EDWARDSVILLE - Shaan Patel of Frontenac, Mo., a recent graduate of John Burroughs School in Ladue, Mo., won in straight sets over Namesh M. Bharatty of Tamil Nedu, India, and Andrew Koten of Short Hills. N. J., defeated Diego Britt-Alvarez of Naples, Fla., to claim wildcard berths in next week's Edwardsville Futures Tennis Tournament, presented by The EGHM Foundation, with wins in the Pro Wildcard Challenge, presented by the Gori Law Firm, on Thursday, July 23, 2026, at the Edwardsville Tennis Center.
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Both Patel and Kotzen won wildcard berths for the $30,000 Futures tournament next week with their wins. The wildcard round starts on Sunday, July 26, 2026, and will feed directly into the main draw of the tournament, which ends with the singles finals on Aug. 2.
In the semifinals of the upper half of the qualifying draw, Patel won over Maksym Chemegorov of Ukraine 6-0, 6-0, while Bharatty won over Malhar Patel of Orlando, Fla. 6-7 (7-9 in the tiebreak), 6-4, 13-11, then Shaan Patel won over Bharatty in the bracket final 7-5, 6-1 to claim the wildcard berth.
In the lower bracket semifinals, Kotzen won over Matthew Michibata of West Windsor, N.J. 6-4, 6-2, and Britt-Alvarez defeated Oscar Corwin of Elm Grove, Wisc. 6-2, 1-6, 11-9 to advance to the bracket final, Kotzen won the wildcard berth over Britt-Alvarez 6-3, 6-0 and won the wildcard berth.
Both Shaan Patel and Kotzen will compete in the wildcard portion of the Futures, which starts on Sunday and goes through Tuesday, with the main draw of 32 beginning on Wednesday and continuing through the singles final Aug. 2, 2026.
The Doubles Shootout, a one-day tournament for doubles teams, takes place on Friday, with the winner gaining a wildcard berth in the doubles competition. Play is set to begin at 10 a.m.
