Another busy midsummer week on tour saw plenty of action at 11 events held across the region for the Tour’s three age categories, while the 14&U ITF/Tennis Europe Touring Team saw their three-week expedition come to an end.
Financed by the Grand Slam Development Fund, four boys and four girls have been playing at a series of TEJT events as part of the Touring Team:
Boys: Vuk Krstajic (MNE), Mustafa Ege Sik (TUR), Dimitar Topchiyski (BUL), Itamar Verthaimer (ISR)
Girls: Zumra Balkan (TUR), Tea Kovacevic (BIH), Oliwia Sybicka (POL), Kiira Pashkov (EST)
Coaches: Goran Shevchenko (MKD), Irina Kuzmina Rimsa (LAT)
The trip included a training camp at Dueren before the Super Category event there. The next stop was the Cat. 1 event in Hasselt (BEL), followed by another Cat.1 in Barcelona.
Some of the players posted some great results, with Balkan finishing runner-up in Hasselt while both Kovacevic and Krstajic were semifinalists there. Then in Barcelona, Verthaimer walked away with the title, while Sybicka and Pashkov faced off in the girls’ final. (More on that below).
After the event we also caught up with the girls’ finalists and got their impressions about their three-week experience with the Touring Team. “It was a great time. I met a lot of new people, and the coaches were great,” stated Oliwia Sybicka. “All the places were good, but Barcelona was definitely my favourite place. It’s a beautiful city and the tournament venue was really nice.” Pashkov added: “For me it was great too because I could practise more English and made new friends.”
The touring team allows players a great opportunity to experience life on the tour in a continuous stretch away from home, where there is a ‘team spirit’ which is very much alive. Sybicka noted, “Normally I travel with my parents, and it was the first time I was alone with just the coaches and other players. This is the longest trip I’ve done without going home…it was actually so good; I don’t want to go back!”
14&U Antonio Hernandez Cup, Barcelona, Spain
Held at the Emilio Sánchez Academy, the tournament is named after the former Sport Academy Director, who passed away some years ago. Many current top stars including Carlos Alcaraz and Paula Badosa are among the former champions of the event.
As mentioned, the Touring Team members won both singles titles in the Catalan capital. Itamar Verthaimer won the boys’ final against Kaloyan Shikov in a walkover. The Bulgarian was unable to play after having won the doubles as well as two tough three-set matches on the trot, a quarterfinal against Ege Sik’s conqueror Dario Ortega (ESP) and the semifinal win over fourth seed Leon Sloboda (SLO). Top seed Ege Sik was ousted in the first round but bounced back to reach the doubles semis with Verthaimer.
In the girls’ final the top two seeds faced off, with Olywia Sybicka getting the better of her friend and teammate Kiira Pashkov, with a 6-2 6-0 win. Notably, Sybicka played the 16&U event here earlier in the year and also took the doubles title there. At this event the following players were crowned in the doubles:
Boys’ doubles champions: Kaloyan Shikov (BUL) & Aleksandar Tolev (BUL)
Girls’ doubles champions: Oliwia Sybicka (POL) & Sofia Iakukhina
Elsewhere on the Junior Tour this week:
- At the 12&U MNDB Open in Sofia, Bulgaria, Daniel Stoyanov (BUL) has helped his chances for an invitation to the 12&U Festival in Mallorca with his first title of the year, while Polina Orlova has claimed an amazing fourth title of 2023.
- Winning on home soil at the 12&U Echter Italiener Cup in Regensburg, Germany, has also given Luys Calin and Lilly Marie Greinert a shot at getting to Mallorca by winning their first singles titles of the season.
- The same tournament has a 16&U event, where Vanessa Svobodova (CZE) has claimed a fifth Junior Tour title of 2023, while Leopold Henss (GER) took his first.
- The Cat.2 Argayon Cup in Nivelles, Belgium is a massive event with both 14 and 16 & Under categories. Here’s a breakdown of some stand-out results:
B16: Latvian Arturs Zagars claims his second win of the year, denying top seed Joao Morgado (POR) a second singles title of 2023. Watch the Race update tomorrow for some interesting moves.
G16: The singles title went to Maryia Kolas, who was a TEJT regular in 2021 on the 12&U circuit.
B14: Top seed Savva Rybkin is back to his winning ways with a fourth title from six finals this year. Expect him to move up from ninth spot in the Race to Monte-Carlo.
G14: Canadian Charlize Celebrini took the honours in this event
- At the Cat.2 Brasov Cup in Romania, Matei Vitor followed up his quarterfinal run from Dueren Super Category event a fortnight ago to reach his sixth final of the season and claim a second title, also claiming the doubles with compatriot Iancu Manolache. Another Romanian, Maria Valentina Pop, won her second title from four finals.
- At the 14&U Karen Kyureghyan Memorial Cup in Tsakhazdor, Armenia, the singles titles were won by Alexander Kunitsyn and Nita Skhiladze (GEO).
- For final results from all this week’s events, please click here.