RANCHO SANTA FE, October 7, 2022 (by Steve Pratt)

To get a glimpse at the future of the WTA and its potential stars, one must only look at the results from Thursday second-round of play at the second annual Rancho Santa Fe Open, a USTA Women’s Pro Circuit $80,000 event taking place this week at the Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club.

Five teenagers advanced to the quarterfinals with impressive Round of 16 wins, with a sixth oh so close to making it to the final eight, which will take place on Friday starting at 11 a.m.

Recent US Open Junior Girls’ singles champion Alex Eala from the Philippines, a qualifier and just 17-years-old, won her fourth straight match at the RSF Open, taking out Katherine Sebov from Canada, 7-6 (6), 6-2.

Russia’s Diana Shnaider, an 18-year-old, is like Eala a former Grand Slam juniors champion having won the 2021 Wimbledon doubles and the 2022 Australian Open Girls’ doubles title. Shnaider meets 19-year-old American Elvina Kalieva in a quarterfinal match that will follow Eala against Marcela Zacarias of Mexico. Shnaider, ranked No. 220 in the world, upset No. 3 seed Katie Volynets, 6-4, 2-6, 6-1

The younger sister of Uzbek-born and current Los Angeles Kings hockey player Arthur Kaliyev, Kalieva knocked off 18-year-old American Robin Montgomery in three close sets, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (1).

The other two remaining teenagers include 18-year-old Ashlyn Krueger, the 2021 USTA National Hardcourts junior singles and doubles winner, and 18-year-old unseeded Katrina Scott, who beat No. 8 Arianne Hartono of the Netherlands, 7-5 6-4.

In doubles, local San Diego product Katherine Hui and Pepperdine’s Janice Tjen moved into Friday’s semifinals without winning a point as they received a walkover when their opponents were forced to withdraw because of injury. The pairing will face a tough Mexican team consisting of top-seeded Zacarias and former USC All-American Giuliana Olmos, a former US Open mixed doubles finalist who is ranked No. 7 in the world in doubles.