en route to the semifinals.
The British opponents entered the tournament at No. 498 and No. 394 worldwide, respectively. Despite losing to Miyoshi, they jumped to No. 472 and No. 377 on Nov. 18.
Miyoshi received an even bigger jump in worldwide rankings after exiting the singles draw in the semifinals. The Nov. 11 rankings had Miyoshi at No. 765, but a week later, he catapulted to No. 658. This is Miyoshi’s highest international rank since debuting at No. 1580 in August 2022.
“(The challenger) definitely has helped me increase my confidence,” Miyoshi said. “I’m pretty clear of my game right now and where it’s going towards, too. As many matches as I can get here, the better I’ll be for NCAAs.”
Miyoshi’s first NCAA match is against sophomore Jack Loutit, the No. 77 collegiate singles player. Loutit qualified via the ITA South Sectional after advancing to the quarterfinals. Despite bowing out in the quarterfinals, he had an extra opportunity in a playoff round when the tournament offered six bids. Loutit was the only member from the University of Kentucky to qualify for NCAAs and has a 3-3 singles record this fall.
Miyoshi’s round of 64 match against Loutit breaks at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday in Waco, Texas.
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