ANSEONG, South Korea – Illinois men’s tennis’ rising junior Kenta Miyoshi secured the ITF M15 Anseong men’s doubles title on Saturday, marking the first professional triumph of his career.
Miyoshi and his doubles partner, Edward Winter, dropped only one set en route to the tournament win.
After defeating Yeonsu Jeong and Jangjun Kim in the first round, 6-2, 6-2, Miyoshi and Winter took down the top seed in the event, Yeongseok Jeong and Minkyu Song, in the quarterfinals. Securing a straight-set victory, 6-3, 7-5, Miyoshi and Winter booked their place among the final four teams in the competition.
In the semifinals, Miyoshi and Winter held a 2-1 advantage in the opening set before their opponents, Min Seong Kim and Minjong Park, were forced to retire, sending Miyoshi and Winter through to the finals.
Taking on the tournament’s No. 4 seed, Ethan Cook and Naoki Tajima, in the final round of doubles action, Miyoshi and Winter won the opening set, 6-3, before falling in the second frame, 7-5. The match came down to a winner-takes-all third set, in which Miyoshi and Winter took a 5-2 lead before Cook and Tajima battled back to cut the score to 5-4. Winning five of the next seven points, Miyoshi and Winter closed out the three-set thriller to give Miyoshi the first professional title of his career.
Miyoshi also took part in singles while in Anseong-si, though his run came to an end in the quarterfinals. Last week, he competed in Guam, advancing to the quarterfinals at ITF M15 Harmon.
The Kawasaki, Japan, native earned All-Big Ten Second Team honors during his sophomore season in 2024, leading the Illini with 27 singles wins. Miyoshi also collected Academic All-Big Ten and Academic CSC All-District distinction in his second year with the Fighting Illini.
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