For Alyssa Ahn, the final stop of the SoCal Pro Series brought her back to North County.
The Torrey Pines High School graduate competed last week at Rancho Santa Fe Tennis Club, continuing a journey that has taken her from TPHS to Stanford and the U.S. Open.
The Rancho Santa Fe event, held from July 6-12, served as the finale of the seven-tournament SoCal Pro Series, bringing together collegiate players and aspiring professionals from across the country and around the world.
Ahn, the tournament’s No. 5 seed, opened the event with a comeback victory, defeating UCLA transfer Jessica Bernales 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.
After falling behind 4-1 in the deciding set, Ahn won the final five games to move into the second round.
“It was really important for me,” Ahn said. “First rounds are always tough, you know, to get the nerves out. The tennis wasn’t necessarily the best today, but I think I just fought really hard in that third set to pull it out.”
The victory came after Ahn lost in the opening round of the previous SoCal Pro Series event at Barnes Tennis Center, just days after reaching the singles final in Claremont.
Ahn has competed in every season of the SoCal Pro Series since its launch in 2022.
“It’s sad that this SoCal Pro Series is coming to an end, but just hoping for as many matches as possible … to help me work on my competitiveness and mental toughness,” Ahn said. “I don’t know how many years I’ve been playing these, but I’m ready to win one, my first title. It’s not easy but I’m really trying. That’s a big goal of mine.”
The 2025 Torrey Pines graduate entered the tournament after a breakthrough year that included winning the USTA Billie Jean King Girls’ 18s National Championships, earning a wild card into the U.S. Open women’s singles main draw and playing No. 2 singles during her freshman season at Stanford.
Her experience at the U.S. Open gave her a chance to compete alongside many of the sport’s top players.
“It was unbelievable,” Ahn said. “I never really imagined myself to be playing in the (US Open) main draw so it was really surreal. Surrounded by top-level pros. In the locker room, Iga’s (Swiatek) locker was right next to mine, which is, like, crazy.”
“Just walking around amongst, like, the best players in the world that I watched on TV was something that I’ll never forget,” she added. “I actually think about it, like, a lot as motivation to somehow try to get back to that level and stage.”
Ahn’s run in Rancho Santa Fe ended in the quarterfinals against Alina Shcherbinina, who entered the match having won three consecutive SoCal Pro Series singles titles.
The tournament’s finale on Sunday produced champions in both the men’s and women’s draws.
Ladera Ranch resident Spencer Johnson completed a three-tournament championship run by winning the men’s singles title, defeating San Diego native Noah Zamora in the Rancho Santa Fe final.
The UCLA senior entered the tournament as the No. 1 seed and extended his SoCal Pro Series winning streak to 15 matches, having previously won championships in Irvine and Claremont.
“This has got to be the best I’ve ever played, but also the most consistent,” Johnson said. “Being more consistent has gotten me playing at a higher level.”
Johnson’s victory moved him into second place all-time in SoCal Pro Series men’s singles titles, trailing only Irvine native Learner Tien.
On the women’s side, Veronika Miroshnichenko capped the tournament with a championship performance, defeating Shcherbinina in the singles final before teaming with Anita Sahdiieva to win the doubles title.
Miroshnichenko stopped Shcherbinina’s 22-match SoCal Pro Series winning streak in the championship match.
Several North County players also competed during the week, including Rancho Santa Fe resident and Torrey Pines graduate Jacob Brumm, who reached the second round of the men’s draw, and former University of San Diego player Stian Klaassen, who advanced to the semifinals and captured the doubles championship with Alex Chang.
