LI's Jack Kennedy starts U.S. Open boys singles tournament run with first-round win

Huntington’s Jack Kennedy got a taste of the big time when he played in a first-round match at the U.S. Open last Sunday. He didn’t win that one, but a week later, the 18-year-old Kennedy was back in action and off to a flying start in the boys’ singles division at the Open. He won his first-round match Sunday night in straight sets, beating 18-year-old Ryo Tabata of Japan, 6-3, 6-3.

“He was really solid today,’’ University of Virginia coach Andres Pedroso said of Kennedy, who will be a freshman at Virginia in the spring. “Really solid. Really organized. Well programmed. Mature. Looked like a total pro out there.’’

Being a professional player is the goal for Kennedy, who currently is No. 394 in the ATP rankings after spending most of this year playing professional events on the Challenger tour, a sort of minor league on the pro tennis circuit. Kennedy won’t actually enroll at Virginia until January and will spend the fall playing in more Challenger events.

“The Next Gen Accelerator program grants a couple of good wild-card opportunities that I’ll be using, and using that during the fall to play some Challengers and hopefully some tour-level events as well,’’ Kennedy said. “My main goal is just trying to push as hard as I could to [get as high as] I can in the pro rankings, try to build a pro ranking, get that experience of playing on the pro level and just trying to get myself ready for my future.’’

Pedroso, whose Cavaliers team had three players take part in the U.S. Open, is more than OK with Kennedy’s plan.

“Totally,’’ he said. “He’s earned the right to test the waters of the Pro Tour, so if he wants to come five months later, we’re all good with it. He’s earned it.’’

Kennedy said his experience in playing the previous Sunday’s main-draw match against South Africa’s Lloyd Harris, a 29-year-old who is No. 139 in the world — and who has been as high as 31 before a wrist injury that required surgery in 2022 knocked him down the rankings — helped him take care of business against Tabata, to whom he lost in the French Open juniors.

Their match originally was scheduled to be played on Court 11 but got moved to Court 12, which is the same court on which he faced Harris.

“It definitely gets you kind of ready for this,’’ he said of playing in the Open’s main draw. “I played on the same court I did in my main-draw match, so you know I kind of knew what to expect going out there, knew the conditions and everything . . . I think I felt super-prepared coming into this.’’

Kennedy’s father, Bryan Kennedy, said that after experimenting last year between playing in juniors and the pro ranks, “just to kind of like see where his level was at,’’ this year it has been basically all pro events for his son.

The only junior events in which he played were the French Open, the U.S. Open and the USTA Boys’ 18s National Championships last month in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Winning that tournament earned Kennedy a wild-card entry into the main draw of the Open.

But after playing in the Open’s main draw and gaining confidence and experience, Kennedy — the No. 5 seed in the boys’ tournament — was asked what his ambitions are as far as this tournament is concerned.

Is he expecting to win it?

He wouldn’t say that.

“I’m just trying to do as best as I can, one match at a time, and just see how far it can take me,’’ he said. “I’m trying to have fun out there. It’s my last junior [Grand] Slam, so I’m just trying to make the most of it and kind of leave with no regrets.’’

As for what the future holds, Bryan Kennedy said the family isn’t looking too far down the road. With the ever-changing rules in college sports these days, Jack could play professionally and then come back to college, so he has options. But his intent is to play for Virginia for now and go fully pro at some point.

“So whether he does that after a year of college, two years or four years remains to be seen,’’ Bryan Kennedy said. “I think it all depends how he feels after finishing his first year. If he feels ready, then he goes then. If he doesn’t feel ready, he comes back, and we’ll see from there.’’

For now, Jack’s immediate focus will be to finish out this tournament in winning fashion. He and doubles partner Keaton Hance will begin the defense of their 2025 doubles title on Monday. On Tuesday, Jack will play the second round of the singles tournament against 17-year-old Canadian Benjamin Azar.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.