Rafael Papoian and Seohyeon Kim (KOR) have won the Category 1 event in La Ville Lumière (the City of Light). After the buzz of Wimbledon where the hum of onlookers is as palpable as the sweat dripping down your back, the Open Stade Français is played on the quiet courts of Marnes-La-Coquette, a hamlet nestled among the serene greenery of the Saint Cloud National Park, on the outer fringes of the French capital.
Earlier in the week, two big surprises came as the tournament lost its number two boys’ and girls’ seeds, both Slovaks, in the first two rounds. Matteo Sanson succumbed in straight sets to local Clement Hugon, while his compatriot Alexandra Janoskova went one round further, falling to Aiym Kanagatova of Kazakhstan.
Top seed Papoian (above) was too strong for the tournament dark horse Muhamad Eyad Saleem. The Russian brought the Syrian’s giant-killing run to an end with a 6-1 6-1 win and has earned a third big trophy for his cabinet this year, following wins at Tim Essonne (Cat.1) and Maia (Super Cat.). In the girls’ final, the top seed Olivia Serena Conticello, Tim Essonne runner-up, was gunning for her second title of the season. However, the Italian was upset by the eight-seeded Kim, who has claimed her first singles title victory on the Junior Tour, also with a 6-1 6-1 win. Nevertheless, Conticello is currently number seven in the Race to Monte-Carlo and more points earned here now bring her closer to claiming a spot at the year-end championships.
Yanru Li (CHN) & Anastasis Mosaikos (CYP) were the boys’ doubles champions, while Vega Bontin (SWE) & Tina Jansone (LAT) lifted the girls’ doubles trophy.
A successful session of the Tennis Europe Junior School took place before the start of the event with over eighty attendees. Tennis Europe Vice President and Junior Committee Chair Sandi Procter was also on site and, along with Tennis Club President Jacques Jutteau, presented Philip Hartvigsen Dianati (DEN) with the UNESCO Fair Play award.
Elsewhere on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour:
- The Category 3 Open de Pully U14 was won by Raynes Park champion Noah Hornsberger for a fourth singles title of the year. The girls’ winner was Grace Crivelli who won her maiden TEJT title. Here’s a small taste of some of the excellent social media images from Pully this week:
- Uhr Sevnik (SLO) and Maria Koukoutsi (GRE) won the Cat.3 16&U Dakovo Open in Croatia.
- The 12&U Cat.2 event in Novi Sad, Serbia, was won by Australian Gavy Dhinsa while Eseniia Palchikovskaia won the girls’ singles.
Next stop Most, Czechia:
Europe’s top 14&U players are now ready to compete at the 50th European Junior Championships which begins tomorrow. A dedicated blog on our website will feature coverage throughout the championships. Follow all the action at tenniseurope.org.