The 32 Tennis Europe Junior Masters qualifiers attended a special educational forum today ahead of the season-ending tournament in Reggio Calabria, Italy.
The class was part of the new Tennis Europe Junior School initiative, which is due to be implemented for the 2019 season. The programme saw presentations from Tennis Europe’s Communications Manager Jonathan Jobson, who informed the athletes about the broader work of the organisation and how the Junior School will help to prepare them for life on other circuits on the pathway to becoming professional tennis players.
Faye Andrews, Director of sports media consultancy The Emilia Group, then led the players through a brief media workshop, with video contributions from ATP and WTA players such as Thanasi Kokkinakis and Elena Makarova, who shared their advice for juniors on dealing with media responsibilities.
The players were then split into small groups for ‘Brain Games’ tasks in which they competed against each other to see who knew the most on a wide range of topics, including nutrition, integrity, sponsorship and the tennis ecosystem.
A heavy storm unfortunately forced the postponement of the opening ceremony of the Junior Masters. Play is due to commence at ASD Rocco Polimeni tomorrow morning at 09:45, weather permitting.
The Top 6 boys and girls of the 14 and 16 & Under Race to Masters rankings - which take into account performance at Tennis Europe Junior Tour events throughout the year - qualify to take part in the Masters, alongside the winner and runner-up of the European Junior Championships. Former winners include the likes of Rafa Nadal, Alexander Zverev and Kim Clijsters.
Draws
Boys 14 & Under | Girls 14 & Under
Boys 16 & Under | Girls 16 & Under
Order of Play