- GB 12U Boys’ team first British team to ever win 12U Boys’ Summer Cup
- 16U Girls qualify for Junior Billie Jean King Cup finals with fifth place at 16U Summer Cup
- 14U Girls finish fifth at ITF World Junior Tennis Finals
Great Britain’s junior teams enjoyed a successful week competing across the Tennis Europe Summer Cups and ITF World Junior Tennis Finals, with several standout performances.
GB’s boys broke new ground as the first British team to ever win the 12U Boys’ Summer Cup after defeating home-favourites France in the final on Sunday. The British team – including Max Hodkinson, Tomas Gabor and Cameron Rae – topped their group with 3-0 wins over Belgium and Turkey, and a 2-1 victory over Czechia, to qualify for Sunday’s final.
Facing France on clay in the championship decider, the Brits put in an impressive display to claim a 3-0 victory, capping off a stellar week in Saint-Valery-en-Caux. The Great Britain 12U boys team now hold both the Tennis Europe Summer and Winter Cups; only one other British team has ever held the Winter Cup, containing current British pros Jack Draper, Jacob Fearnley and George Loffhagen.
Team captain and LTA National Age Group Coach Richard Plews said: “What the team have managed to achieve is nothing short of outstanding. These boys have shown their true warrior spirit – out-playing and out-battling an impressive year group of their peers. They qualified from Bucharest in 40+ degree temperatures every day and gave absolutely everything to back up their Winter Cup victory earlier in the year. They will leave France with lots of great experience and should be very proud of their efforts.”
Last week, the GB 16U girls’ team were also in action at in Marianske Lazne, Czechia, finishing fifth in the Summer Cup. Britain’s Hollie Smart, Daniella Britton and Edie Griffiths lost their opening round tie against eventual champions Romania but bounced back to claim wins over Hungary and Austria, sealing a fifth-place finish.
The result means that they have qualified for the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors by Gainbridge in Santiago, Chile from 3-9 November this year.
Captain and LTA National Women’s Coach Katie O’Brien said: “I’m really proud of the team’s performances this week. After losing a tough opening match against eventual champions Romania, the girls gave an impressive response and didn’t lose a match for the rest of the competition. We’re excited to qualify for the Junior Billie Jean King Cup later in the year and I know the team will give it their all in Chile.”
(L-R) Megan Knight Sofia Tatu,Grace Watson and Captain Kate Warne-Holland of Great Britain (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Starsport.rs)
Meanwhile, the GB 14U girls’ team were also competing on the clay in Czechia, clinching fifth place at the prestigious ITF World Junior Tennis Finals. Great Britain’s team – Megan Knight, Sofia Tatu and Grace Watson – came into the competition off the back of a runner-up finish at the Summer Cup back in July and got off to a fantastic start in their World Finals campaign.
The Brits defeated Japan, Venezuela and Chinese Taipei to top their Group and progress to the knock-out stages.
In the quarter-finals, the British team narrowly lost out to South Korea in a tie-deciding doubles match tie-break, which put them in the fifth to eighth place play-offs. Despite the disappointment, the Brits came back stronger and got their own victory in a doubles-decider against China before beating Chinese Taipei for a second time to clinch fifth place.
Competing at these international team events forms part of the junior experiences on the LTA’s Performance Player Pathway. Earlier this year LTA Performance launched the Aspirational Standards, a collection of resources and videos that bring to life the experiences at different ages and stages of the Player Pathway, how players can access these, and what players need to do to earn themselves different opportunities. These standards, and more information about the Player Pathway, can be found on the LTA website.
With thanks to the LTA
