TEMPLETON, Calif., October 1, 2026 (by Steve Pratt)
Three-time Grand Slam junior doubles champion Kristina Penickova is looking to make a name for herself in singles this week at the Central Coast Tennis Classic, a $100,000 ITF World Tennis Tour and USTA Pro Circuit women’s tournament taking place at the Templeton Tennis Ranch.
The 17-year-old Penickova, who grew up just 150 miles north of Templeton in Campbell, Calif., made her debut in the eighth annual event in upset fashion, as she beat No. 6 seed Iryna Shymanovich from Belarus, 7-6 (4), 6-2. Penickova later teamed with twin sister Annika to take out Shymanovich and Carmen Andreea Herea from Romania, 7-5, 6-3.
Penickova is ranked No. 623 in the WTA Rankings and received a special junior exemption to gain main draw entry this week. She won the 2025 Australian Open and Wimbledon, and just four weeks ago she and Annika won the US Open. Kristina next faces qualifier Carolina Kuhl of Germany in the Round of 16 on Thursday.
Last year’s singles champion Kayla Day, coming off five wins to capture her 12th career ITF title on Sunday at the Berkeley W50 tournament, had a rough day on the newly surfaced blue-on-blue Templeton Tennis Ranch stadium court as she fell to qualifier Amelie Van Impe of Belgium, 6-2, 6-4. Van Impe, 22, plays for Southern Methodist University and has won four ITF singles titles. She was the Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year last season.
The No. 7-seeded Caroline Dolehide, 28, and from Hinsdale, Ill., has been hampered by a shoulder injury, but continued her comeback tour with an impressive 6-3, 6-1 win over Jo-Yee Chan, who played at San Diego State. A lot has transpired over the past 10 years for Dolehide and Day, who were junior rivals and doubles partners and played in the final of the US Open junior doubles in 2016. Dolehide is looking to continue her ranking rise as she reached a career-high No. 41 in 2023.
Americans Whitney Osuigwe, Lea Ma and Malaika Rapolu all moved into the second round. Top-seeded German Tatjana Maria beat Lucciana Perez Alarcon from Peru, 6-1, 6-2. Qualifying wildcard Katie Fakih, a UCLA junior, beat Victoria Bosio from Argentina, 5-7, 7-5, 6-0. In Thursday night’s featured match starting at 6 p.m. local time, Fakih will take on Dolehide.
