SPORTS

Noah Rubin wins national tennis title

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Noah Rubin, an 18-year-old Merrick tennis star, won a Wimbledon championship last month, but that alone was not enough to propel him into this month’s U.S. Open. A tennis court victory on Sunday in Kalamazoo, Mich., however, netted Rubin the U.S. Tennis Association’s Boys 18s National Championship and secured him a berth in the Open.

Rubin beat Collin Altamirano, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3, on Aug. 10 to claim the national title. He also gained a wild card into the U.S. Open, which begins Aug. 25 at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Queens.

“Just want to first congratulate [Altamirano] on a great two years at Kalamazoo and everyone will be seeing more of him in the future,” Rubin wrote on Twitter.

The day before the singles win, Rubin and Stefan Kozlov earned wild cards into the U.S. Open doubles competition with a 6-2, 6-2 win over top seeds Altamirano and Deiton Baughman. In early July, Rubin defeated Kozlov to win the boys' junior title at Wimbledon.

“We were really pumped up,” Rubin said in a statement after the Kalamazoo doubles win. “It was the last match. We really put it all out there. It was, by far, our best playing. They’re a great team and you can see the score. We played very well.”

Rubin has risen from No. 781 in men's international tennis rankings to No. 585 to No. 585 in recent months, according to the Association of Tennis Professionals. He trains at the John McEnroe Academy at Sportime on Randalls Island and receives funding through the Johnny Mac Tennis Project to offset his travel costs.

Rubin grew up in Merrick, went to Levy-Lakeside Elementary School and Merrick Avenue Middle School, and attended Kennedy High School in Bellmore. After his freshman year, he studied at home through the Laurel Springs online school, while training and competing internationally, earning his diploma last month. He said he plans to attend Wake Forrest University starting this fall.