Newsday's top 30 Long Island boys tennis players for 2025 spring season
Clockwise, from left: Eric Benderly, Jeffrey Behar, Will Bohner, Ray Hidaka.
Newsday's annual look at the top Long Island high school boys tennis players for this season, listed in alphabetical order.
Eric Benderly (Sr.) and Jeffrey Behar (Sr.), Commack
Their play in singles was a key reason Commack won the 2024 Suffolk large school title. Benderly then teamed with James Yu to win the county individual doubles title, take third place in the state tournament and earn an All-Long Island selection. Behar is a crafty player with the smarts to find an opponent’s weaknesses.
Will Bohner, Friends Academy, Jr.
Bohner missed significant time during the 2024 season but was healthy enough to help Friends Academy win the Long Island Division II championship and reach the singles quarterfinals of the Nassau individual championships. He could go farther with a healthy season.
Max Golubenko, Manhasset, Sr.
Golubenko was a 2024 Newsday All-Long Island second-team selection and returns as a strong, more savvy player. He lost a three-set heartbreaker in a Nassau singles semifinal, bounced back to take third place and make the state tourney and reached the Round of 16 there.
Ray Hidaka (Jr.) and Kai Hidaka (Fr.), Shoreham-Wading River
The brothers opted to play singles in last year’s Suffolk individual championships with one reaching the quarterfinals and the other making the Round of 16. They could combine their considerable games this postseason.
Luke Hynes, Chaminade, Jr.
Hynes played No. 2 singles behind All-Long Island senior George Londos and will likely move up for the Flyers, who are the defending NSCHSAA champions. He finished as runner-up in the Catholic individual singles championships.
Patrick Kana, Oceanside, Jr.
As a sophomore and playing first singles for the Sailors, Kana went 9-4 overall. He reached the Round of 16 in singles at the Nassau individual championships.
Sam Lopez-Cardenas, Whitman, Sr.
Lopez-Cardenas returns to high school team tennis after taking a year off playing national tournaments. As a sophomore in 2023, he was good enough to take fifth place in singles at the Suffolk individual championships.
Clockwise, from top left: Luke Hynes, Sam Lopez-Cardenas, Lohit Madisetty, Shashank Pennabadi, Leonardo Carmo.
Lohit Madisetty (Sr.) and Marcus Gonzales (8th grade), Half Hollow Hills East
Madisetty is a two-time Newsday All-Long Island second-team selection who always seems to go deep in individual doubles tournaments. His partner this season will be Gonzales, who could challenge him to play first singles in team play with decision-making abilities beyond his years.
Carlos Pena Lopez (Jr.) and Leonardo Carmo (Fr.), Ross School
Carmo earned his first Newsday All-Long Island selection as an eighth-grader after helping the Ravens capture the Suffolk Division II team title and playing as one half of a doubles team that reached the Round of 16 in the state tourney. He is joined by Pena Lopez, a transfer from Spain who plays a great net game.
Ignacio Pena Lopez, Ross School, So.
Pena Lopez comes to the Ravens from Spain and has fared well in international under-16 competition. The righthander is a patient baseliner that coach Vinicius Carmo said “has no discernible weaknesses.”
Shashank Pennabadi (Sr.) and Aidan Thomas (Soph.), Ward Melville
Pennabadi is a three-time Newsday All-Long Island selection and comes off a season in which he was 26-2 in all matches and half of the state individual double champion with his brother Harshith. He now teams with Thomas, a righthander who hits with great pace and has great endurance.
Anish Pylla (Sr.) and Preston Wang (Fr.), Jericho
Pylla was a 2024 Newsday All-Long Island second-team selection as half of a doubles team that took third place in the Nassau County Individual Championships and advanced to the Round of 16 in the state tourney. Wang was 11-2 in singles and doubles last season and now tops Jericho’s singles lineup.
Ishaanth Reddy Gurudu, Smithtown West, Jr.
Gurudu may be ready for a major breakthrough. In 2024 he was 14-2 in singles play, won the Suffolk League I singles title and reached the singles quarterfinals at the county individual championship tournament.
Nikhil Shah (Jr.) and Devan Melandro (Jr.), Syosset
Both are two-time Newsday All-Long Island selections and come off a season where they helped Syosset win a second state team championship and went on to win the doubles title at the Nassau County Individual Championships.
From left: Nikhil Shah and Devan Melandro, Giancarlo Volpe, Ethan Solop.
Cooper Schorr, Lynbrook, Sr.
Schorr is installed as the No. 1 singles player for Lynbrook and returns after reaching the quarterfinals at last year’s Nassau individual championships.
Ethan Solop, Roslyn, Sr.
A Newsday All-Long Island second-teamer in 2023, the power hitter cracked the first team as a junior after helping his team reach the Nassau Division I final and going on to finish second in the county individual singles tournament and fifth in the state tourney.
Nolan Surbeck (Sr.) and Brody Surbeck (Jr.), Harborfields
The Surbeck brothers should not only help Harborfields contend for the Suffolk Division I team crown but should be a real threat at the county’s individual doubles tourney, where they reached the quarterfinals a year ago.
Leonardo Villacreses, Sachem, Jr.
Villacreses is once again placed atop the Sachem lineup in singles. A singles quarterfinalist in the Suffolk individual championships, he returns hitting with better pace and decision-making.
Giancarlo Volpe, Westhampton, Sr.
Volpe has been part of two high-rising doubles teams for the Hurricanes, making Newsday’s 2023 All-Long Island first team and 2024 second team. A doubles partner this season could be junior Bryce Groth.
Tommy Walsh (Jr.) and Sam Stein (Sr.), Half Hollow Hills East
Walsh and Stein are part of a deep roster that should keep Hills East a contender for the Suffolk Division I team title. In the doubles draw at the county individual championships, Stein's big serve and Walsh’s play at the net got them to a quarterfinal.
Benjamin Wiese, Garden City, Fr.
The younger brother of 2023 state singles champion Nina, Wiese brings a powerful lefthanded serve to his first season of high school team tennis. He stands 6-4 and moves well for his size.
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.