Jeline Vandromme and Justin Engel are the new European 16 & Under champions after both players put in impressive performances on Sunday to secure the biggest titles of their young careers. | 📷 Photo Gallery
The girls’ final was a battle between the 12th and 13th seeds, both of whom had scored a succession of upsets to reach the final. In the semi-finals, Vandromme had shocked the tournament’s top seed Teodora Kostovic (SRB) for the loss of just two games, while her opponent Mia Pohankova had earlier ended the hopes of second seed Charo Esquiva Bañuls (ESP) and third seed Rositsa Dencheva (BUL).
In the final, the two players were inseparable early on until Vandromme broke to seal the set in the tenth game. The second set saw Pohankova – still 14 and one of the youngest players in the draw – begin to make more unforced errors, with the Belgian in the driving seat throughout as she served out for a 6-4 6-3 win.
Incredibly, this was Vandromme’s first appearance at a Tennis Europe Junior Tour individual event. Earlier this year, she competed for her country twice in team events – at the Winter and Summer Cups, and coincidentally ran into Pohankova in both competitions. The Slovak won their first match in three sets in February while Vandromme levelled the head-to-head with a 6-3 7-6 win at the Summer Cups last month.
The Antwerp resident becomes the first ever Belgian girl to win a European 16 & Under title, and follows in the footsteps of former world #1 Justine Henin, the 14 & Under champion in 1996. “It feels great, I’m really happy to win this title,”, she said. “It was the first time playing a tournament like this for me, and to play the final and win the title is amazing.”
Pohankova meanwhile has the consolation of a second silver medal, adding to last year’s 14 & Under runner-up spot.
The boys’ final saw Justin Engel emerge triumphant from a hard fought 7-5 7-6(4) battle with Linus Lagerbohm of Finland.
A seesaw hour-long first set saw the fourth seeded German lead 4-2 before losing three games in a row. Under pressure, he recovered to thread together three games of his own. Despite having treatment for an abdominal injury in the second set, Engel was able to maintain the upper hand with a dominant performance on serve, scoring 9 aces to his opponent’s 1 and winning 73% of his first serve points.
“I played better in the most important moments, maybe that was the difference”, Engel told us. “It’s a great feeling to win this and gives me a lot of confidence. I hope to move on and play like this every week.”
The 2021 Junior Masters runner-up thus becomes just the second German to win a European 16 & Under title, after Daniel Elsner in 1995. Lagerbohm though was arguably the revelation of the tournament. Having upset top seed Kolos Kincses in his second match, the Finn embarked on an impressive run of upsets, also accounting for 14th seed Jan Sadzik (POL) and #8 Henry Bernet (SUI), as well as securing a doubles bronze medal with partner Oscar Paldanius.
There was joy for Switzerland in the boys’ doubles. Henry Bernet and Flynn Thomas – both of whom made waves in the singles event, reaching the semifinals and quarterfinals respectively – teamed to win gold against the Spanish pairing of Sergio Planella & Andres Santamarta Roig.
The girls’ event saw Rositsa Dencheva & Elizara Yaneva team up for a second European Junior Doubles medal. Having claimed silver at the 14 & under event in 2021, they went one better with a 6-2 6-3 win over Germany’s Julia Stusek and Sonja Zhenikhova in what was a battle between the tournament’s top two seeded teams.
The Championships brought a festival of Junior Tennis to the city of Parma throughout the week. The opening rounds were played across four of the city’s clubs – Circolo del Castellazzo, Sporting Club Parma, TC President and TC Parma, while all action from the quarterfinals onwards took place at the tournament ‘headquarters’, TC Parma, where Tennis Europe Vice President Giorgio Di Palermo was on hand to award the trophies.
The Italian Tennis and Padel Federation will host Tennis Europe’s flagship 16 & Under event until 2027. Commenting on the event, Tournament Director Mauricio Rosciano said, “We organised the tournament in just a few weeks and are very happy with the result. We’ve been able to show four beautiful venues, and the players and teams were happy. This is now the most important junior tournament in Italy, we’re already looking forward to the next year and start planning immediately.”
Both singles champions automatically qualify to compete at the season-ending Tennis Europe Junior Masters in Monte-Carlo, due to be held from 2-5 November.
Draws and Results & Information
Boys Singles | Boys Doubles
Girls Singles | Girls Doubles