Tennis
Most recently, I was on the TennisRecruitung Hot 100 list for May and April 2025. They also did a feature article and interview with me in April which you can see below. I was also featured by USTA Southern California in 2023 - see below.
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I've been a competitive tennis player since I was 6 years old. I've finished both the 10s and 12s age ranges of the US Tennis Association of Southern California ranked in the top 10. The Southern California region is one of the most competitive regions in the country, covering a region with over 20 million residents and thousands of junior tennis players at every age range. I've been Varsity team captain of mu high school Newport Harbor since my sophomore year.
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In September 2021, I was proud to be part of the Orange County tennis team that won the regional CTC cup. The CTC cup brings the top 8 boys and girls aged 13 and under from each county in Southern California. The Orange County team won the championship.
Who's Hot?
Hot 100 List - April 2025
by James Hill, 16 April 2025
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TheLotto Elite Hot 100 lists are published each month, and the April Hot 100 lists feature the 100 boys and girls who most improved their rankings during the month of March. You can find out more about the Lotto Elite Hot 100 - and how the lists are calculated - by reading here.
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The latest lists are available here:
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We talked to some of the top performers:
Ryan Honary (Newport Beach, California)
Ryan Honary (WTN: 23.6) climbed 51 rungs up the ladder of
the Tennis Recruiting Network Boys rankings from 245th to t
he No. 194 position. The 5-foot-11 right-handed three star
amassed a 5-1 singles record and won a tournament along the
way. Honary captured the $25,000 Wild Card at Newport Beach
(California) event with a victory over Aiden Mueller
(Ventura, California).
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“I used to have a counter-attacking play style and liked to stay
on the baseline,” said Honary, who is a junior in the hybrid
program of Newport Harbor High School and Stanford
Online School. “Recently, I’ve worked on having a more
aggressive forehand, which has improved a lot. As a result,
I can use it to help come to the net more and put more pressure on my opponents. This has been crucial toward my improvement. Furthermore, my serve placement and variability of my serves have improved, allowing me to mix up my game plan.”
Honary has worked with former ATP player Shahin Khaledan in Irvine, California, since the age of 9. Their workout routines include developing variety in his service game and transition to the net, instead of remaining on the baseline for an entire match.
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“My strengths are my kick-serve, speed and agility, and forehand cross-court to switch from a defensive to offensive position,” Honary said. “I track what I eat, down to the nutrients, and try to stay super healthy. I usually check the nutrition label on the food I buy to make sure there is nothing I wouldn’t want in my body.”
Honary has been a member of his Newport Harbor High School Sailors team since his freshman year, and has been captain since his sophomore season. They compete in the Sunset League of the California Interscholastic Federation’s Southern Section, and Honary won the championship of the league last year.
An excellent student, Honary has received numerous academic awards. Last month, Honary was chosen out of 800 participants to represent Orange County at the International Science and Engineering Fair, which will be held in May in Columbus, Ohio. He also finished second in the Environmental Engineering category at the Orange County Science Fair, and won the Hitachi Digital Earth Alliance Award.
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In April 2024, Honary was an Earth Prize Top 10 global finalist out of 3,000 teenagers from across 40 countries. For the past five years, he has worked on developing an AI-driven sensor network for early detection of wildfires. It has won numerous national and international accolades. His product was deployed in February as a real-world pilot test by the Orange County Fire Authority.
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“I am very focused on college right now,” Honary said. “I am looking for a school that ideally has a good academic program, as well as a good tennis program. I want to be part of a tennis program that promotes the team and school spirit, and blends and promotes both individual tennis and team success. I truly enjoy the team spirit and the camaraderie and support. I hope to join a college team where all these aspects are thriving and promoted.”
When Honary was young, he played a variety of sports, including football, soccer, and swimming. He connected with tennis, though, and decided to pursue it seriously. Honary said “...tennis allows me to really take advantage of my determination and heart that I put into training and competing.”
His dad and mom, Hooman and Megan Honary, rightfully view their son as an achiever, on and off the tennis court.
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“Ryan has some very significant scientific and academic achievements,” Honary’s folks said. “What distinguishes him from other tennis players is how well-rounded he is. Furthermore, compared to other advanced tennis players, he has significantly less time to practice, because of all of the other things he does. The fact that he can compete with them at the level he is playing, given how much less he has for training, is remarkable.”
