2025 Playoffs - 40+ Results!

It's the end of July and that can mean only one thing - ONLY ONE! That the USTA 3.0 playoffs are upon us! And by "us," we mean OHIO! And by "Ohio" we also mean "West Virginia"! How's THAT for some tennis geography!

So read below for the 40+ results (which we previewed here)!

And read even further below for 40+ predictions for the state championships!

40+ Results - July 25th and July 27th

NEO - The "N" in NEO must stand for "NCRC"!

NEO, unlike OHVA and NWO, has gone to a one-and-done, winner-take-all elimination bracket, and as such it was #1 seed North Ridge versus Wild Card Paramount Medina while powerhouses NCRC and MVRC, the #2 and #3 seeds respectively, faced off for the second time this season! Hosted by Western Reserve, North Ridge's Hall of 3.0 Fame leader, Captain Robert, got things started off right for the top seed as he notched career 3.0 win 138 (!) on doubles court one, but tournament tested Eric and Tavi, fresh off their runner-up finish at the Akron Open, got Paramount Medina back in the match with an impressive win on court two over 2024's Doubles Player of the Year, Ben! Meanwhile, Paramount legend Denny, he of 95 career 3.0 wins (!), earned win 96 on court three over North Ridge legend Robert, who also has 96 career 3.0 wins (!!). WOW! Meanwhile, in singles, seldom-used Andrew showed up big to seal the playoff win with a big win on the one and only singles court! WOW ... Paramount Medina with the upset ... JUST LIKE WE PREDICTED!

Meanwhile, NCRC and MVRC, two of the dominant clubs on the eastside, went at it for the second time this season, and just like the first time, the score ended 3-2 in NCRC's favor! MVRC started strong, though, taking the singles court but NCRC's 20+ winner Jerome was able to take out 20+ winner Trip in a star-studded 3.0 doubles match! Even steven, NCRC's Captain William won his doubles court but MVRC 20+ winner Ravi did the same on his court, meaning this one would come down - AS IT ALWAYS SHOULD - to the final doubles court! In this one, MVRC took the first set lead, but 20+ winner Michael rallied (quite literally) back, and in a THIRD SET SUPER TIEBREAK it was NCRC with the win! JUST LIKE WE PREDICTED (sort of ).

In the final, Paramount Medina made the controversial decision to split up the tag team of Eric and Tavi, but that decision proved wise as Captain Kenneth's doubles stars took both of their courts! Doubles courts one and three, though, were manned by NCRC's 20+ winners Jerome and Michael, and despite a spirited effort by Captain Kenneth, the match was tied 2-2! On the singles court, Paramount's Sayyad, winner of the recent Independence Open, and with 15+ singles wins to his 3.0 name, took on self-rated Tom, undefeated in his two 2025 singles matches. Sayyad came out strong, but Tom battled back to force the match to a THIRD SET SUPER TIEBREAK and just like their previous match, NCRC's playoff experience would be the difference as in the THIRD SET SUPER TIEBREAK, NCRC once again came out on top!

Congrats to all the participants in this year's 40+ NEO playoffs and good luck to NCRC - who earned their fourth District championship! - at State!

NWO

As there was only one Flight, there was no District event, so congrats to BGSU for being so good they booked a direct ticket to State! JUST LIKE WE PREDICTED!

OH VA - Is it "DayTON" or "DayWON"?! It's BOTH!

Ohio Valley, which technically includes all of C'bus, the 'Nati, Dayton, and even West Virginia, saw a super interesting 3.0 matchup! Held at Quail Run, Dayton's Virginia Hollinger T.A., making their first ever trip to the playoffs, had the home field advantage BUT hadn't played together in almost a year and when they had, their league only played with three courts. Meanwhile, travelling from Charleston, YMCA of Kanawha were at a disadvantage thanks to the roadtrip, but had been playing and had been used to five full courts.

In a one-and-done affair, Captain JL of YMCA led off with famed 3.0 Frenchman, De Fault, who, unfortunately, did what he does best - fall in straight sets. Meanwhile, tournament tested Geoffrey got YMCA back in the match on doubles court one, but VHTA Captain Zachary stopped the bleeding (hopefully not literal bleeding) and in a second and third set comeback, gave his club a seemingly insurmountable 2-0 lead! And with 18 match winner Eric on the next court, the championship looked to be all but over!

BUT IT WAS ALL BUT NOT OVER!

YMCA not only won court two, but did so against one of the best tandems in all of OHVA as they gave Eric and Rahul only their second loss on the season and just like that YMCA was back in the match!

Luckily for Dayton, Captain Zachary had double-digit winning Alan to rely on, and Alan did what he's done so many times this season - win! And just like that, Dayton's Virginia Hollinger earned their first ever District Championship in their first ever playoff match! JUST LIKE WE PREDICTED (for real this time)!

Congrats to all the participants in O-H-I-O (which somehow also includes states that are NOT in O-H-I-O) and good luck next week at State!

And if you have time, check out our updated 3.0 stats here ... because some of these guys may be up for some major awards in the future!

40+ State Predictions

When predicting the nigh-highest level of 3.0 tennis the fine state of O-H-I-O has to offer, several factors come in to play.

Well, two.

One, who is available? And two, where is the event located? Because #2 will probably impact #1! And #1 will probably impact who is hoisting the 3.0 title when all is said and done!

With that in mind, as the event is being held in Toledo, look for the home team to have a big advantage! And indeed, as

last year, there were but two finalists for the coveted 40+ state title, and even though this year, there are three, one of those three is the runner-up from last season, Captain Jason's BGSU! Representing NWO, Captain Jason returns almost his entire team from last season's runner-up squad and will certainly be a tough out. With their experience, they have the slight edge over the rookies from OHVA, but doubles standouts Alan and Bill as well as Rahul and Eric are no easy outs ... and when you add in singles sensation Eric, perhaps the rookies from OHVA have the requisite 3.0 talent to make some 3.0 dreams come true!

That being said, both sides will need to be wary of the veterans from NCRC, one of the 40+ 3.0 powerhouses in all of O-H-I-O, let alone NEO. Returning many of the key players from their 2023 run and boasting several 20+ match winners, Captain William has a glutton of 3.0 talent - from Michael and Tom in singles to Jerome, Michael, and Jason in doubles, to veterans like Munir who can do it all! Moreover, NCRC also has history on its side - in two previous trips to the state finals (2018 and 2022), NCRC has always returned with the trophy! As such, look for NCRC's combination of talent, flexibility, and history to be the odds on 3.0 favorite when these 40+ warriors hit the 78' tennis battle field!