Brandon Holt wins Bakersfield singles title on USTA Pro Circuit

Brandon Holt produced his best tournament result since his surprise 2022 US Open run by winning the USTA Pro Circuit M25 in Bakersfield, Calif., on Sunday.

The 25-year-old American claimed his eighth ITF men's singles title as the fourth seed at the event, where he lost just one set in five match victories. He claimed the title on Sunday with a 6-4, 6-4 win against France's Timo Legut, breaking serve four times on five chances.

Holt is no stranger to success in his native California, having starred for the University of Southern California men's tennis team from 2016-20. The Rolling Hills native was a three-time all-American at USC before turning pro following his senior season.

The son of former WTA world No. 1 and two-time US Open singles champion Tracy Austin, Holt burst onto the world tennis scene by upsetting Taylor Fritz as a qualifier at the 2022 US Open. He backed up that success in his Grand Slam debut by reaching the 2023 Australian Open second round, again as a qualifier.

Holt also competed at the Indian Wells ATP Masters 1000 as a wild card last season and reached a career-high ATP ranking of world No. 180 last May after advancing to the semi-finals at a Challenger in South Korea. Prior to his Bakersfield run, his best result of the 2024 season was a runner-up finish at a January Challenger in Indian Wells.

Now ranked No. 288,  has competed in one tour-level match this season, as a qualifier in Los Cabos.

In the Bakersfield doubles, event, American Nathan Ponwith teamed with Denmark's August Holmgren to win the title. The fourth seeds defeated Australia's Patrick Harper and Great Britain's Emile Hudd, 6-1, 7-6(4), in Saturday's final.

Ponwith, 25, is now a seven-time ITF doubles champion as well as a three-time ITF singles titlist.