Mrva and Sonobe conquer J500 Offenbach and claim career-best titles
There was reason to celebrate for two aspiring juniors as Czechia’s Maxim Mrva and Wakana Sonobe of Japan sealed the biggest singles titles of their careers after triumphing on the clay courts of J500 Offenbach.
The two 16-year-olds had previously topped the doubles podium at a J500 – Mrva at Merida in November 2023 and Sonobe at Osaka a month earlier – but this was their first in singles.
There victories were also highly rewarding as Mrva and Sonobe surged into the Top 10 of the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Rankings as a result and now occupy the No. 9 slot in the boys' and girls' standings respectively. For both players this represents a career-high ranking.
By defeating Norway’s Nicolai Budkov Kjaer and Luca Preda of Romania in the semi-finals and final respectively, Mrva defeated two highly-rated players also in the Top 10.
The final was something of anticlimax, however, as Preda was forced to retire while trailing 3-0 in the opening set, with Mrva claiming his first singles title since October 2022.
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“After a long time suffering with my game, I am finally happy with my performance this week – and we keep going,” said Mrva, who was a member of the Czechia team crowned 2023 Davis Cup Juniors champions.
It was a similar story for Sonobe in the girls’ draw as the teenager sealed her first title of 2024 after her opponent, Teodora Kostovic of Serbia, retired in the second set. Sonobe was leading 6-3 3-1 at the time.
“Thank you to everyone who helped me win this tournament,” wrote Sonobe on Instagram.
As a reminder, J500 events provide premier playing opportunities for players on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors and are effectively a rung below Junior Grand Slams in terms of standing and the ranking points on offer.
Offenbach was the third of seven J500 tournaments taking place during 2024 after J500 Cairo and J500 Blumenau, with the next being J500 Milan – the Trofeo Bonfiglio – which gets underway on 20 May.
Trofeo Bonfiglio will very much act as a warm-up for the Roland Garros Junior Championships, which begin on 2 June, although J500 Offenbach will have gone some way towards preparations for the season’s second Grand Slam.
This was the third year that the Offenbach tournament has had J500 status, having been upgraded from a J300 (previously referred to as a Grade 1) by the ITF in 2021.
Despite only enjoying J500 status for three seasons, it is a tournament with a rich history dating back to 1993, when the J300 event was held in Frankfurt before moving to its current home in 2005.
Traditionally played in the week following Roland Garros, the likes of Victoria Azarenka, Tomas Berdych, Pablo Carreno Busta, Ana Konjuh, Barbora Krejcikova and Hyeon Chung have all triumphed there.
Mrva and Sonobe have therefore followed in some very illustrious footsteps.