Following Rafa, Novak and Barty: Canada and Mexico reach junior finals
Canada and Mexico took the first steps on the road to junior team competition glory in 2021 as their respective boys’ and girls’ teams produced a clean sweep of qualification success in Merida, Mexico.
The two nations emerged unscathed from the four events at the North/Central America and Caribbean Final Qualifying and will now take their place at the ITF World Junior Tennis Finals and the Junior Davis Cup and Junior Billie Jean King Cup by BNP Paribas Finals.
The ITF World Junior Tennis Finals will be contested from 2-7 August and the rising stars of Canada and Mexico will compete on the clay courts of Prostejov, Czech Republic, following in the footsteps of some esteemed names in the process.
The likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Ashleigh Barty, Elina Svitolina, Frances Tiafoe, Bianca Andreescu, Felix Auger-Aliassime and Coco Gauff – the list is long and distinguished – have all trodden a similar path in recent years.
But it is now up to the modern-day vintage to star at the finals of a competition which has proven a significant staging post in the fledgling careers of many emerging talents.
The titles of the world’s best boys’ and girls’ teams in the 14-and-under age category are also up for grabs, with Canada and Mexico the first to book their seat at the top table, qualifying as they did in both draws.
Following the round-robin event, Canada topped the qualifying pile in the boys’ and girls’ categories while second in both went to Mexico. Guatemala’s girls finished third, as did El Salvador’s boys, while Dominican Republic finished fourth in both competitions.
It was a similar story in the 16-and-under age category as Canada and Mexico prevailed and ensured their presence at both the Junior Billie Jean King Cup and Junior Davis Cup Finals.
The Finals will be hosted at the Club Mega Saray Tennis Academy – a venue which has staged several ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors events – from 28 September to 3 October.
It was Mexico who finished first in Junior Davis Cup qualification as Canada – tournament winners in 2015 – came second followed by El Salvador and Costa Rica. It was role reversal in Junior Billie Jean King Cup qualification as Canada led the way followed by Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador.
In terms of the other qualification places up for grabs across the various competitions, Czech Republic and Turkey make the cut automatically for the boys’ and girls’ competitions they are hosting. The 13 other places will be determined through a series of regional qualifying stages over the coming months.
A full list of results from North/Central America and Caribbean Final Qualifying can be viewed here.