In different circumstances, the sixth edition of the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals would be taking place this week at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre in Chengdu, China. The event, which has this year been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, has become synonymous with fantastic on-court action as the best junior players from the previous 12 months do battle for silverware. The ITF Junior Finals is more than just another tournament, however, as the players who qualify are treated to a host of cultural experiences, including much-cherished visits to the famous Chengdu panda sanctuary, and receive travel grants totalling up to $15,000 depending on their finishing position. The competition is very much a gateway to the professional arena and, despite only being five years old, has provided some tremendous memories. Each day this week, the ITF has been reliving an edition of the tournament. Today, we rewind just a few months to 2019.

Followers of French tennis will have been buoyed by witnessing the 2019 ITF Junior Finals – the first edition of the tournament following its rebrand – as four players flying under Le Tricolore banner proudly made the podium.

Compatriots Diane Parry and Harold Mayot arrived in Chengdu in blistering form having won the girls’ and boys’ titles respectively at the Grade A Osaka Mayor’s Cup, although only one would add further to their Far East silverware collection.

For the first time in the competition’s history, four Junior Grand Slam winners – Czech Jonas Forejtek, Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune of Denmark, Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki and Daria Snigur of Ukraine – were present.

As a consequence, the draw ceremony in the ancient town of Huanglongxi, for which a cake was baked in the shape of the Sichuan International Tennis Centre to mark the fifth anniversary of the event, ensured some intriguing encounters.

Forejtek and Rune were both placed in Group Shuai along with the in-form Mayot, who would proceed to join the elite Junior Grand Slam-winning club at the 2020 Australian Open.

An elegant boat trip along the Huanglong river was followed by dinner and a fire dragon show, although the players were well aware that, in a matter of hours, it was time for action.

Once play started, the Junior Grand Slam champions certainly did not have it all their own way and progression to the semi-finals went to the wire with calculators required to solve some complex qualification equations.

The most intriguing clash from the final round of group matches saw Forejtek and Rune – two of the three highest-ranked boys on the planet at the time – do battle.

Rune knew that victory would see him reach the semi-finals, as would a defeat providing he took a set off junior world No. 1 Forejtek, although a straight-sets loss could also prove enough but was dependent on number of games won.

As it transpired, the drama was greater. Rune fell awkwardly in the first set, injuring his left ankle which severely limited his movement, but the then-16-year-old stoically persevered and won the necessary number of games required, despite losing 6-4 7-6(1).

Mayot, who had overcome Forejtek in his opening match, was guaranteed a place in the semi-final and indeed top spot in Group Shuai by virtue of Yunchaokete Bu’s morning withdrawal from the competition due to injury. Mochizuki, who admitted to nearly quitting tennis in favour of becoming a baseball player, was to be his last-four opponent.

Following a defeat to France’s Valentin Royer, reigning Wimbledon boys’ champion Mochizuki, who had already beaten Canada’s Liam Draxl, faced a winner-takes-all showdown against Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante to reach the last four. Despite the tussle being a tight affair, the junior world No. 2 prevailed 6-4 6-7(0) 6-4.

Mayot now faced his third Junior Grand Slam winner in a matter of days and duly dispatched Mochizuki, declaring afterwards that he was playing the best tennis of his career.

Despite conducting a rigorous workout on the gym’s treadmill that morning, Rune headed into his semi-final with question marks over his fitness. However, he appeared to be moving freely enough during his 7-6(5) 4-6 6-2 triumph over Royer as he recovered from 5-2 down in the first set.

In the build-up to the final, Mayot revealed the meaning behind some of the tattoos which adorn his body and there was also considerable on-court artwork as he and Rune went head-to-head. Rune would eventually prevail 7-6(3) 4-6 6-2 and assume the world No. 1 spot.

Rune is very ambitions and has high expectations of himself as he looks to the future. In the immediate aftermath of victory, he gave a glimpse of his aspirations.

“You need to have something to win these finals as it’s not easy,” Rune told itftennis.com.

“You have a lot of nerves before the match and there is always a lot going on. It’s about calming those nerves, drawing on your experience and focusing on your game. Having the ability to do that is massive. 

“If the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray couldn’t handle the pressure then they wouldn’t have won the Grand Slams they have. There are a lot of Top 20 players that could win a Grand Slam but don’t have the mentality. I’m getting there.”

Rune’s defeat of Mayot ended the possibility of a French double after Parry followed in the footsteps of Clara Burel – a Finals champion in 2018 – by overpowering Snigur in convincing fashion in the girls’ final.

Parry was the only player at the 2019 ITF Junior Finals to remain undefeated all week and barged her way to the final with victories over Hurricane Tyra Black of the United States, Japan’s Natsumi Kawaguchi and home favourite Zheng Qinwen in Group Li.

She then emerged from an all-French semi-final tussle with Elsa Jacquemot, who is now a Junior Grand Slam winner after triumphing at the Roland Garros Junior Championships earlier this month, to set up a showdown with Snigur.

The Ukrainian topped Group Liang after defeating Jacquemot – the youngest player in the girls’ draw – as well as Latvia’s Kamilla Bartone and Oksana Selekhmeteva of Russia. Black was then dispatched 6-0 6-2 in the last four.

The final was a straight shootout for the world No. 1 spot but, in the end, Snigur barely laid a glove on her rival as Nice-born Parry claimed her 11th successive match-win in just 58 minutes, prevailing 6-3 6-1. 

Parry had entered the competition with the stated intention of “keeping the trophy in France” following Burel’s success in 2018. She revealed post-match that a good luck message from Burel had provided additional inspiration.

“I am just so, so happy. It is amazing for me to win this trophy,” Parry, who was named 2019 girls’ ITF World Champion, told itftennis.com.

“Clara and I are friends and I know her really well as we have played doubles together previously. She messaged me last night and just said, ‘good luck, enjoy yourself, do your best’. It was lovely to receive. I went to Chengdu to do what she did and I did it.”

As has been highlighted all week, the ITF Junior Finals is more than just another competition. For Kamilla Bartone, for instance, results did not go her way in Chengdu, while so also had fitness concerns to contend with. However, simply playing at the Finals fulfilled a burning ambition.

For the four years leading up to the 2019 edition of the tournament, a toy panda had sat on a shelf in her bedroom. It was a gift from Jelena Jakovleva, her former coach and mother of Jelena Ostapenko, who brought it back from China after her daughter had competed at the inaugural ITF Junior Masters in 2015.

Ever since, it had acted as a source of motivation for Bartone, who always hoped that one day she might emulate Ostapenko and qualify for the season-ending showdown.

“I remember when Ostapenko’s mum was my coach, they went to Chengdu and brought me back a panda dressed in an ITF Junior Masters t-shirt,” Bartone told itftennis.com.

“The panda remained in my room and was a constant reminder of where I wanted to be and I made my little dream come true. When I realised that I’d qualified for the ITF Junior Finals, I was so happy and excited. It’s a special tournament.”

Final placings

Boys

1. Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune; 2. Harold Mayot; 3. Valentin Royer; 4. Shintaro Mochizuki; 5. Jonas Forejtek; 6. Thiago Agustin Tirante; 7 Liam Draxl; 8. Bu Yunchaokete

Girls

1. Diane Parry; 2. Daria Snigur; 3. Elsa Jacquemot; 4. Hurricane Tyra Black; 5. Natsumi Kawaguchi; 6. Zheng Qinwen; 7. Oksana Selekhmeteva; 8. Kamilla Bartone