Vignesh Gogineni storms into ITF M15 Ithaca quarterfinals; Rethin Senthil Kumar falls in R16

Playing at the Dick Johnson Open in Ithaca, New York, Gogineni has yet to drop a set through 2 singles rounds, matching the exact 6-3, 6-2 scoreline from his opening-round victory over Cezar Gabriel Papoe (ROU, 998). Both Gogineni and Senthil Kumar also remain in contention for the doubles title at the Reis Tennis Center after advancing to the last 8 earlier in the week.

Taking to Court 1 in the 2nd match of Thursday’s session, 21-year-old Vignesh Gogineni (USA, 753) controlled the baseline exchanges against 23-year-old Hungarian left-hander and former Baylor University standout Zsombor Velcz (HUN, 889), who had defeated American wildcard Liam Krall (USA, 1217) 6-3, 6-4 in the opening round. Gogineni broke serve early to claim the opening set 6-3 and maintained relentless depth on return in the 2nd set to close out a clinical 6-3, 6-2 victory.

Across his opening 2 singles outings in Ithaca—a 6-3, 6-2 win over Cornell freshman Cezar Gabriel Papoe (ROU, 998) on Wednesday in which he struck 4 aces with 0 double faults and converted 100% of his break points, followed by Thursday’s 6-3, 6-2 win over Velcz—the former Yale University No. 1 has surrendered just 10 games in 4 sets. Following a 28-8 collegiate season at Yale that earned him 1st-Team All-Ivy League honors in both singles and doubles, Gogineni captured the ITF M25 Edwardsville title in August 2026 and reached a career-high singles ranking of 746 in September.

In Thursday’s opening match on Court 4, 19-year-old Cornell University sophomore Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar (IND, 1007) bowed out of the singles draw with a 3-6, 0-6 loss to 19-year-old Canadian qualifier and University of Kentucky player Nicolas Arseneault (CAN, 1066), a former world No. 491 who had eliminated 3rd seed Tomasz Berkieta (POL, 645) 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(1) in Wednesday’s opening round. Senthil Kumar traded games through the early stages of the 1st set on his home indoor courts before Arseneault pulled away to seal the contest in straight sets.

Despite the Round of 16 exit, Senthil Kumar picks up another ATP ranking point from a breakthrough week in Ithaca after defeating former NCAA Division 1 singles No. 1 and former world No. 411 Micah Braswell (USA, 1136) 6-3, 6-3 in Wednesday’s Round of 32. Entering the tournament at a career-high pro singles ranking of 1007, Senthil Kumar now shifts his full focus to the doubles draw alongside fellow Indian and Cornell teammate Rushil Khosla (IND, UNR)—just 10 days after the duo went 6-0 at Harvard University to win the 2026 ITA Division 1 New England Regional Doubles Championship and clinch an automatic berth into November’s NCAA Doubles Championships.

In the bottom quarter of the singles draw on Friday, October 23, 6th seed Vignesh Gogineni (USA, 753) will face the winner of Thursday afternoon’s all-qualifier Round of 16 clash between Sweden’s Rafael Ymer (SWE, 2093)—who defeated American qualifier Connor Plunkett (USA, UNR) 6-1, 6-4 in the 1st round—and Czech left-hander Jan Klimas (CZE, 1399), who upset 2nd seed Andreja Petrovic (NOR, 604) 1-6, 7-6(8), 6-2 in Wednesday’s opening round.

In the doubles quarterfinals at the Reis Tennis Center, 2nd seeds Jack Anthrop (USA, 728) and Vignesh Gogineni (USA, 554) take on Cornell tandem Rodrigo Fernandes (POR, 1648) and Eric David Verdes (ROU, UNR) on Court 1, while all-Indian Cornell pair Rushil Khosla (IND, UNR) and Rethin Pranav Senthil Kumar (IND, 2253) meet 4th-seeded Americans Henry Lieberman (USA, 774) and Logan Zapp (USA, 1941) on Court 6.