Klugman becomes first British girl to conquer Orange Bowl
Hannah Klugman made history by becoming the first girl from Great Britain to claim victory at the prestigious Orange Bowl and top the podium at J500 Plantation.
Victory at the Orange Bowl represented the biggest singles title of Klugman’s fledgling career after lifting doubles silverware alongside Kaitlin Quevedo of the United States at J500 Merida last month.
As a reminder, J500s provide premier playing opportunities for players on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors and, in effect, are one rung below Junior Grand Slams. In short, they matter a great deal to those involved.
The Orange Bowl is the last of seven J500s to take place in 2023, offering ambitious juniors the opportunity to secure the highest possible year-end ranking. For Klugman, victory sees her rise to a career-high No. 9 in the ITF World Tennis Tour girls’ rankings.
Klugman certainly showed her battling qualities during a pulsating week of junior tennis, with four of her six matches requiring three sets to resolve, while twice she recovered from a one-set deficit.
There was no such problem in the final as the 14-year-old dispatched Tyra Caterina Grant 6-3 6-3 to become Great Britain’s second-youngest winner of a J500 singles event after Laura Robson in 2008. Robson won the Junior Championships, Wimbledon, which were then Grade As – the equivalent of today’s J500s.
“It’s an amazing feeling to win the title,” said Klugman, who has three junior singles titles to her name in 2023 following previous victories at J200 Siauliai and J200 Aldershot.
“I played the 14-and-under version of the event last year and made the final. I was gutted not to win so to get the win at 18-and-under level while still 14 is an incredible part of the journey and an important step.
“I definitely think my mentality is the part of my game which has allowed me to be successful this week. I have been strong on court and have stepped up at big moments, taken on shots and have been aggressive. I managed to stay calm out there.”
In the boys’ draw, Danil Panarin also scooped the biggest title of his career and his first for more than two years following a stunning showing on the Floridian clay courts.
Panarin was in prime form and defeated all but one opponent in straights sets, including Romania’s Luca Preda 6-4 6-1 in the final.
As a result of his J500 Plantation triumph, the 18-year-old has risen a whopping 37 places to No. 23 in the ITF World Tennis Tour boys’ rankings.
“Of course, I am so happy to be here and to win this final – it feels amazing,” said Panarin. “It was my last junior tournament and I was just trying to enjoy this event as much as I could. I am just so happy, and I enjoyed it a lot.
“I was trying to stay solid and be mentally tough, mentally hard for him to break me. That was an important factor in my win.”
The Orange Bowl has an incredibly rich history and the list of players to have contested the event reads like a who’s who of tennis legends.
The likes of Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Chris Evert, Roger Federer, Steffi Graf, Bjorn Borg, Ivan Lendl, Gabriela Sabatini, Andy Roddick, Mary Joe Fernandez, Monica Seles and Guillermo Vilas have all played the Orange Bowl.
In the last decade alone, future Grand Slam champions Coco Gauff, Bianca Andreescu and Sofia Kenin have all topped the Orange Bowl podium as part of their journey along the ITF player pathway.
“I was walking past the poster with all the great players who have won this year tournament and saw Coco Gauff and so many great players,” added Klugman.
“It is great now that I can be a part of that board and be mentioned among those great players. It doesn’t mean anything in the big picture, but hopefully it helps me going forward.”
Click here for a full list of results across all draws from the 2023 Orange Bowl