Late decision leads to title for 2026 Sarasota Open doubles champs
Martin Damm Jr. and Hynek Barton, longtime friends and former junior tennis players, won the 2026 Sarasota Open doubles title.
BRADENTON – Martin Damm Jr. and Hynek Barton got to know each other from training together and playing in the same tournaments when they were junior tennis players. However, the pair never got serious about playing doubles in a tournament until this year’s edition of the Elizabeth Moore Sarasota Open.
“I grew up with Hynek in the Czech Republic, so we’ve known each other for a long time,” said Damm, Jr. , a towering 6-8 southpaw who owns a powerful first serve. “We trained at the same place in Prague.
He was a great junior player. This week, just 30 minutes before the signing deadline, we decided to play together. ” That decision proved to be bad news for a pair of former Duke Blue Devils on a sun-scorched Saturday afternoon, April 11, on the clay at the IMG Academy in the doubles final of the ATP Challenger Tour event.
Damm Jr. and Barton, both 22, breezed past Garrett Johns and Theodore Winegar, a native of Osprey, 6-2, 6-1, to earn the doubles title. The duo looked like they had been playing together forever as With Damm, Jr.