Rybakov Wins USTA Blizzard Challenge
12/18/2018 2:50:00 PM | Men's Tennis
The senior earned the wildcard to the ATP Challenger in Orlando and a spot on the USTA Collegiate National Team.
FORT WORTH, Texas – Five straight victories led TCU men's tennis senior Alex Rybakov to claim the title of the USTA Blizzard Wild Card Challenge on Tuesday morning at the USTA National Campus in Orlando, Fla.
The Coral Springs, Fla., native was able to upend Brandon Holt of USC, 6-2, 6-1, in the finals as four of the five victories posted by Rybakov came in straight sets. As the winner of the challenge, Rybakov receives a main-draw wild card to the Orlando ATP 80 Challenger event that starts Dec. 31, and a guaranteed spot on the 2019 USTA Collegiate National Team. A member of the squad receives grant money to travel to professional tournaments and coaching from USTA Player Development staff.
"This is a great result for Alex," head coach David Roditi said. "We all have a lot of respect for Brandon Holt and the rest of the competition at the tournament. I'm happy for Alex especially since he's been working hard with assistant coach Devin Bowen and TCU alum Cameron Norrie for this event. I knew it was important for him to do his best to possibly take the title and earn the wild card at the upcoming ATP Challenger. I'm proud of Alex, proud of his work ethic, proud of his professionalism and I'm thankful he is a Horned Frog."
A two-time All-American and six-time All-Big 12 selection, Rybakov enters his senior season at TCU with 63 wins in singles and 54 victories in doubles. The Coral Springs, Fla., native has a .808 winning percentage in singles matches and a .783 winning percentage in doubles matches while also defeating 51 ranked opponents in his career. Rybakov has helped TCU to five Big 12 regular season and tournament titles during his three years in Fort Worth and led the Horned Frogs to an appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Championship each of the last three seasons.
TCU will open the spring season by heading to Tulsa, Okla., to take on Tulsa on Friday, Jan. 18 before beginning the home season by hosting the ITA Kick-Off Weekend from Jan. 26-27 at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
Quotes from the Weekend:
Alex Rybakov
"First of all thank you to the USTA for putting this tournament on. It's a great opportunity for us with how the new (professional) rankings work to get a shot to play in a Challenger. That's a huge opportunity.
"I felt really good and played a lot of good players. I had an absolute battle with Brandon a month or two ago. I played really, really well today. I'm getting toward the end of my preseason, and I've put in a lot of work so it's good to see that it's paying off by winning this tournament. It's great to be back in Florida where I grew up. Honestly I'm just thankful to be here playing for a wild card into a Challenger and I'm looking forward to competing against the top guys.
"I'm going to finish my preseason here. USTA is helping me out and I'm going to hit with some of the guys such as Tommy (Paul) who I've been hitting with since I was 13-14 years old. I will then go home for Christmas and then come back here to get ready for the tournament.
"Thank you to my coaches at TCU, David Roditi and Devin Bowen who I've been with from the start of my college career. They've been with me and preparing me this whole fall. My body feels good and I feel good on the court. I'm looking forward to next season. We have a lot of young guys, and this is my last season so I'm excited. The spring is always a fun time to get out and compete. I love college tennis and I'm really looking forward to it."
USTA Blizzard Wild Card Challenge: Results
Round Robin Group 1
Alex Rybakov (TCU) d. Emil Reinberg (UGA): 6-2, 7-5
Alex Rybakov (TCU) d. Sam Riffice (UF): 6-3, 6-7, 10-8
Alex Rybakov (TCU) d. Tanner Smith (USC): 7-5, 6-2
Semifinals
Alex Rybakov (TCU) d. Keegan Smith (UCLA): 6-3, 7-5
Finals
Alex Rybakov (TCU) d. Brandon Holt (USC): 6-2, 6-1
The Coral Springs, Fla., native was able to upend Brandon Holt of USC, 6-2, 6-1, in the finals as four of the five victories posted by Rybakov came in straight sets. As the winner of the challenge, Rybakov receives a main-draw wild card to the Orlando ATP 80 Challenger event that starts Dec. 31, and a guaranteed spot on the 2019 USTA Collegiate National Team. A member of the squad receives grant money to travel to professional tournaments and coaching from USTA Player Development staff.
"This is a great result for Alex," head coach David Roditi said. "We all have a lot of respect for Brandon Holt and the rest of the competition at the tournament. I'm happy for Alex especially since he's been working hard with assistant coach Devin Bowen and TCU alum Cameron Norrie for this event. I knew it was important for him to do his best to possibly take the title and earn the wild card at the upcoming ATP Challenger. I'm proud of Alex, proud of his work ethic, proud of his professionalism and I'm thankful he is a Horned Frog."
A two-time All-American and six-time All-Big 12 selection, Rybakov enters his senior season at TCU with 63 wins in singles and 54 victories in doubles. The Coral Springs, Fla., native has a .808 winning percentage in singles matches and a .783 winning percentage in doubles matches while also defeating 51 ranked opponents in his career. Rybakov has helped TCU to five Big 12 regular season and tournament titles during his three years in Fort Worth and led the Horned Frogs to an appearance in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Championship each of the last three seasons.
TCU will open the spring season by heading to Tulsa, Okla., to take on Tulsa on Friday, Jan. 18 before beginning the home season by hosting the ITA Kick-Off Weekend from Jan. 26-27 at the Bayard H. Friedman Tennis Center.
Quotes from the Weekend:
Alex Rybakov
"First of all thank you to the USTA for putting this tournament on. It's a great opportunity for us with how the new (professional) rankings work to get a shot to play in a Challenger. That's a huge opportunity.
"I felt really good and played a lot of good players. I had an absolute battle with Brandon a month or two ago. I played really, really well today. I'm getting toward the end of my preseason, and I've put in a lot of work so it's good to see that it's paying off by winning this tournament. It's great to be back in Florida where I grew up. Honestly I'm just thankful to be here playing for a wild card into a Challenger and I'm looking forward to competing against the top guys.
"I'm going to finish my preseason here. USTA is helping me out and I'm going to hit with some of the guys such as Tommy (Paul) who I've been hitting with since I was 13-14 years old. I will then go home for Christmas and then come back here to get ready for the tournament.
"Thank you to my coaches at TCU, David Roditi and Devin Bowen who I've been with from the start of my college career. They've been with me and preparing me this whole fall. My body feels good and I feel good on the court. I'm looking forward to next season. We have a lot of young guys, and this is my last season so I'm excited. The spring is always a fun time to get out and compete. I love college tennis and I'm really looking forward to it."
USTA Blizzard Wild Card Challenge: Results
Round Robin Group 1
Alex Rybakov (TCU) d. Emil Reinberg (UGA): 6-2, 7-5
Alex Rybakov (TCU) d. Sam Riffice (UF): 6-3, 6-7, 10-8
Alex Rybakov (TCU) d. Tanner Smith (USC): 7-5, 6-2
Semifinals
Alex Rybakov (TCU) d. Keegan Smith (UCLA): 6-3, 7-5
Finals
Alex Rybakov (TCU) d. Brandon Holt (USC): 6-2, 6-1
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