Some of the brightest young male and female talents have gathered in China this week to compete in the ITF Junior Finals.
Junior world number two Alexander Vasilev is the highest-ranking player in the boys’ draw.
The US Open Boys Singles finalist is joined by a host of other exciting talents, including Italian Jacopo Vascami, American Benjamin Willwerth and French Open Boys Singles finalist Max Schoenhaus.
In the girls’ draw, US Open Girls Singles champion Jeline Vandromme returns to the tournament after finishing third in last year’s edition. Two-time Grand Slam junior doubles champion Kristina Penickova is also present, as is 2025 Wimbledon Girls Singles champion Mia Pohankova.
Across the draws, there is one British player taking part – a player who has reached the final of a junior Grand Slam event.
Hannah Klugman has won her first match at the ITF Junior Finals
Hannah Klugman has made a strong start to her ITF Junior Finals campaign in Chengdu, China.
The 16-year-old, a finalist in the 2025 French Open Girls Singles category, defeated Czechia’s Jana Kovackova 6-4, 6-4, on Wednesday.
After defeating Kovackova, Klugman will also face Mia Pohankova and Ruien Zhang in the round-robin phase of the competition.
Klugman is certainly a talent to keep an eye on in the future. The 16-year-old has already demonstrated remarkable maturity on a tennis court, and she has plenty of time to develop her game further.
The 16-year-old has enjoyed a stellar year, notably reaching the final of the French Open Girls Singles competition.
Unfortunately for Klugman, she ran into Lilli Tagger, a player already being compared to Carlos Alcaraz and Ashleigh Barty.
Who won the 2024 Girls ITF Junior Finals?
Former ITF junior world number one Emerson Jones won last year’s edition of the ITF Junior Finals.
The Australian, now ranked 160 in the world, defeated then junior world number five Laura Samson 6-4, 6-4 in the final
As per the ITF website, Jones said: “It’s a shock to me to win here. I’m proud of myself and the way I handled everything this week during the close matches. I am really happy with myself.
“I just tried to stay aggressive this week and I knew what I needed to do in terms of playing my own game. Mentally, I tried to be better because the first match I wasn’t great mentally so I tried to pick it up from there.
“I am proud of winning the final, tough to have lost some finals this year, but always great to get over the line.”
In the boys competition, Dutch player Mees Rottgering won the tournament, defeating Rafael Jodar in the final.
