There was twin delight for hosts Czechia at the 2023 ITF World Junior Tennis Finals as their boys’ and girls’ teams triumphed in their respective draws to lift silverware and receive plaudits galore.

Czechia, who were represented by Tomas Krejci, Jakub Kusy and Filip Ladman in the boys’ competition and Sara Oliveriusova, Lucie Slamenikova and Jana Kovackova in the girls’, are now double world champions at 14-and-under level.

It is the first time since 2008, when the United States dominated proceedings, that the same nation has conquered all before them and topped the podium in the boys’ and girls’ draws – a fantastic achievement.

For Czechia’s girls, their latest triumph, achieved courtesy of victory over Germany in the final, is their seventh ITF World Junior Tennis title. However, this is the first time they have ever retained a title.

It is a completely different scenario for Czechia’s boys, with this their maiden ITF World Junior Tennis title, having finished runners-up on four occasions – in 1997, 2004, 2007 and 2018. Victory was sealed after they dispatched Canada in the final.

Reaction:

“It has been an incredible week because we had a lot of great, but difficult, matches. Beating Brazil [in the group stage] was the first time the boys really thought, ‘come on, we are pretty good’. In the final they believed and were hungry to go for it. They have done an excellent job.

“It’s funny, during European qualifying we played quite well but finished fourth, and the boys were joking, saying ‘it doesn’t matter, this is preparation for us trying to be world champions’, and we did it. It is great.

“For the players, right now it is a huge success and a bonus for all their hard work. More importantly, this should be motivation for them going forward. This should be the beginning of something for them.

“This event is so important for their development. It is a big education for them as it is the first time they have met with players from the whole world and observed different attitudes and styles. It has been a fantastic week.”

Jiri Kulich, Czechia boys’ captain

 

“To sum up this week in one word, incredible. It has been an amazing ride. I know the girls have their qualities, but other teams do as well, and my girls fought incredibly hard and wanted it badly. It really has been an incredible week.

“In a lot of ways, we had two different tournaments in one week, with the rain at the start of the week and heat towards the end. We have had a lot of talks about mentality and how to deal with certain things.

“Competitions like this are great experiences for players and they give players invaluable experience and, just to be here competing on the world stage, should give players confidence and motivation for the future.”

Petra Cetkovska, Czechia girls’ captain

Final standings

Boys	Girls
1. Czechia	1. Czechia
2. Canada	2. Germany
3. France	3. Serbia
4. Germany	4. USA
5. Turkiye	5. Romania
6. USA	6. Australia
7. Great Britain	7. Korea, Rep.
8. Brazil	8. Canada
9. Korea, Rep.	9. Great Britain
10. Japan	10. Japan
11. Peru	11. Slovakia
12. Slovakia	12. Morocco
13. Colombia	13. Brazil
14. Morocco	14. Paraguay
15. Hong Kong	15. Argentina
16. Pakistan	16. Egypt

Stats                          

• Czechia’s boys claimed their first ITF World Junior Tennis title
• By claiming their seventh ITF World Junior Tennis title, Czechia’s girls moved level with USA in second place on the all-time list of champions. Russia occupy first place on the all-time list of title-wins with eight
• By finishing second, Canada’s boys equalled their best ITF World Junior Tennis Finals performance having also finished second in 2014
• By finishing second, Germany’s girls finished runners-up at the ITF World Junior Tennis Finals for the second successive year
• Turkiye’s boys were competing at the Finals for only the second time. By finishing fifth, they recorded their best performance, having finished ninth on their only previous appearance at the Finals in 2013
• Hong Kong’s boys were competing at the Finals for the first time since 2001
• Pakistan’s boys were competing at the Finals for the first time since 1996