If there is one piece of learning from the previous four editions of the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu, it is that past achievements count for very little on the hard courts of the Sichuan International Tennis Centre. American Hurricane Tyra Black certainly subscribes to such thinking.

Perhaps the above statement and the suggestion that all players have a chance of glory at the season-ending extravaganza is best exemplified by only two of the eight ITF Juniors Finals champions since 2015 being prior Junior Grand Slam winners.

Take 2017 boys’ champion Emil Ruusuvuori, for instance. He was the lowest-ranked player in the boys’ draw but navigated the round-robin phase of the tournament before progressing to the final and beating then-world No. 1 Wu Yibing.

Black’s fellow American Brandon Nakashima was in a similar position to Ruusuvuori 12 months ago, but advanced to the final where he defeated two-time Junior Grand Slam winner Tseng Chun Hsin.

Even Clara Burel, who was crowned 2018 girls’ champion, entered the tournament lacking a Junior Grand Slam on her CV, whereas fellow competitors Liang En Shuo and Wang Xiyu had ticked that particular box.

Russia’s Oksana Selekhmeteva is the only member of the girls’ draw in Chengdu ranked lower than Black in the current ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Rankings presented by IMG Academy. The 18-year-old, however, is unconcerned and has eyes on becoming the first American girl to taste ITF Junior Finals glory.

“It’s very inspiring to know anyone can win the ITF Junior Finals,” Black told itftennis.com. “We have all worked really hard to get where we are now and we are all great players. That’s the good thing about this tournament, playing with other top players.

“It would mean a lot to me to become the first American girl to win the competition. I love representing my country and to bring the trophy home would be really special.”

Black has failed to land any major blows at this year’s Junior Grand Slams, with a second-round appearance at the Roland Garros Junior Championships, where she lost in straight sets to Russia’s Taisya Pachkaleva, her finest showing.

Her best result of the campaign was victory at J1 Carson, during which she beat Katrina Scott and Connie Ma – stars of the USA side that triumphed at the Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Finals in Orlando in September – in the semi-finals and final respectively.

“It has been a good season,” said Black. “As everyone does, I’ve had a lot of ups and downs this year and I’ve definitely learned a lot on and off court.

“Winning the Grade 1 tournament at the beginning of the year was the standout moment. I was going through a lot at that tournament but I pushed through to win it for the second successive year. I matured and learned a lot from that experience.”

But as the likes of Ruusuvuori and Nakashima can testify, the ITF Junior Finals offer the perfect opportunity to upset the odds and end the campaign on a high note. Black certainly believes that her name has the potential to be etched into Chengdu folklore.

“I’m really excited for the ITF Junior Finals, it has been the tournament I’ve been looking forward to playing all year,” she added. “It would mean so much to me to win there. I’ve loved watching this tournament the last two years so being there and winning would be amazing.”