Tennis Europe Junior Tour

Last updated

The Tennis Europe Junior Tour is the European tennis tour for players who are in the age range recognized by Tennis Europe as junior athletes. The Tour was organized by the European Tennis Association (ETA), now known as Tennis Europe. [1]

Contents

The Tennis Europe Junior Tour is now universally recognized as the first stepping stone for talented young players across Europe as they transition from domestic to international events. [2] Several future world No. 1 displayed their talents to an international audience for the first time on the European Junior Tour, including Steffi Graf, Monica Seles, Amélie Mauresmo, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg, Ivan Lendl, Marat Safin, and Mats Wilander. [3]

History

With the emergence of the ATP Tour in 1990, the Tennis Europe Junior Tour was also created. [2] [3] [4] Founded in 1990 with 43 tournaments over two age groups, the Junior Tour has since grown and been divided into three age groups; 16 & Under, 14 & Under and 12 & Under, and as of 2022, these three categories combined for a total of some 450+ tournaments, staged across almost all 50 member nations of Tennis Europe, [2] and with the participation of over 12,000 players, including non-European players, such as Lleyton Hewitt, Kei Nishikori, Juan Martín Del Potro, Guillermo Coria, and Sania Mirza, who all got their first taste of European competition on the Junior Tour. [3]

Overview

After playing national junior events in their home countries, talented young players then usually proceed to compete internationally, on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour. Players begin their pathway with Category 3 events and work their way up to competing at the U14 Super Category tournaments (dubbed as the 'grand slams' of the U14 circuit), the European Championships, and the season-ending Junior Masters. [5] The Tennis Europe Junior Tour also boasts a cumulative weekly ranking, [6] 'Player of the Year' awards (former recipients include Rafael Nadal, Grigor Dimitrov, and Kim Clijsters), and a season-ending Masters tournament for the top eight performers in each category (the equivalent of the ATP Finals). [3]

The best players from the Junior Tour then join the ITF Junior Circuit, which allows them to compete for the Junior Grand Slam titles, establish a world junior ranking and give them a chance to get an ATP or WTA ranking. [7] The ITF Junior Circuit is thus basically the player pathway between the junior game of the Tennis Europe Junior Tour and the elite levels of professional tennis of the ATP. [7]

Two team events also exist for the top players from each age category (U12/U14/U16): The Tennis Europe Winter Cups and the Summer Cups, which provide youngsters with an early opportunity to compete for their countries. [3] These events are where many future Davis and Billie Jean King Cup champions earned a first taste of team competition. The U14 events serve as the European qualifying for the ITF World Junior Tennis tournament, while the U16 events are the European qualifying for the Junior Davis Cup and Junior Billie Jean King Cup. [5] All three of them date back to the founding of Tennis Europe in the mid-1970s. [3]

Tournament grades

U12 Circuit

The 12 & Under Tour differs in that no rankings are produced, and there are no Masters or European individual championship events, though the summer team event has been widely acclaimed. [3] From 2021, the top U12 players end the season at the 12 & Under Festival, an invitational event for the national squads of European boys and girls hosted by the Rafa Nadal Academy. [3] [8]

U14/16 Circuit

The 14/16 & Under Tour events are played at three levels, ranging from the elite Category 1 events, which attract the strongest draws, to the more numerous and accessible Category 2 and 3 events. [3] In 2019, Tennis Europe announced the introduction of a new ‘Super Category’ in the Junior Tour events, which would award increased ranking points and provide other increased benefits and services for participants. [9] The Super Category status was awarded to 5 of the Tour’s best-performing and most prestigious events in recognition of their extraordinary performance: The ONE-SGM Christmas Cup held in Khimki, Les Petits As held in Tarbes, [10] Kungens Kanna & Drottningens Pris held in Stockholm, the Taça Internacional Maia held in Maia, and the U14 International German Tennis Championships held in Düren. [9]

Before the addition of the Super Categories, the most important and prestigious tournaments in the U14 Junior Tennis calendar were Petits As, Tim Essonne, the European Junior Championships, and the season-ending Junior Masters. [4] [11] No one has ever won all of them, but Richard Gasquet and Rafael Nadal have both won three of them, with Gasquet only missing the Masters while Nadal only failed to win the Championships. [4] [ better source needed ] The only players who have won both Petits As and the U14 European Junior Championships are Reinhard Wawra in 1987, Maxime Boyé in 1990, Răzvan Sabău in 1991, Julien Maigret in 1997, Richard Gasquet in 1999, Carlos Boluda in 2006, Nikola Milojević in 2009, Vojtech Petr in 2019, and Thijs Boogaard in 2022. [12] [13] In 1991, the finalists of Petits As, Răzvan Sabău and Juan Antonio Saiz, also reached the final of the U14 European Junior Championships, with Sabău winning both of them. Furthermore, Todor Enev reached both finals in 1996, but lost both of them. [12] [13]

In the U14/16 Circuits, boys and girls events in both singles and doubles events are held at all tournaments, with some offering additional consolation tournaments for early losers. [3] In addition to their results, some juniors are more focused on player parties, cultural exchanges, and tourist trips during the events. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

Lina Vladimirovna Krasnoroutskaya is a retired tennis player. She is a former junior world No. 1 (1999), and in addition, she won the US Open junior title. Krasnoroutskaya, however, had a career blighted by injury.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Richard Gasquet</span> French tennis player

Richard Gabriel Cyr Gasquet is a French professional tennis player. His career-high ATP singles ranking is world No. 7, attained on 9 July 2007. He has won 16 singles titles on the ATP Tour tied for seventh most among active players. He is also fourth among active players with 600 career match wins. His best performances in Grand Slam singles tournaments have been three semifinal appearances, two at the Wimbledon Championships and once at the US Open. His best performance in ATP World Tour Masters 1000 singles tournaments was being the runner-up in Hamburg in 2005 and Toronto in 2006 and 2012. He won the mixed doubles title at the 2004 French Open, partnering with Tatiana Golovin. He also won the men's doubles Olympic bronze medal in 2012 with his doubles partner Julien Benneteau.

Răzvan Sabău is a Romanian retired professional tennis player. He reached the semifinals of Bucharest in 2003 and Gstaad in 2005, achieving a career-high singles ranking of World No. 74 in September 2005. He is the coach of Patricia Maria Țig.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kent Carlsson</span> Swedish tennis player

Kent Carlsson is a former tennis player from Sweden. A seasoned claycourter, he won all nine of his ATP tour singles titles on the surface, including the 1988 Hamburg Masters. Carlsson achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 6 in September 1988.

Jérôme Inzerillo is a tennis player from France. He reached a career high ATP singles ranking of No. 354, which he achieved on 16 July 2012.

Les Petits As – Le Mondial Lacoste is a junior tennis tournament for players aged 12–14, held in Tarbes, France. This tournament is now one of the five Super Category tournaments in the U14 circuit of the Tennis Europe Junior Tour, and it is universally recognized as the world’s leading indoor U14 competition. The tournament is traditionally held at the end of January, although the 2020 and 2021 editions had to take place in September due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2009 ATP World Tour</span> Mens tennis circuit

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organised by the ATP. The 2009 ATP World Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments, the ATP World Tour Masters 1000, the ATP World Tour 500 series, the ATP World Tour 250 series, the ATP World Team Championship, the Davis Cup, and the ATP World Tour Finals. Also included in the 2009 calendar is the Hopman Cup, which does not distribute ranking points, and is organised by the ITF.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1999 ATP Tour</span> Mens tennis circuit

The Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) Tour is the elite professional tennis circuit organised by the ATP. The 1999 ATP Tour calendar comprises the Grand Slam tournaments, supervised by the International Tennis Federation (ITF), the ATP Super 9, the ATP Championship Series, the ATP World Series, the ATP World Team Cup, the ATP Tour World Championships and the Grand Slam Cup. Also included in the 1999 calendar are the Davis Cup and the Hopman Cup, which do not distribute ranking points, and are both organised by the ITF.

Kamil Čapkovič is a professional Slovak tennis player. He was born in Michalovce, Slovak Republic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dimitar Kuzmanov</span> Bulgarian tennis player

Dimitar Kuzmanov is a Bulgarian professional tennis player. He competes mostly on the ATP Challenger Tour. His highest singles ranking is No. 159 achieved on 29 August 2022, whilst his best doubles ranking is No. 438 achieved on 1 April 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nikola Milojević (tennis)</span> Serbian tennis player

Nikola Milojević is a Serbian professional tennis player. Milojević has a career high ATP singles ranking of No. 125, which he achieved on 21 February 2022. He also achieved a career high ATP doubles ranking of No. 252 on 18 February 2019. He reached his highest ranking of no. 1 in ITF Junior rankings on 7 January 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Patricia Maria Țig</span> Romanian tennis player

Patricia Maria Țig is a Romanian tennis player.

Bogdan Borza is a Romanian tennis player. Borza reached a career high ATP singles ranking of 707 achieved on 11 September 2017. He also reached a career high ATP doubles ranking of 1073 achieved on 19 June 2017. Borza represents Romania at the Davis Cup, where he has a W/L record of 1–3.

Reinhard Wawra is an Austrian former professional tennis player. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 456, attained on 11 November 1996.

Maxime Boyé is a French former professional tennis player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maria Sara Popa</span> Romanian tennis player. Notable results.

Maria Sara Popa is a Romanian tennis player. She reached No. 1 in the Tennis Europe U14 rankings, in May 2019 and has a career high of No. 9 in the ITF Women's World Tennis Tour rankings, achieved in April 2022.

The Tennis European Junior Championships are the European championships for tennis players who are in the age range recognized by Tennis Europe as junior athletes. The event was organized by the European Tennis Association (ETA), now known as Tennis Europe.

The Tim Essonne is an international junior tennis tournament for players aged 12–14, held in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois. It is one of the most prestigious trophies in the U14 circuit of the Tennis Europe Junior Tour.

The Tennis Europe Junior Masters is the season-ending championship of the U14 circuit of the Tennis Europe Junior Tour. The event was organized by the European Tennis Association (ETA), now known as Tennis Europe. The event has been organized by the Monégasque Tennis Federation ever since 2021, when it began being held in Monte Carlo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bojan Božović (tennis)</span> Serbian tennis player

Bojan Božović was a Serbian former professional tennis player and tennis coach. In his career, Božović defeated several world-renowned players, such as Ernests Gulbis, Robin Haase, Marin Čilić, Sergei Bubka, and Fabio Fognini, but he is now better known for his role in Novak Djokovic's junior career.

References

  1. ↑ "Tennis Europe". www.tenniseurope.org. Archived from the original on 3 September 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 "30 years of the Tennis Europe Junior Tour". www.kungenskanna.com. 10 October 2020. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 "Tennis Europe Junior Tour - 16/14/12 & Under". www.tenniseurope.org. Archived from the original on 4 June 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "25 years of the Tennis Europe Junior Tour by Tennis Europe". issuu.com. 18 December 2015. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  5. 1 2 "Tennis Europe Junior Tour Structure". www.tenniseurope.org. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  6. ↑ "Tennis Europe - Tennis Europe Ranking - Overview". te.tournamentsoftware.com. Archived from the original on 30 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  7. 1 2 "What is the ITF World Tennis Tour?". www.itftennis.com. 25 March 2022. Archived from the original on 4 April 2022. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  8. ↑ "Tennis Europe and Rafa Nadal Academy to stage new 12 & Under event". www.rafanadalacademy.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  9. 1 2 "Super Category". www.tenniseurope.org. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  10. ↑ "Les Petits As - Le Mondial Lacoste promoted to the Super Category!". www.lespetitsas.com. 18 November 2019. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  11. ↑ "European Junior Championships". www.tenniseurope.org. Archived from the original on 2 September 2018. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  12. 1 2 "The winners of Les Petits As". www.lespetitsas.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  13. 1 2 "European Junior Championships 14 & Under". www.tenniseurope.org. Archived from the original on 27 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.