SAN DIEGO CHALLENGER NEWS & NOTES
*If you’re here wondering why are you doing Challenger previews? It is my small way to honor the life and work of Damian Kust who passed earlier this year. If you’re not familiar with Damian, go check out his Twitter account @damiankust and get some insight into what this man meant to the ATP Challenger Tour. His expertise and dedication to this tour was unparalleled. I can only hope to provide a small slice of what he brought each week when I do these previews.
*This is just the second year of this Challenger event that is held in San Diego, California. Last year’s inaugural run of tournament saw Spizziri-Zink take the doubles titles. They were stout favorites in the title match at 1.12 (-833) when they outlaste Bianchi-Zamora 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 10-8. Spizziri-Zink were unseeded.
*Two of the four seeds in 2025 were out in round one with one due to a withdrawal. The upset of the #4 seeds did not even rank as an “underdog” win with Spizziri-Zink responsible for that loss. They were set as 1.26 (-384) favorites! Two seeds made the quarterfinals (1,2), but only one was left by the semifinals. Of all the seeded losses in last year’s run, only one rated as an underdog win. Keep that in mind when you peruse this year’s draw. Due to a constantly changing landscape, you’ll see a lot of one-off pairings at these events, so seeds are not necessarily favorites to advance.
*Out of last year’s 14 completed matches, there were five underog wins. All rated fairly substantial with the smallest hit at 2.75 (+175). The other four hits were at 3.57 (+257) or above with three coming at 4.00 (+300) or greater. Two of the underdog wins came in round one with two more in the quarterfinals and then one in the semis. Bianchi-Zamora, the runners-up, were responsible for three of the five underdog wins. So, it might pay to find a hot team early and see if they can ride their way deep into the tournament. Otherwise, there wasn’t much of a clear-cut trend to follow in 2025.
*The final needed a super tie break to settle. That was one of six STB finishes at last year’s San Diego Open. Half of those came in the opening round with two more in the second round. The quarterfinals also saw two super tie break finishes, while the semifinals had none. The most interesting thing about STBs in 2025 were that four of them correlated to underdog wins.
*This year’s field is led by top seeds Hidalgo-Trhac. We saw them last in the opening round of the Australian Open, losing 7-6, 6-4 to Heliovaara-Patten. Not too shabby. Last year in limited play, they went 16-8 as a pair with titles in Ilkey on grass and Lyon on an indoor hard surface. Being a semi-seasoned pair like they are, should be a big help in this draw. Speaking of experience, New Zealand duo Reynold-Watt come in as the second seeds. They went 48-20 as a pair last year and have a 3-2 mark already in 2026. The 2026 reps include a Challenger semifinal and a good showing at the ATP Auckland event where they beat Gille-Verbeek in a super tie break before falling to Erler-Galloway in a STB (15-13). Of their 48 wins last season, 40 came on hard courts with nine finals resulting in five titles. This is clearly a very good duo in their mid 20s who could make a splash at the ATP level if they can get more opportunity.
*Your other seeds are Hilderbrand-Kiger and the #4s, Goldhoff-Stalder. Hilderbrand-Kiger pair for the first time in 2026, but they did go 12-7 last year. All of that work came at this level, where they won an outdoor hard court title in St.Tropez and an indoor title late in the year in Drummondville. Goldhoff-Stalder are two experienced US doubles vets who have seen action in five matches so far in 2026. They’re in off a finals loss in Phan Thiet where three of their four matches went to super tie breaks. Overall, four of their five matches this year have gone the distance. They’ll definitely be ones to keep an eye on for STBs.
Since last year did see some unseeded pairs, it makes sense to peruse the unseeded field and look for any spoilers. Here are a few to watch for this week in San Diego.
Bianchi-Milavsky
You’ll recognize Bianchi as one of last year’s finalists. This time around, he’s in with Milavsky as his partner. The two had good success in 2025 at 17-4 overall. A lot of that was done at the Futures level, but their first Challenger together in Winston-Salem resulted in a finals run. They could be a real tough out.
Puttergill-Seggerman
You may be familiar with Seggerman who teamed with Australia’s Matthew Romios to start the Aussie swing. They made a Challenger semifinal and also the Adelaide quarterfinals. They scored a big upset of Cash-Glasspool in that tournament. Puttergill also began 2026 well with a trip to the Noumea Challenger final with Aussie Jake Delaney as his partner. It’s a first-time pairing, but if these two mesh, they could become immediate contenders.
Sheehy-Zink
Zink is the other half of the 2025 runners-up and he’s in with a new partner for 2026. There is no track record for this pair since this will be their maiden voyage as a team, but both have had success in doubles at this level. Sheehy already made a semifinal in Glasgow to start the year and won a Challenger doubles title in Las Vegas last year. Zink never matched his San Diego success last year, but as with many pairings in Challenger events, chemistry will be a key to their success or demise.
ONE AND DONE WATCH
Here is a look at the pairs who could be challenged to get past the opening round.
(2)Reynolds-Watt
They’ve already shown a proclivity for playing tight matches in 2026 with four of their five matches resulting in super tie breaks. Kumar-Maginley are the opposition in round one. Both have plenty of doubles play on their resumes although a lot of that has come in Futures play. They did play together once last year with a super tie break loss in their opener in Tyler. With Reynolds-Watt playing all those tight matches, it’s possible this could end up twisting on a few key points in a STB finish.
(3)Hildebrand-Kiger
It’s a clash here between a pair with some solid experience and an unseeded duo that has not paired, but individually, have been good. Sheehy-Zink are probably boom or bust in this spot as I pointed out in the Unseeded Menaces section. If the chemistry is there, expect a good fight between these two in round one.
DRAW PREVIEW
Click HERE for the doubles draw
TOP HALF
The first quarter really looks like it should be all about the top seeds Hidalgo-Trhac. They’ve been splendid when paired together and have shown they can step up to the ATP level and not look out of place. That’s bad news for rest of this draw. They get wild card entry Kleege-Zamora to start. Zamora was part of the unexpected finalist pairing in 2025 here and the former UC-Irvine product has had some runs in doubles in both Futures and Challengers. Still, this seems maybe like a step up that’s a bit too much of an ask for a first time pairing.
The match opposite this could be a real banger with Bianchi-Malavsky battling Bass-Jones. I laid out what I liked about the Bianchi-Malavsky pairing earlier, so let’s concentrate on Bass-Jones. They’re 10-2 in limited play since 2025 with their first Challenger resulting in a semifinal run this year in Nottingham. They certainly seem to have the chemistry working for them, but the reps at this level may still be needed to challenge a more experienced duo like Bianchi-Malavsky. I go with experience in this one and that could set up a good one in the quarters against the top seeds.
To the second quarter where (4)Goldhoff-Stalder are the seeds. They get a pair of vets not known much for doubles in Kozlov-Tomic. Kozlov was 0-6 in doubles in 2025, while Tomic went 5-8. Given the four seeds early success in Phan Thiet, they will be the favorites of course. Still, four of their five matches in 2026 have gone to a super tie break. Kozlov-Tomic may well add to that tally, but I think the seeds get it done in the end.
A pair of first time teams faces off in the other match in this quarter. It’s Fenty-Smith versus Johns-Poling. Fenty has already played a handful of doubles matches in 2026, including a semifinal finish at the Glasgow Challenger. He also finished an impressive 39-19 in doubles in 2025. He stepped up from the Futures level and scored a Challenger title in Winston-Salem and then made the final in Sioux Falls to finish his season. Poling also found Challenger success after stepping out of Futures play late last year with a finals trip at the Drummondville Challenger and Johns won a doubles title at Matsuyama late in the season. It is still hard to look past the experience and early success of Goldhoff-Stalder however.
TOP HALF FORECAST
This is laid out where a seed versus seed battle in the semifinals seems probable, but nothing at the Challenger level ever seems set in stone as far as doubles goes. I do feel confident about the top seeds making the run, but Goldhoff-Stalder’s penchant for playing super tie breaks may well catch up with them at some point.
SEMIFINAL PIX: (1)Hidalgo-Trhac vs Johns-Poling
BOTTOM HALF
The third quarter kicks off with (3)Hildebrand-Kiger squaring off against Sheehy-Zink. The seeds have the experience edge, but they also have not paired up since Drummondville last November. Does that help Sheehy-Zink have a shot for the upset? Possibly. It’s all about whether Sheehy-Zink are able to gel quickly. I think we know that the three seeds will eventually find their rhythm, if it’s not there early to start.
On the other side of the quarter, it’s an interesting battle. I talked about the first timers Puttergill-Seggerman earlier. Their challenge is overcoming the experience of their British foes Duncan-Mackinlay who already have four matches under their belts in 2026 (2-2). They also paired 20 times last year, going 13-7. Their best run came on home soil on grass when the won the Nottingham-3 Challenger. Banger Alert may be sounded for this one as it looks a 50-50 call. I think you can make a case for any of the four pairs in this quarter having a real shot to advance to the semifinals.
In the final quarter, (2)Reynolds-Watt showed good prowess early on this season. Still, they are playing with those razor thin margins with super tie breaks seemingly stalking them around every turn. That leaves them open to losses. I’m not sure Kumar-Maginley are the ones to take them down in round one, but it may be a tight one. In the match opposite this, the Svajdas are in as a wild card entry. The American brothers have paired three times, once in each of the last three seasons. They’re 0-3, including a round one loss in a super tie break here a year ago. It’s Magadan-Schacter for them in round one. Their only play together came last year in Futures play (1-2). Like many, they’ve jumped between Futures and Challengers over the last year. Both have had success in doubles with finals trips at Challengers with Schacter winning in Winston-Salem with Fenty. This looks pretty even, so it might rest with the pair that has seen wins more often in doubles play. That would likely be Magadan-Schacter.
BOTTOM HALF FORECAST
I like what Reynolds-Watt have shown, even if they are walking that tight rope by playing so many super tie breaks. I’m giving them a slight edge to grab one of the semifinal spots. I really expect the other quarter to produce an upset because the pairs look pretty even overall. Experience might say the Brits, Duncan-Mackinlay, but I’m going with one of the first timers.
SEMIFINAL PIX: Puttergill-Seggerman vs (2)Reynolds-Watt
As my first foray into doing Challenger previews, I hope that I do Damian proud in trying to break these match-ups down and making what are sure to be incorrect picks maybe with a couple of decent ones. I am hoping that I can grow into this role as the season goes on, learning on-the-fly about some of the pairs that I only know a slight bit about. There will never be another Damian Kust and what he meant to the Challenger tennis circuit with his knowledge and passion, but I will try my best to carry on a small bit of his legacy and shine some light on the players who play doubles at this level.
This is a great tournament to start that journey in a great setting like San Diego. I have a feeling one of the top seeds will have their shot to win the titles here, but I also do think as always, expect the unexpected in doubles at the Challenger level! Hope you enjoy this and feedback as always is appreciated!
Hidalgo-Trhac
Puttergill-Seggerman
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