June 10th, 2026
USTA Florida Crowns Champions at 16s/18s 2026 Bobby Curtis Junior State Championship
You can tell summer is here as the 2026 Bobby Curtis Junior State Championships for 16s and 18s took place at the USTA National Campus. USTA Florida’s most prestigious junior tournament drew in over 100 athletes for a week of unforgettable tennis.
From a champion going back-to-back across two divisions, to a player climbing from the consolation rounds a year ago to the top of the podium, to a 15-seed crashing the final, the storylines were everywhere. Let’s take a look at how the four divisions played out and who was crowned Bobby Curtis Champions!
Boys’ 16s
Jose Vasquez (Left), Paul Bower (Right)
The top two seeds held it down all the way to the final, but it was the second-seeded Jose Vasquez (Boca Raton) who saved his best tennis for last. Jose had a great run with a clean 6-2, 6-2 win over Krish Ferwani (Orlando) in the quarterfinals, never letting his opponent settle. In the semifinals, he ran into the 16th-seeded Elias Harris (Pembroke Pines). Jose took control early with a 6-1 first set, then withstood a tighter second set to close it out 7-5 and book his spot in the championship.
On the other side of the draw, top-seeded Paul Bower (Coral Springs) looked nearly untouchable. He cruised past Rex Kulman (Fort Lauderdale) 6-2, 6-0 in the quarterfinals, then turned in a dominant performance in the semifinals, taking down fourth-seeded Santiago Salazar (Miami Shores) 6-0, 6-3 to set up the No. 1 versus No. 2 showdown everyone was waiting for.
The final lived up to the hype. Jose struck first, edging a tight opening set 6-4 to grab the early advantage. But, Paul answered emphatically, racing through the second set 6-1 to force a deciding third-set tiebreaker. What followed was a back-and-forth battle where neither player would blink. Point after point, the two traded blows until Jose finally found the separation he needed, closing out a 13-11 tiebreaker to claim the Boys’ 16s Bobby Curtis title.
Championship: Jose Vasquez (Boca Raton) d. Paul Bower (Coral Springs) 6-4, 1-6, [13-11]
Third/Fourth Place: Santiago Salazar (Miami Shores) d. Elias Harris (Pembroke Pines) 6-3, 6-3
Fifth/Sixth Place: Krish Ferwani (Orlando) d. Luke Jones (Port Saint Lucie) 7-5, 6-2
Consolation Final: Viraaj Narang (Orlando) d. Krish Advani (Bradenton) 6-4, 6-4
Girls’ 16s
Payton Seidle-Lubowitz (Left), Melanie Constandache (Right)
Second-seeded Payton Seidle-Lubowitz (Weston) arrived with unfinished business. After settling for a fifth/sixth-place finish in this same division a year ago, the Weston product came back determined to take the next step, and she had to earn every bit of it. She had a comfortable 6-4, 6-1 win over Violeta Pisarczyk (Sunrise) in the quarterfinals, but the semifinals were a different story. Facing fifth-seeded Natalie Thelemaque (Delray Beach), Payton dropped the opening set 7-5 and found her back against the wall. She battled to a second-set tiebreaker and took it 7-6 (4) to force a decider, then survived an intense third-set tiebreaker 11-9 to reach the final.
Across the draw, Melanie Constandache (Coconut Creek) was on a run of her own. The reigning Girls’ 14s Bobby Curtis champion had aged up to the 16s division this year and looked right at home. She knocked off 13th-seeded Victoria Alekseykina (Tampa) 6-4, 6-4 in the quarterfinals, then handled 15th-seeded Luciana Plasencia Robles (Boca Raton) 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals to set up a final between two players chasing the hardware.
The championship match delivered the drama the week deserved. Melanie struck first, edging a tight opening set in a tiebreaker 7-6 (3), after coming back down 1-5, to grab the early lead. But Payton steadied herself and responded with a 6-3 second set to level the match and force a deciding tiebreaker. With the title on the line, Payton found another gear, pulling away to a 10-5 win to cap her climb to the top of the podium as the Girls’ 16s Bobby Curtis Champion.
Championship: Payton Seidle-Lubowitz (Weston) d. Melanie Constandache (Coconut Creek) 6-7(3), 6-3, [10-5]
Third/Fourth Place: Luciana Plasencia Robles (Boca Raton) d. Natalie Thelemaque (Delray Beach) Walkover (injury)
Fifth/Sixth Place: Victoria Alekseykina (Tampa) d. Charlie Llewellyn (Tarpon Springs) 6-2, 6-1
Consolation Final: Saraswati Gowda (Oakland Park) d. Katie Mann (Port Saint Lucie) 6-0, 7-5
Boys’ 18s
Dhakshish Aryan (Left), Max Freedman (Right)
All eyes were on top-seeded Dhakshish Aryan (Parkland), and for good reason. The Parkland standout came in as the defending Boys’ 16s champion, and this week he was chasing his second straight Bobby Curtis title, but this time a division up in the 18s. He looked the part from the start, and was cruising with a 6-3, 7-5 win over 12th-seeded Mikaeel Alibaig (Wesley Chapel) in the quarterfinals before turning in a statement performance in the semifinals, dominating third-seeded Ivan Rybak (Palm Coast) 6-1, 6-1 to march into the final.
Fifth-seeded Max Freedman (Boca Raton) had to take the hard road to meet him there. In the quarterfinals, he faced the second-seeded Matthew Shapiro (Boca Raton) and took him down in a 6-4, 6-2 match. He then found himself in a war in the semifinals against sixth-seeded Aiden Phoebus (Orlando). Max dropped the opening set 7-5 but refused to fold, clawing through a marathon second-set tiebreaker 7-6 (10) to stay alive and then closing out a 10-6 third-set tiebreaker to punch his ticket to the championship.
In the final, Max came out swinging and took the opening set 6-2, putting the top seed on notice. But Dhakshish has been here before, and his championship experience showed. He flipped the match with a dominant 6-1 second set to force a deciding tiebreaker, then pulled away late to win it 10-4 and complete his back-to-back run as the Boys’ 18s Bobby Curtis Champion.
Championship: Dhakshish Aryan (Parkland) d. Max Freedman (Boca Raton) 2-6, 6-1, [10-4]
Third/Fourth Place: Ivan Rybak (Palm Coast) d. Aiden Phoebus (Orlando) 1-6, 6-4, [10-8]
Fifth/Sixth Place: Mikaeel Alibaig (Wesley Chapel) d. Matthew Shapiro (Boca Raton) 7-6, 6-0
Consolation Final: Enzo Carvalho (Boca Raton) d. Daven Aga (Boca Raton) Walkover (injury)
Girls’ 18s
Katerina Shabashkevich (Left), Catherin Cardona-Carballosa (Right)
Top-seeded Katerina Shabashkevich (Boca Raton) entered the week as the player to beat, and she made sure that held up. She set the tone in the quarterfinals with a commanding 6-0, 6-3 win over Sienna Frizelle (Lutz), then stayed sharp against fifth-seeded Chukwunoneeru Smarty (Oneco) in the semifinals, controlling the match for a 6-3, 6-4 victory to reach the final without dropping a set.
The other finalist’s path was one of the surprises of the tournament. Fifteenth-seeded Catherin Cardona-Carballosa (Miami) made the most of her draw, advancing from the quarterfinals when ninth-seeded Abigail Gordon (Boca Raton) was forced to retire with an injury while Catherin led 4-1. She backed it up in the semifinals too, taking down the fourth-seeded Charlotte Ballarin (Boca Raton) 6-0, 6-4 to reach the Girls’ 18s final.
In the championship, Catherin hung tough early and pushed the opening set to the brink, but Katerina proved why she was the top seed. She held off her opponent to take the first set 7-5, then pulled away in the second, racing to a 6-1 finish to claim the Girls’ 18s Bobby Curtis title.
Championship: Katerina Shabashkevich (Boca Raton) d. Catherin Cardona-Carballosa (Miami) 7-5, 6-1
Third/Fourth Place: Chukwunoneeru Smarty (Oneco) d. Charlotte Ballarin (Boca Raton) 2-6, 6-0, [12-10]
Fifth/Sixth Place: Vanessa Kruse (Saint Augustine) d. Audrey Dussault (Kissimmee) 6-3, 6-2
Consolation Final: Melissa Paniagua Gasser (Lake Worth) d. Emma Prose (Wellington) 2-6, 6-1, [11-9]
