Victory paths can begin to be plotted after the draw for the 2019 ITF World Junior Tennis Finals in Prostejov was made, signalling the start of the action which will see boys’ and girls’ champions crowned on Saturday.

From the 177 teams and 97 nations that set out on the road to Prostejov in the regional qualifying events, only the top 16 boys’ and girls’ teams remain as they prepare for battle on the clay of the TK Plus Centre.

Hosts Czech Republic – represented by Vojtech Petr, Lukas Velik and Jakub Mensik – are the top seeded boys’ team and take their place in Group A alongside fellow seeded outfit Australia, Brazil and Romania.

As in all groups, the top seeded side will begin proceedings against the team drawn third in that particular pool (see tables below), which means the second seeded team will play the nation drawn fourth. As such, Czech Republic will begin their bid for glory with a showdown against Brazil on Monday, while Australia will go head-to-head with Romania.

Defending champions USA, who overcame Czech Republic in last year’s final, are the second seeds and have Bulgaria, Thailand and Germany for company in Group D as they bid to emulate their counterparts of 2003, who retained the title their nation won 12 months earlier.

In a draw made with the assistance of Italy’s Anna Paradisi, No. 3 seeds Japan became the headline act in Group B, with the main challenge for top spot set to come from France, who are the fifth seeds here, while Canada and Egypt are also in the mix.

Group C, meanwhile, is made up of fourth seeds Argentina, who claimed their second ITF World Junior Tennis title in 2016, Croatia, Peru and China – the beaten finalists three years ago.

In the girls’ draw, which was made with the help of USA’s Dylan Charlap, top seeds Switzerland – the conquerors of European qualifying – were placed in Group A, with No. 7 seeds Brazil, South Africa and Ukraine.

Second seeds Czech Republic, who reached the final last year before being defeated by Russia, are in Group D along with No. 6 seeds Japan, Egypt and Korea, while Philippines are the top-ranked outfit in Group B.

Not since 2003 have the Philippines reached this stage of the competition, while 1993 was the last time their girls made the Finals. The fourth seeds have been drawn alongside No. 8 seeds USA, Venezuela and China.

Never before have Greece’s girls made the Finals. They find themselves in Group C, courtesy of geographical criteria which dictates that no seeded teams from the same qualifying region can be drawn together in the group stages, with No. 3 seeds Canada, Italy and Serbia.

As the serious nature of the draw gave way to table tennis and table football at the welcome party and dinner, which included a birthday cake for Croatia’s Dino Prizmic, who celebrates his 14th birthday on Monday, a realisation set in that the serious business soon gets underway.

Each tie will consist of two singles and one doubles rubber. Each main draw singles match will be the best of three tiebreak sets, while in doubles No-Ad scoring will be used and a match tiebeak will be played if the score reaches one set all. The top two sides in each of the round-robin groups will progress to the quarter-finals where a knockout competition will decide the champions.

Groups:

Boys:

Group A: Czech Republic, Australia, Brazil, Romania

Group B: Japan, France, Canada, Egypt

Group C: Argentina, Croatia, Peru, China

Group D: USA, Bulgaria, Thailand, Germany

Girls:

Group A: Switzerland, Brazil, South Africa, Ukraine

Group B: Philippines, USA, Venezuela, China

Group C: Canada, Greece, Italy, Serbia

Group D: Czech Republic, Japan, Egypt, Korea