RANCHO SANTA FE, July 13, 2026 (Media Release)
The SoCal Pro Series closed its ‘Year 5’ chapter with a pair of significant additions to its record book.
As the SoCal Pro Series played on over the summer, Ladera Ranch resident Spencer Johnson and Russian Alina Shcherbinina emerged as the circuit’s leading performers. With two impressive win streaks on the line Sunday, one was maintained and one was stopped.
Johnson wrapped up his 2026 SoCal Pro Series run on a 15-match win streak after squeezing out a 7-6(2), 7-5 victory over San Diego native Noah Zamora in the men’s singles final of the $15,000 USTA Pro Circuit and World Tennis Tour event hosted at Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club and managed by USTA Southern California.
Shcherbinina is the only woman to win three SoCal Pro Series singles championships in history. Her bid for a fourth this season, and her 22-match series win streak, was halted by Ukrainian Veronika Miroshnichenko, who ousted the Moscow native, 6-3, 6-4, in the final. An Irvine resident, Miroshnichenko completed a weekend sweep of the singles and doubles titles in the same World Tennis Tour event for the first time.
There wasn’t much between the top two seeds in the men’s draw on the court. But it was No. 1 seed Johnson who best dealt with the pressure-packed moments in the later stages of each set. That’s a critical reason why UCLA’s No. 1 and returning senior finished the SoCal Pro Series winning his first three pro singles crowns in each of the last three events he played – in Irvine (Week 4), Claremont (Week 5) and on Sunday.
“This has got to be the best I’ve ever played, but also the most consistent,” Johnson said of his 2026 SoCal Pro Series stint. “Being more consistent has gotten me playing at a higher level. This is probably the most confident I’ve felt. It was really good to be able to connect my tennis the way I was hoping to.
“I’d like to keep building on the way I competed these last few weeks. I feel like I’m, mentally, going to be there more so the whole time. I’m definitely feeling more confident that I can win matches. I think I had some breakthroughs, staying in matches and figuring matches out. I want to be able to do that when the level keeps getting higher.”
He will put this to the test this upcoming week as Johnson, 23, received a wild card into an ATP Challenger Tour $75,000 event in Nebraska.
Johnson’s third singles crown on Sunday places him second all-time in SoCal Pro Series men’s singles titles, moving beyond two-time winners such as La Jolla natives and brothers Zach Svajda (ATP Tour No. 66 ranking) and Trevor Svajda, and 2026 University of San Diego graduate Oliver Tarvet. Irvine native Learner Tien (ATP Tour No. 17 ranking) is the circuit’s all-time leader with five singles titles.
“All those guys are great tennis players. I was able to show up pretty well,” Johnson said. “Just gives me a lot of confidence to keep pushing for the future and getting my level higher. Before the summer, my goal was to win one of these because I hadn’t won one. I wasn’t sure how this was gonna go. I did a lot better than last year (on the SoCal Pro Series). I feel like I’m getting better.”
Through his five 2026 SoCal Pro Series events, which began with semifinal appearances at Lakewood Tennis Center and Jack Kramer Club, Johnson’s ATP Ranking has climbed from No. 965 (when he began in Lakewood) into the 600s.
Said Johnson: “I can make some (scheduling) decisions now. Now I’ll probably be able to play some more Challengers. It would be great to be able to play some more of those at a higher level and learn how to compete and win as the level rises. I think that is my goal for the rest of the year.”
Johnson bagged 15 ATP Tour singles ranking points and a $2,160 check for the victory while Zamora earned eight ATP points and $1,272 for finishing runner-up.
Zamora, the 2021 St. Augustine High School graduate, has reached two singles finals (both in 2026) and three semifinals on the World Tennis Tour since graduating from UC Irvine as the Anteaters’ No. 1 player in 2025. He played in all seven 2026 SoCal Pro Series events.
Zamora, 23, had his heart set on winning his first pro singles crown in his native San Diego County. He fell to eventual champion Bryce Nakashima in last week’s semifinal at Barnes Tennis Center. Zamora insisted he felt fine, physically, despite having gone three sets in each of his four wins along with playing in the doubles draw this week.
“I had my chances, but a player of his caliber knows how to handle that and raise his level,” Zamora said of Johnson. “I capitalized on a couple moments that I’ve struggled with in the past with him, such as break points. In the second set, I got up a break twice. Just got a little tight in games that I had to consolidate the break and that kind of defined the match in the end. I think this match is a great step in the right direction.
“I’m incredibly proud of myself for sticking through these past, almost, two months. I brought my competitive best to the last week. I still thought I could make a deep run, and I did. I feel like I’ve grown as a player and a competitor. Definitely a lot more confident in my game. Heading into this week, the goal was to be the best version of you … and really compete. It meant a lot to me to get to this point.”
Zamora’s schedule next takes him to Illinois within the next month for a pair of USTA Pro Circuit $25,000 events in Champaign and Edwardsville.
Miroshnichenko, a Loyola Marymount graduate who last played for the Lions in 2023, won her fifth World Tennis Tour singles championship, which also includes a 2025 SoCal Pro Series crown at Jack Kramer Club.
Prior to the SoCal Pro Series, Miroshnichenko and Shcherbinina had played each other five times in other competition in 2026, with Miroshnichenko winning four of them. The No. 6 seed erased a 0-3 deficit in the second set and took six of the last seven games to close out No. 3 seed Shcherbinina.
“I’m pretty proud of what I was able to accomplish today,” Miroshnichenko said. “I think the most important thing for me right now is to be a better player than I was a few years ago and right now I’m proving it with my game. If you do all the things right, ranking will catch up.
“I was actually pretty excited and pumped to play her today. She’s been having a really good streak. I was pretty confident in this match. It helps to play someone so frequently. I needed to make sure I minimized the amount of unforced errors. Whatever it takes, mentally, fighting there. I needed to stay sharp and make sure I’m staying aggressive, and using my lefty game as well.”
Miroshnichenko, 28, cracked the code that no one else on the SoCal Pro Series could solve over the past month.
Since entering the SoCal Pro Series in Week 3 at Jack Kramer Club as a qualifier, University of Oklahoma product Shcherbinina, 22, ran off three singles crowns and 22 consecutive victories through two qualifying draws and main draw play over the past four weeks. She did not play Week 5 of the series in Claremont.
“It’s been a crazy run. Starting this, I didn’t think I was going to be this successful,” Shcherbinina said. “I started this series without a (WTA) ranking and now I’m in the 700s or 800s. It’s a great start for me to enter higher (tournament) categories. This SoCal (Pro) Series made me higher in the rankings. Now I can actually plan a schedule. Before, I was in qualies and I didn’t think I was going to get into the first event.
“I’m very happy and very grateful that everything (in the SoCal Pro Series) was in the same location. This is my first time playing this many pro events in a row. Now I’m out of college, I can relax and focus on my tennis a little bit more. I really like being out here in California. The organizers are great. The tournaments are great. The cities are great. I was just enjoying myself. I was just relaxed and playing for myself.”
The victorious Miroshnichenko claimed 15 WTA Tour singles ranking points and a $2,352 check while runner-up Shcherbinina received 10 WTA points and $1,470
Miroshnichenko hoisted her eighth pro doubles title alongside fellow Ukrainian Anita Sahdiieva after recording a 6-4, 6-3 triumph on Saturday over El Segundo resident and Vanderbilt returning junior Sophia Webster, the niece of 14-time Grand Slam champion Pete Sampras, and Jessica Bernales, a UCLA transfer from Las Vegas.
Sahdiieva has won 10 of 15 pro doubles titles on the SoCal Pro Series since 2023. Miroshnichenko and Sahdiieva earned 15 WTA Tour doubles ranking points each and a $955 prize while Webster and Bernales received 10 WTA points and split $515 in earnings.
“It’s amazing. Having this opportunity to play all of these tournaments at home is awesome,” said Miroshnichenko, who played four events on this summer’s SoCal Pro Series. “It just gives us so much to look forward to. It feels really nice to be here.”
University of San Diego product Stian Klaassen, who completed his collegiate career as the Toreros’ No. 2 player in 2026, partnered with Stanford graduate student Alex Chang for a 6-3, 3-6, 10-7 victory over 2026-27 University of Georgia teammates Noah Johnston and James Weber in Saturday’s men’s doubles final.
Klaassen, 23, grabbed his second pro doubles championship before heading home to the Netherlands. He won his first with former USD teammate Savriyan Danilov on last year’s SoCal Pro Series at USD. Though he is done playing college tennis, he will return to USD in the fall to finish his degree.
Klaassen and Chang earned 15 ATP Tour doubles ranking points apiece and split a $930 prize. Johnston and Weber collected eight ATP points and shared a $540 check.
To learn more about the SoCal Pro Series, go to socalproseries.com.
