Photos courtesy of Jon Mulvey & USTA SoCal
After seven highly-contested tournaments in part of the USTA SoCal Pro Series, the two players who will be receiving a wild card into the qualifying draw at Indian Wells have been determined as the Race to Indian Wells comes to a close.
Given to the top point earners who are U.S. citizens and are either Southern California residents or Southern California college students, the 2023 recipients of these wild cards were Cal’s Haley Giavara and USC’s Stefan Dostanic.
Organized as ITF/USTA Pro Circuit $15,000 men’s and women’s tournaments, the USTA SoCal Pro Series not only presented players with the opportunity to earn a wild card into Indian Wells, but it also allowed many collegians to earn ATP and WTA points to kickstart their pro career.
For the Cal senior Giavara, the USTA SoCal Pro Series was a breakout showcase for her professional game, as she would dominate the field week in and week out, finishing 25 points above the second closest points getter.
Over the seven weeks of play, Giavara would reach two finals, winning one title, and would reach the semifinals and quarterfinals in two more events. The W15 title won in Irvine during the USTA SoCal Pro Series was her first career ITF title of her young professional career.
In the men’s points race, Dostanic had a much tighter finish for the top spot as he was battling teammate and one of the top juniors in the world, Learner Tien, for the Indian Well wild card.
Needing a strong finish in the last tournament of the USTA SoCal Pro Series, Dostanic would come back from a 6-4, 5-7, 2-5 deficit against Tien in the Semifinals to secure his place in the finals where he would ultimately take down Hawaii’s Andre Ilagan to win his first ITF title.
In addition to the title, Dostanic has also had a semifinal finish at the M15 in Lakewood as well as a quarterfinal finish at the M15 in Los Angeles which helped him finish with just six more points than Tien for the Race to Indian Wells wild card.
Across all of the USTA SoCal Pro Series tournaments, current and former collegians shined in the singles and doubles draws. Many collegians earned their first ITF Tour title over these seven weeks of play and many collegians teamed up with friends and fellow student-athletes from other teams on their way to titles.
The 2024 BNP Paribas Open will be held from March 4-17, 2024 in Indian Wells, California.
