In early March, Nikolas Stoot lost early at the FILA International Junior Championship at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden, playing during the second half of the BNP Paribas Open. On Sunday, the LSU-commit got some redemption on the same hardcourts.
The Miami native, who is one of the top juniors in the Class of 2026, defeated Tyler Lee of Tustin, California, 6-4, 6-2, in the 18s final at the FILA Easter Bowl in Indian Wells.
On the final day of the Easter Bowl, Bradenton, Florida native Bella Payne defeated Nadia Valdez of San Antonio, 7-5, 6-3, in the girls' 18s final.
“It feels surreal…It feels insane,” Payne said. “I definitely didn’t have expectations to get here. It just feels amazing. I can’t even describe it.”
Also playing on Sunday, Marcel Latak of Darien, Illinois defeated Tristan Stratton of Forest Hills, New York 5-7, 6-1, 6-1, in the boys' 16s final. In the girls 16s final, Armira Kockinis of La Habra Heights, California defeated Carolina Castro from Stevensville, Maryland, 6-3, 6-0.
“Honestly, I still can’t believe (I won),” said Kockinis, who is coached by Jason Leavitt and Eric Diaz from Tier-1 Performance in Fountain Valley.
On Thursday, James Borchard topped Jugmin Lee in the boys' 12s final, Lucy Dupere beat Cross Kareena in the girls' 12s final, Daniela de Mastero defeated Allison Wang in the girls' 14s final, and Arjun Krishnan beat Rafael Pawar in the boys' 14s final.
This was the second consecutive year Payne swept through the draws as last year’s 16s Easter Bowl champion has now won 24 straight sets over 12 matches and won two gold balls in singles, becoming the first Easter Bowl player since pro Emma Navarro to win the 16s and 18s singles titles.
Payne was shooting for a fourth Easter Bowl gold ball, having won the 16 doubles last year. But she fell just short as she and Emily Deming of Fallbrook, California lost to Amy Lee and Kenzie Nguyen, 6-3, 6-4.
Payne fell behind a break early, and trailed 1-4, but she rallied to win the next four games and eventually take the tight first set.
“I finally got some errors from her at four-all,” she said. “At five-all, I kept staying aggressive and kept hitting through my nerves. I was never counting her out. Sometimes I get tentative when I get nervous.”
Payne can’t believe the success she’s had in her favorite place to play tennis.
“After Winter Nationals I took a little bit of a mental break because my emotions were all over the place,” she said. “At a certain point I was thinking of not even playing here.”
For Stoot, he came to Indian Wells in early March as a last-minute decision, with a shoulder injury. Instead of staying at home and resting, he came out and played through the pain, winning his first USTA national ball.
“My serve was working the most, especially on break points,” Stoot said. “It’s crazy looking back and thinking that we almost didn’t come here.”
Andrew John covers tennis for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Nikolas Stoot and Bella Payne win Easter Bowl 18s titles
