Who stands where in the race to qualify for the 2025 ITF Junior Finals
Newly-crowned Wimbledon champion Ivan Ivanov of Bulgaria and Julieta Pareja of the United States are the new leaders in the race to qualify for the 2025 ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu.
The ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals are a prestigious showpiece event – the junior equivalent of the ATP and WTA Finals – which see 16 of the world’s top junior players compete.
The top eight boys and top eight girls in the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals Qualification Rankings are in contention to qualify for the ITF Junior Finals which from this year will offer the same number of ranking points as Junior Grand Slams.
The back catalogue of players to have competed at the ITF Junior Finals is highly impressive and reflects the significance of the tournament in respect of an individual’s development and its role within the ITF player pathway.
Grand Slam champions Marketa Vondrousova, Elena Rybakina, Sofia Kenin and Jelena Ostapenko have all competed in Chengdu, as have the likes of Casper Ruud, Holger Rune, Andrey Rublev, Taylor Fritz, Leylah Fernandez, Lorenzo Musetti, Marta Kostyuk, Sebastian Baez and Camila Osorio.
The 2025 event will take place from 22-26 October and will again feature the best players in the 18-and-under age category from the past 12 months on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors (the qualification period runs from post-US Open 2024, up to and including US Open 2025).
In terms of who is on course to reach the Finals, Ivanov is the current frontrunner within the boys’ rankings following his Wimbledon triumph. The 16-year-old defeated American qualifier Ronit Karki in the boys’ final on Sunday.
Ivanov is the first Bulgarian to win a Junior Grand Slam since Grigor Dimitrov in 2008, while his heroics at Wimbledon catapulted him to the summit of the ITF World Tennis Tour boys’ rankings.
After that comes Italy’s Jacopo Vasami and Andres Santamarta Roig of Spain, both of whom have won two J500 events, which are effectively one rung below Junior Grand Slams in terms of ranking points on offer, this year.
Following Santamarta Roig is Australian Open runner-up Benjamin Willwerth of the United States, Wimbledon semi-finalist Alexander Vasilev and back-to-back Junior Grand Slam doubles champion Oskari Paldanius.
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The top eight is completed by Roland Garros champion Niels McDonald, who last month became the first German boy to triumph on the clay of Paris since Daniel Elsner in 1997, and Jack Kennedy of the United States.
The girls’ race, meanwhile, is led by Pareja, who enjoyed a productive grass-court season after winning J300 Roehampton before reaching the Wimbledon girls' final where she lost out to Mia Pohankova of Slovakia.
That run was enough to see Pareja move into pole position in the ITF World Tennis Tour girls’ rankings and the race to be crowned year-end No. 1, which brings with it ITF World Champion status.
After Pareja comes Lilli Tagger, who last month became the first Austrian girl to win a Junior Grand Slam title at Roland Garros, and Australia’s Emerson Jones, who finished 2024 as the year-end No. 1 girl.
Great Britain’s Hannah Klugman, Kristina Penickova of the United States and Wimbledon champion Pohankova are also in the top eight, as are Serbia’s Luna Vujovic and Jana Kovackova of Czechia.
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There is still plenty of time for players to force their way into the ITF Junior Finals reckoning and a big opportunity awaits those currently outside the top eight at September’s US Open.
It is worth noting that if no Chinese player finishes in the top eight of the rankings, the final place in each draw will be reserved for any Chinese player that finishes in the Top 25.
If no Chinese player finishes in the Top 25, eighth place will revert to the qualification rankings list. Provided they are ranked within the Top 75, there will also be a Chinese alternate, who will be present in case of illness or injury but will also gain invaluable experience training and hitting with high-ranked peers
The winners of the ITF Junior Finals will both earn 1000 ranking points, which will boost their quest to finish the season as the year-end junior world No. 1. Players will also benefit from travel grants to support their future progression to professional tennis.
This year there will be record travel grants, exceeding $220,000 USD, on offer. The 2025 winner in both the boys’ and girls’ events will receive up to $23,000 USD, with travel grants staggered at every level through to those in eighth position.