High Schooler Wins $2.2K Tennis Tournament

By Shannon Gorman

NEW BRUNSWICK (June 14, 2021) - 17-year-old Evan Wen took the First Serve Tennis North Jersey Open by storm this past weekend. 

After three days of matches, Wen, a top 25 junior in the country, defeated finalist and University of North Carolina player Casey Kania in the singles final after Kania had to forfeit the match due to cramps. During his pursuit, Wen also defeated No. 1 seed and Texas Christian University player Bertus Kruger. This is Wen’s first prize-money tournament win.  This tournament featured over 90 high school, college, and adult players from more than six states. 

Meanwhile, Kruger and University of Wisconsin player Daniel Nuzhny became the tournament’s doubles champions after beating the Holy Cross doubles team of William Chen and Alex Ruenhorst in the final, 8-3. 

The North Jersey Open is the first UTR summer tournament First Serve Tennis Co-Directors Aaron Reznik and Matt Slowinski have hosted. UTR is the world’s most accurate tennis rating system, which allows verified organizations to host tournaments/events for players of all ages and levels, where they’re ranked on a scale based on their previously played matches, scores, and their opponents’ rankings. 

“It’s been so incredible getting so many high level players together,” Reznik says. “We can’t wait to do it again soon.”

First Serve Tennis has already announced that it will host at least one more prize-money tournament in North Jersey this summer, with dates and locations to be determined shortly. For the tournament’s homepage with full match details, click here.