Late decision leads to title for 2026 Sarasota Open doubles champs

Longtime friends Hynek Barton, left, and Martin Damm Jr. teams up to win the 2026 Sarasota Open doubles championship on Saturday, April 11, 2026.

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., pounded his serve and Barton revealed plenty of finesse near the net.

“Obviously, it helps that we’re close friends off the court,” Damm Jr. said. “That makes it easier on the court to produce at a good level.”

Barton, who still resides in Prague, was more specific about what gave the two the winning edge on Saturday.

“When you have a guy serving everything like Martin and hitting returns like crazy, it makes all the difference,” Barton said. “There are no players in this tournament who are better than him. If he was at 100 percent of his game, I think he would win the singles here also. I’m glad he played with me.”

Damm Jr. entered the Sarasota Open with a career high of No. 125 in the ATP world rankings for singles. He was seeded second in the tournament before suffering a first-round loss to 29-year-old Coral Springs left-hander Alex Rybakov in a three-set match that lasted 2:18.34.

Barton made it to the Round of 16 in singles before losing 6-1, 7-6(6) to Nishesh Basavareddy of California.

“We didn’t expect to win this,” Damm Jr. said. “Even though it was doubles, and we are both focusing on singles, we played four great doubles matches and everyone counts.”

Damm Jr. was born in Bradenton before spending much of his youth in the Czech Republic. He spent his high school years at IMG Academy. He now divides his time between Florida and Prague. His parents still reside in Bradenton. His father, Martin Damm, won 40 tour-level doubles tournaments during his tennis career.

“It’s nice to sleep in your own bed because as tennis players, it is very rare for us,” Damm Jr. said. “I would love for more tournaments to be at home and win at IMG Academy where I have been raised and trained.”

Despite his father’s professional success playing doubles, Damm Jr. left no doubt where his priorities lie.

“My first goal is to be a better singles player than him,” Damm Jr. said.

The singles final between No. 2 seed Wu Yibling of China and Wake Forest product Stefan Dostanic of Irvine, Calif., is slated for 1 p.m., Sunday, April 12, at IMG Academy.

Yibling won his single semifinals match on Saturday, 6-3, 7-5 over 18-year-old lefty Darwin Blanche, who was born in Boca Raton. Dostanic defeated Ecuador native and former Florida Gator Andres Andrade 6-3, 6-4 in his semifinal match.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Martin Damm Jr., Hynek Barton win Sarasota Open doubles championship