The ITF/Tennis Europe Touring Teams, funded by the Grand Slam Player Development Programme, continue to deliver remarkable performances and achieve results that highlight the participants’ potential and promise for the future.

Each year, two teams of 14 & Under and 16 & Under European players have the opportunity to train with ITF/Tennis Europe coaches and compete in several top ITF and Tennis Europe events.

This year, the 14 & Under Touring Team consisted of 5 girls and 4 boys who competed and trained under the supervision of coaches Goran Shevchenko (MKD) and Irina Kuzmina-Rimša (LAT).

Girls: Viktorija Cesonyte (GER), Maria Valentina Pop (ROU), Tea Kovacevic (BIH), Ayse Bal (TUR) and Sara Mitevska (MKD)
Boys: Andrei Radu (ROU), Kerem Genc (TUR), Mehmet Toprak Ercin (TUR) and Zuka Kacheishvili (GEO)

Key Results

• Viktorija Cesonyte secured the singles title at the 14 & Under Super Category event in Düren. At the same tournament, Cesonyte and Maria Valentina Pop reached the doubles final.
• Tea Kovacevic claimed the title at the 14 & Under Category 1 tournament in Renningen (GER), defeating Maria Valentina Pop in the final.
• At the Jugend Cup, the girls' doubles final was contested between Touring Team participants Viktorija Cesonyte & Tea Kovacevic, who defeated Maria Valentina Pop & Aysel Bal 6-2, 6-2. In the boys’ doubles final, Mehmet Toprak Ercin & Andrei Radu lost to the Czech pair Tommy Patrik Luxa & Tobias Zapsky.
• After her semifinal win against Sara Mitevska, Ayse Bal finished as the runner-up at the David Ferrer Cat. 1 event in Alicante, falling to Slovakia’s Sofia Rachel Kocisova 4-6, 4-6 in the final.
• Also in Alicante, Zuka Kacheishvili and Andrei Radu played in the doubles semifinal. Radu also reached the singles final but lost to home favourite Ian Barroeta (ESP). Meanwhile, Kerem Genc & Mehmet Toprak Ercin won the boys' doubles title, and Pop & Cesonyte claimed the girls' doubles title

The ITF/Tennis Europe Touring Team plays an important role in a player’s development, offering them valuable opportunities and experiences. Several top players, including Grigor Dimitrov and Jelena Ostapenko, benefited from this program during their junior careers. 

When asked about this experience, Maria Valentina Pop said: “I really enjoyed my time here with the Touring Team. It has been an unforgettable month with amazing people, and I made some great memories that will last a lifetime. I learned a lot but most importantly I tried my best. I want to thank everybody who made this possible.” As for Ayse Bal, she said "it's great sharing so many happy moments with the Touring Team, I learned so much both on and off court and had the chance to see the level of tennis of other players".

Elsewhere on the TEJT this week:

• Tea Kovacevic (BIH) & Mark Becirovic Novak (SLO) won the 16&U Cat. 1 OPEN RCT Barcelona 1899 in Sarajevo
• Luca Sageder (AUT) and Eva Maria Bulai (ROU) won their first and second titles of 2024 respectively at the 12&U Cat.1 event in Sofia, Bulgaria, giving both players an excellent chance of qualifying for the 12&U Carlos Moyá Festival in November
• Staying in Bulgaria, Martin Bonev and Elena Papadopoulou tasted success on home soil at the 16&U Cat.3 Haskovo Cup. It was a maiden TEJT singles win for Papadopoulou, while Bonev won his third TEJT title, and second of the season.
• Moritz Freitaig (AUT) and Lilly Marie Greinert (GER) won the 14&U Cat.2 event in Klosters, Switzerland
• One of our avid social media followers Roman Ryzkhin won his second singles tournament of the year in Baku, Azerbaijan (14&U Cat.3)

Upcoming events

• The Race to Monte-Carlo will reach its conclusion in just over a month. There are two Category 1 tournaments coming up where players can get a final chance to score some big points towards their Race tallies before the rankings cut-off date of October 7th, which will be the last one to count for qualification for the year-end tournament.
• Registrations for both of the following tournaments close on September 3rd:
  14&U | Cat.1 | World TEC Cup | 30 Sep – 6 Oct | Barcelona (ESP)
  This event will be held on hardcourt/greenset on the outskirts of the city. Register here.
  16&U | Cat.1 | 2nd Alibaba Cup |1-5 Oct |  Humenne (SVK)
  This event will be played on clay and you can register by clicking here.

After the flurry of activity that was the Summer Cups, it was back to regular tour action this week. Here’s a review of all the action that came our way over the past seven days, which included two Category 1 events as well the Small States Championships.

Antonio Hernandez Cup | 14&U Cat.1

Barcelona (ESP)

Now a firm staple on the TEJT, this event was held at the Emilio Sanchez Academy, celebrating their 25th anniversary this year. Players to have graced these courts in their TEJT days include Paula Badosa and Carlos Alcaraz. 

After a three-set opening round match for the top-seed local Izan Bañares, started of shakily but was rock steady as the tournament progressed. In the final he played compatriot Ian Barroeta who scored a surprise comeback win over the top seeded Bañares, taking the match, along with his third TEJT title, 4-6 6-1 6-2. This was one of the many shocks in a boys’ tournament which had its fair share of surprises. Jinhong Yang (CHN) took out third seed and recent Düren Super Category finalist Mario Vukovic (FRA) in the quarters before falling to Bañares in the semis. Another upset came when second seeded Patrick Breen (IRL) lost to Barroeta, also in the quarters.

In the girls’ draw, an all-Japanese final saw Sakino Miyazawa defeat Miyu Iwasa 6-1 4-6 6-2. The top-seeded Europeans girls fared worse than the boys, with a slew of upsets over the week. In round three, top seed Andrea Olariu (ROU) was beaten by Daniel Blustein (ISR) who then fell to Iwasa. Second seed Sofie Mottlova (CZE) lost to Ofir Manhard (ISR) in the QF. She was in turn defeated by Miyazawa, as had been third seed Ailish Garcia Fernandez (ESP) in the quarterfinals.

Boys’ doubles champions: Eduard Khaikov & Jinhong Yang (CHN)
Girls’ doubles champions: Miyu Iwasa (JPN) & Sakino Miyazawa (JPN)

Baublies Jugend Cup RR | 14&U Cat.1

Renningen (GER)
This famed event on the Junior Tour has become a favourite amongst players, not only for its rich history, but also for the beauty of the club and courts. This year was no exception with packed qualifying and main draws as well as plenty of social media activity.

Home player and Stockholm Super Category runner-up Johann Nagel-Heyer won his second title of the year, while Bosnian Tea Kovacevic has racked up an amazing seventh title - three of which were 16&U events. 

In the boys’ final Nagel-Heyer defeated Sebastian Tejerina (POL) 6-2 5-7 7-6(4). The Pole had earlier dismissed top seed Andrei Radu (ROU) in the quarters. The third and fourth seeds lived up to their seedings with deep runs to the semis for both Rafael Pagonis (GRE) and Richard Krizan (SVK), who fell to the champion and runner-up respectively.

Kovacevic posted a 7-5 6-2 win in the final over Maria Valentina Pop (ROU), avenging her final loss in the Dr Oetker Junior Trophy final and bringing their head-to-head to 1-1. Top girls’ seed and last week’s Düren champ Viktorija Cesonyte (GER) was on the road to back-to-back finals before being halted 6-1 6-1 in a dominating semifinal performance by her doubles partner Kovacevic.  Fourth seeded Turk Ayse Bal’s run to the semis somewhat of a return to form and could help get her back in the Race top 8 and into contention for a spot in Monte Carlo.

Boys’ doubles champions: Tommy Patrik Luxa (CZE) & Tobias Zapsky (CZE)
Girls’ doubles champions: Viktorija Cesonyte (GER) & Tea Kovacevic (BIH) 

Small States Championships | 14&U Cat.2

Luxembourg (LUX)

The second year of the event was yet another success. Players from several small tennis nation were in competition over 5 days. Prior to the event a training camp was also held at the venue under the guidance of the FLT and the ITF. Team Cyprus dominated the podia, providing the champions in all four categories.

Boys’ champion: Michael Genethliou 
Girls’ champion:  Andrea Georgiou Papakyriacou 

Read about the Small States Championships in more detail here.

Elsewhere on the TEJT:

• Sofia, Bulgaria
  Daniel Valter has won a third title from four finals this season at this 14&U Cat.2 Levski Cup. Claiming her first ever singles title on the TEJT was Britain’s Lisa Bolton.
• Uherske Hradiste, Czechia
  Adding to his 12&U Cat.2 win in Shkoder (ALB), Julien Zieba of Poland has won his first Cat.1 title at the UH Cup, putting him in contention for a spot at the Carlos Moyà 12&U Festival in November. Beata Maresova (CZE) won her third Cat.1 event of the year.
• Vadu Lui Voda, Moldova
  David Stefan Burac (ROU) won his second 16&U title of the year, whilst also nabbing a win in the doubles at the Regata Junior Trophy. After two runner-up trophies in 14&U events this year, Anna Shchavinska got her TEJT breakthrough win at this 16U&U Cat.2 tournament across the border from her native Ukraine.

Click here for all of this week’s tournament winners.

 

 

Team Cyprus celebrates following the 2024 Small States Championships, as all titles—singles and doubles—went to the Cypriot players

The Small States Championships are designed to support the best 14 & Under players from Europe’s smallest nations—those with populations of less than 1 million—to earn Junior Tour ranking points, with all expenses covered. Supported by the ITF and the Luxembourg Tennis Federation, the event welcomed players from Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro, and San Marino.

From August 9-11, the players participated in a training camp led by ITF Development Officer Vitor Cabral, where they got to know each other and benefited from the expertise of seven different coaches. Additionally, all players attended the Tennis Europe Junior School.

From August 12-15, they competed against each other, fighting for the Category 2 title. On the girls’ draw, Andrea Georgiou Papakyriacou breezed through the tournament, dropping only four games. She faced Maltese player Maryia Magro in the final, winning 6-0, 6-4. As for the boys’ draw, Michael Genethliou defeated top seed Evan Galea of Malta 6-2, 7-5.

Team Cyprus also secured the girls’ doubles title with Andrea Georgiou Papakyriacou and Chrysa Maira Titopoulos, as well as the boys’ doubles title with Michael Genethliou and Athos Karakatsianis.

San Marino’s coach, Umberto Vanucci, who accompanied the team this year, had himself competed in the ITF/Tennis Europe Small States Championships 20 years ago. Returning now as a coach, he had the unique opportunity to share his experiences and insights with the next generation of small states players.

Click here to check all the results.

In a story of contrasts, the Slovakian boys and the Ukrainian girls have won this year’s 12&U Summer Cups by Dunlop. In the final chapter of this year’s European junior team competition, both teams have written history for very different reasons.

→ For the Slovakian boys this is the first ever win, and a debut appearance in the final, since the event began in 2007. On the other hand, it was Ukraine’s sixth final appearance and fourth win, adding to the titles the team won in 2015, 2009 and 2008.

→ Slovakia survived a couple of close encounters in their qualifying group round-robin matches with wins over Germany (2-1), Austria (3-0) and Great Britain (2-1) before a 3-0 win over second-placed Bosnia & Herzegovina in the play-off to secure a spot in the final.

→ In contrast, Ukraine breezed past round-robin rivals Netherlands, Spain, and Bosnia & Herzegovina without the loss of a match and repeated this with a 2-0 win over Poland in the play-off to clinch their spot in the final with a dominating performance at the qualifying rounds.

→ However, In the final rounds, it was another tale of opposing fates as the Slovakian boys sailed along undefeated in all their ties. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian girls emerged from a tight group in which they, Estonia and Slovakia all went 2-1 in terms of wins and losses.

Boys’ Final Rounds - Dijon, France

Slovakia’s Road to the title

Round Robin: d. Bulgaria 3-0 | d. Italy 2-1 | d. Switzerland 2-0
Final: d. France 3-0

With three wins in the bag, Slovakia came through as undisputed group winners. They didn’t have it all their own way, however, with the tie against Italy going to the wire in a live doubles match. In the final, after a nail-biting comeback in the first tie, it was business-like and methodical for the Slovaks who were unwilling to let France get a look-in, even in the dead doubles rubber, shutting out the two-time champions and 2021 finalists. 

Final matches:

Matteo Sanson (SVK) def. Tristan Ducros 5-7 7-6(2) 6-4
Martin Adamca (SVK) def. Arthur Salafa 6-1 7-5
Adamca/Lubos Husenica def. Ducros/Imanol Gosset 3-5 4-1 10-5

Girls’ Final Rounds - Ajaccio, France

Ukraine’s Road to the title

Round Robin: lost to Slovakia 1-2 | d. Estonia 3-0 | d. Germany 2-1
Final: d. Croatia 2-1

As mentioned, it went down to the wire on the last day of the round-robin matches with three teams tied at 2 wins and 1 loss each. Estonia’s 0-3 loss to Ukraine hurt them, but their 2-1 win over Slovakia tipped the scales in favour of Ukraine who went through to face Croatia, who had advanced from a similarly tight Group B. In the final, the Ukrainians sealed the deal with two singles wins to put the tie out of the reach of their opponents. The Croats later salvaged some pride, comfortably winning the doubles rubber.

Final matches:

Anna Kuznetsova (UKR) def. Korana Barisic (CRO) 6-2 6-3
Mariia Kocherzhenko (UKR) def. Ana Marija Rebic (CRO) 6-4 6-4
Barisic & Anna Cerovic (CRO) def. Kocherzhenko & Kuznetsova 4-2 4-1

Final Standings

Boys:

1. Slovakia
2. France
3. Switzerland
4. Austria
5. Italy
6. Romania
7. Bulgaria
8. Netherlands

Girls:

1. Ukraine
2. Croatia
3. Romania
4. Slovakia
5. Estonia
6. Czechia
7. France
8. Germany

The German boys and the British girls have won the 2024 edition of the 16&U European junior team competition. It has been a long time coming for the Brits, who have now scored their first-ever triumph in this event, having come so close last year as runners-up as well as on one other occasion back in 2008. Meanwhile, the German boys have picked up their fourth title.

Highlights

→ In what was a mouth-watering prospect from the instant the draws were released, current 16&U Race leader Gonçalo da Rosa Castro (POR) faced last year’s 14&U Player of the Year and Junior Masters champion Daniel Jade (FRA) in the semis. In a riveting joust for Junior tennis fans, it was the older player who helped Portugal to a 3-0 win over the hosts, posting a 6-1 5-7 7-5 win over the Lebanese-born French player.

→ More disappointment for Team France, as the second seeded girls’ team were defeated by Czechia in the first tie of the final rounds. Recently naturalized French player Ksenia Efremova won her singles match against Sofie Hettlerova, but the Czechs came back strongly to win the remaining singles and doubles rubbers.

→ The Czech girls’ team was upended by Romania in the semifinals, thus preventing them from reaching a fifth straight final and ending their hopes of a fourth straight win.

→ Social media was abuzz over the last 3 days, with a special mention going to the boys' hosts at Le Touquet Club. Daily photos, videos and reels abounded, truly capturing the essence of the Junior Davis Cup qualifying event:

Boys’ Finals: Borotra Cup - Le Touquet, France

Germany’s Road to the final:

Qualifying Rounds: def Estonia 3-0; def Netherlands 3-0; def Portugal 3-0
Final Rounds: QF def Romania 2-1; SF def Poland 3-0
The Final: Germany def Portugal 3-0
Niels McDonald def Salvador Monteiro 6-2 6-3
Diego Dedura-Palomero def Gonçalo da Rosa Castro 6-1 6-1

Oliver Majdandzic & Niels McDonald def Rodrigo Leal & Salvador Monteiro 5-3 4-0

• Including the qualifying rounds, the Germans lost only one match in the entire event: the dead doubles rubber against Romania in the QF of the final rounds
• It was the first meeting between Dedura-Palomero and Castro; McDonald extended his head-to-head record over Monterio to 4-0
• The results in the final saw the exact same scoreline as when the two teams faced off in the final match of the qualifying rounds: two singles wins, a doubles win without the loss of a single set for Germany. This time, however, the Portuguese had switched out Castro from the doubles in favour of Monteiro to accompany Leal

Girls’ Finals - Marianske Lazne, Czechia

Great Britain’s road to the final:

Qualifying Rounds: def Denmark 3-0; def Austria 2-1; def Czechia 2-0
Final Rounds: QF def Spain 3-0; SF def Germany 2-1
The Final: Great Britain def Romania 2-0
Mika Stojsavljevic def Giulia Safina Popa 6-1 6-0
Hannah Klugman def Maia Ilinca Burcescu 6-4 6-2

• Coincidentally, Klugman lost her singles in last year’s final to Laura Samson (CZE) by the same scoreline, but turned it around this year against Burcescu
• Stojsavljevic was undefeated in the qualifying rounds and only lost one singles match in the final rounds: a tough three-setter to Mariella Thamm of Germany in the semis
• The Brits exacted a degree of revenge over their conquerors from last year’s final, Czechia, by gaining a win over them in the final of the qualifying rounds

 

Junior Davis Cup & Junior Billie Jean King Cup Finals

The Top five 16 & Under teams at the final rounds (plus hosts Türkiye) qualify to compete at the Junior Davis Cup (Boys) & Junior Billie Jean King Cup (Girls) finals in Antalya from 11-17 November at the Megasary Tennis Academy.

Here are the final standings, with the qualified nations in Bold:

Boys:

1. Germany
2. Portugal
3. France
4. Poland
5. Romania
6. Czechia
7. Slovenia
8. Spain

Girls:

1. Great Britain
2. Romania
3. Czechia
4. Germany
5. Italy
6. Sweden
7. Spain
8. France

For complete results, photos and more click here.