Vignesh Gogineni, right, is congratulated by Ozan Baris after the Edwardsville Futures championship match on Aug. 2, 2026, at the EHS Tennis Center in Edwardsville.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Vignesh Gogineni competes during the Edwardsville Futures championship match on Aug. 2, 2026, at the EHS Tennis Center in Edwardsville.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Ozan Baris competes during the Edwardsville Futures championship match on Aug. 2, 2026, at the EHS Tennis Center in Edwardsville.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Vignesh Gogineni competes during the Edwardsville Futures championship match on Aug. 2, 2026, at the EHS Tennis Center in Edwardsville.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Ozan Baris competes during the Edwardsville Futures championship match on Aug. 2, 2026, at the EHS Tennis Center in Edwardsville.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Vignesh Gogineni competes during the Edwardsville Futures championship match on Aug. 2, 2026, at the EHS Tennis Center in Edwardsville.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Vignesh Gogineni celebrates his win at the Edwardsville Futures championship match on Aug. 2, 2026, at the EHS Tennis Center in Edwardsville.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Vignesh Gogineni looks at the crowd in disbelief after winning the Edwardsville Futures championship match on Aug. 2, 2026, at the EHS Tennis Center in Edwardsville.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Ozan Baris competes during the Edwardsville Futures championship match on Aug. 2, 2026, at the EHS Tennis Center in Edwardsville.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Vignesh Gogineni looks at his championship following his win at the Edwardsville Futures championship match on Aug. 2, 2026, at the EHS Tennis Center in Edwardsville.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Vignesh Gogineni competes during the Edwardsville Futures championship match on Aug. 2, 2026, at the EHS Tennis Center in Edwardsville.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Vignesh Gogineni takes in his championship win at the Edwardsville Futures championship match on Aug. 2, 2026, at the EHS Tennis Center in Edwardsville.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Ozan Baris is congratulated by tournament director Dave Lipe on his second-place finish at the Edwardsville Futures championship match on Aug. 2, 2026, at the EHS Tennis Center in Edwardsville.
Matt Kamp/The Intelligencer
Vignesh Gogineni had to withstand eight missed match points and Ozan Baris’ familiar refusal to go away before claiming his first Futures championship Sunday at the 15th Edwardsville Futures.
Gogineni defeated the fifth-seeded Baris 6-4, 6-2 on Court 2 in front of a large crowd at the EHS Tennis Center on Aug. 2 in Edwardsville.
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“It means a lot. It’s crazy,” Gogineni said. “I didn’t really make the decision to start going after this until around this time last year. To make this much of a jump in one year means a lot.”
Before Sunday, Gogineni’s best Futures finishes were quarterfinal appearances at San Diego and Claremont during a trip to California in June.
“There were a lot of things going through my head,” Gogineni said. “It was my first professional final, so those nerves were with me throughout the match.”
Gogineni let eight match points slip away before converting his ninth chance to close out the match.
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Baris fought off each opportunity with well-placed shots, keeping the Edwardsville crowd on edge. But Gogineni’s final chance held up when his volley from in front of the net landed just inside the line.
Gogineni looked toward the crowd and smiled in relief before shaking hands with Baris.
It was fitting, considering Gogineni’s description of Baris afterward.
“He’s a cat,” Gogineni said. “He has nine lives.”
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“Even when I was serving at 5-2, I knew it didn’t matter if I was up 40-love or whatever,” Gogineni said. “He was going to fight until the final point. He showed that in one of his earlier matches this week. He was down 5-0 in the third set and came back to win 7-5.”
In the second round, Baris defeated Oliver Bonding 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5 after winning the final seven games of the third set.
There was no improbable rally for the recent Michigan State graduate in the championship match. The loss ended a nine-match winning streak for Baris, who was coming off a title at the Louisville Futures.
“Knowing Ozan has nine lives, I knew it was going to take until the very last second — until the final double bounce or the final time the ball touched the net — for the match to be over,” Gogineni said. “Anything before that means nothing when it comes to him.”
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Against Baris, Gogineni used an efficient serving game to keep Baris off balance. He had six of the match’s seven aces and won 72 percent of his first-serve points and 48 percent of his second-serve points. Baris won 66 percent of his first-serve points and 40 percent of his second-serve points.
Gogineni broke Baris’ serve twice in the first set, including in the seventh game to take a 4-3 lead. He then held serve to take command at 5-3 on the way to the 6-4 victory.
In the second set, Gogineni won the final five games, breaking Baris’ serve twice, to take the 6-2 win and the championship.
“It shows how much work I’ve put in to get to this point, and it shows how much potential I have to keep playing over the next couple of years, or however long this takes,” Gogineni said. “This has been a special week.”
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A Yale graduate, Gogineni entered the tournament ranked No. 970 in the world. He was the 20th-highest-ranked player among the 32 players in the main draw.
Gogineni earned three of his five wins against higher-ranked players, including second-seeded Karim Bennani, ranked No. 462, in the quarterfinals; seventh-seeded Bruno Kuzuhara, ranked No. 616, in the semifinals; and Baris, ranked No. 586, in the final.
Asked who he was going to call first to celebrate his championship, Gogineni didn’t hesitate.
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“My mom and dad,” Gogineni said. “My parents mean everything to me. They’ve supported me since I started playing tennis, and they introduced me to the sport. I owe everything to them, so they’ll definitely be my first call.”