By Sally Milano, USTA.com
It was a big weekend for Americans on the USTA Pro Circuit, as rising stars Taylor Fritz, Jennifer Brady and Michael Mmoh swept the singles titles at all three tournaments on the calendar, continuing the ascent of young Americans up the pro ranks.
Fritz, the world's top-ranked junior and 2015 US Open boys' singles champion, won his second USTA Pro Circuit Challenger title in as many weeks Sunday, defeating Germany's Dustin Brown, a Top 100 player who defeated Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon earlier this summer, 6-3, 6-4, in the final of the $50,000 men's event in Fairfield, Calif. The previous week, the 17-year-old from Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., beat fellow American teen Jared Donaldson to win the title at the $100,000 Challenger in Sacramento, Calif.
Behind those two victories, Fritz (pictured above left at the Fairfield trophy ceremony) has improved his pro ranking 462 spots, moving up from No. 694 in the world two weeks ago to his current No. 232.
Meantime, Mmoh, a 17-year-old from Bradenton, Fla., and the No. 2-ranked junior in the world behind Fritz, won his third $15,000 USTA Pro Circuit Men's Futures title in the past 12 months, defeating Mexican Lucas Gomez, 6-3, 6-2, to capture the $15,000 Futures in Houston.
Not to be outdone, former UCLA All-American Brady, 20, from Boca Raton, Fla., won her second career pro title, at the $25,000 women's tournament in Rock Hill, S.C. She beat Venezuelan Andrea Gamiz, 7-5, 6-4, for the championship.
Fritz and Mmoh, who is currently ranked No. 472, are among nine American teens ranked in the ATP's Top 600. Brady, ranked No. 222, is one of 28 American women ranked in the WTA's Top 250, eight of whom are 20 or younger.