At a Roland Garros that started with a superb ceremony honouring Rafael Nadal, an emerging teenager inspired by the Spanish great is making her mark towards its close.

Earlier this year Hannah Klugman, who has reached the semi-finals of the girls’ singles, had the opportunity to learn from the 14-time Roland Garros champion at his academy in Spain.

The English talent, who defeated Sarah Melany Fajmonova 3-6 6-3 7-5 in a thrilling quarter-final in Paris on Thursday, said she “cried like everyone else” after watching Nadal take his final bows on Court Philippe Chatrier at the start of the 2025 edition.

But she also said the 22-time major champion had offered her encouragement and some crucial advice during her three-day adventure in Mallorca in March.

“He said to me, ‘once you have the level, things will come, so trust the hard work, the process,’” Klugman said on Thursday.

“I had three days there, which was amazing. I’m so glad they gave me the opportunity at Rafa’s because I love Rafa.

“We were just hitting and then he popped out. I didn’t see him initially but as soon as I saw him, I thought ‘oh my God. I’m so tight.’ I went and sat down and we all chatted.

“Me and my coach were asking him how far he stood back behind the court and why. We trained on his own court there, which had a massive run back. Honestly, I don’t know how he returned so well.”

It was Klugman’s ability to rebound from adversity, which included saving a match point, that was particularly impressive on Thursday, with the teenager resilient under pressure.

“I’m not actually sure what happened. It was amazing. The atmosphere definitely got me through the match,” she said.

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“I played her two weeks ago in Milan and we had an absolute battle then too. Today, the margins in tennis are crazy. I probably should have lost today. I’m just really proud of how I went after it in the really big moments and kept my composure.”

Klugman is the first girl from Great Britain to reach the semi-finals of the Roland Garros Junior Championships since 1982.

The teenager is also the third British girl to reach the semis in the last three Junior Grand Slams contested after Mingge Xu and Mika Stojsavljevic did so at the 2024 US Open Junior Championships.

Indeed, this is Klugman’s third appearance at Roland Garros, a tournament that is now the scene of her best Grand Slam result in the girls’ singles. She credits this to her love of playing on clay.

“It’s always been the one that I have wanted to do well in. A lot of Brits struggle on the clay, but I love it,” said Klugman, who is one of 10 players on the LTA’s Pro Scholarship Programme presented by Lexus, which offers the highest level of support to the best 16-24 year olds in Great Britain. 

“I’m in a really good place right now. I’m working really well and it is about consistency. I think it will all come. Wimbledon is a big time for us, so I’m very excited for the months ahead.”

Similar to her peers in the girls’ singles, Klugman said she has been inspired by the run of Lois Boisson in the women’s singles, noting they recently competed in the same event.

After reaching the final round of qualifying in the women’s singles at Wimbledon last June, the 16-year-old said there was optimism among her cohort about what lies ahead.

“Lois played a W35 tournament I played in a few weeks ago in Spain and one of the juniors here beat her and now she’s in the semi-final,” she said.

“The margins in tennis are so minor and a lot of the juniors are there, but it’s clearly not just about tennis at the end of the day.”

The No. 8 seed will play Bulgaria’s Rositsa Dencheva in the semi-finals, who continued her stellar run in Paris with a 6-0 7-5 triumph over Luna Maria Cinalli in the quarter-finals. Dencheva is a member of the ITF-operated Grand Slam Player Development Programme Touring Team. 

Top seed Emerson Jones overcame a sluggish start which saw her drop the first five games before recovering to defeat No.9 seed Julieta Pareja 7-5 6-4.

She plays Austria’s Lilli Tagger, who was the player to defeat Boisson in a final in Spain in late March. Tagger started brilliantly against Julia Stusek when triumphant 6-0 6-4.