Former top 30 Junior seeks return with upset
STARTING June last year as the world number 22 on the Junior Girls’ ITF circuit, former German now Kazakh Sonja Zhiyenbayeva, had slipped outside the top 100 this year. At that stage, she had reached a third round of the Australian Open Juniors and second round at Roland Garros – losing to 2024 Aus Open […]
Joint makes Aussie history with Burnie title
AUSSIE teenager Maya Joint became the youngest Australian to win an ITF W75 title over the weekend, with the 17-year-old saluting in a come-from-behind win over Japan’s Aoi Ito in Burnie. Joint, who punched well above her weight throughout the tournament – her second consecutive tournament at the venue – finished off strongly to win, […]
Raise the Alame: Future star upsets rivals
OFF the back of a superb Australian Open Junior Girls singles final appearance by Emerson Jones, another future star caught the eye this week. Sydney 14-year-old Renee Alame – the 13th seed at the Brisbane J100 event – toppled far more experienced rivals en route to a memorable title over compatriot, Alana Subasic. Brisbane J100 […]
ITF Juniors wrap: Samsonova reaches quarters in Monastir
CZECH 15-year-old Laura Samsonova headlines the ITF Juniors wrap for the first week of February after the 2008-born young gun reached the quarter finals of the W15 event in Monastir. Turning 16 in March, the Junior Girls’ world number four picked up a couple of wins along the way, including a double-bagel of another youngster. […]
Jones closes in on ATP Top 1000
AUSSIE 17-year-old Hayden Jones might have only won the one main draw match in the ATP75 Burnie event this week, but it was enough to gain six points and bolt up a whopping 273 ranking places on the ATP Tour. Jones made headlines by reaching the quarter finals of the 2024 Australian Open Junior Boys’ […]
Building a Tennis Nation: Japan
ONE of the more dominant tennis nations through the Australian Open Junior tournament was Japan, with top seeded players in both the boys’ and girls’ singles events. Though highlighted by 193cm Rei Sakamoto who took out the boys title, the powerful serving talent was far from alone when it came to his nation with eight […]
Player Focus: Emerson Jones (Australia)
AUSTRALIAN young gun Emerson Jones captured the hearts of the green and gold fans at Melbourne Park as the 15-year-old made it to the junior Grand Slam final. Though she ultimately fell short of ultimate glory to the incredible Renata Jamrichova, her performance through the tournament was outstanding. In this piece, we take a look […]
Leach aims to disrupt Aussie assault in Brisbane
HIS mother found not shortage of success and winning overseas, so American Jagger Leach is hoping to follow in her footsteps when he takes the court in the J100 at Brisbane this week. The top seed is ranked 55th, and while he has a long way to reach the heights his three-time Grand Slam-winning mother […]
Jamrichova completes dream Aus Open with title
SLOVAKIAN young gun Renata Jamrichova lived up to her top seed billing by taking home the 2024 Australian Open Junior Girls Singles crown. The 16-year-old proved too strong and consistent for local hope and sixth seed Emerson Jones, running out a 6-4 6-1 victory on Rod Laver Arena today. After a tight opening set that […]
Junior Jones aims to emulate Barty Party
MELBOURNE Park might well reach fever pitch today when Australian Emerson Jones takes to Rod Laver Arena for the Junior Girls Singles final. The 15-year-old is the first Aussie girl to reach a Junior Grand Slam final since former world number one Ash Barty and the comparisons do not end there. The Queensland teenager took […]