Tokito Oda of Japan and Angelina Fosbinder of USA have been named winners of the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Junior of the Year awards for 2021.

First presented in 2020, the Junior of the Year Award recognises young wheelchair tennis players who both impress with their results on court and embody the principles of leadership and sportsmanship off-court.

Nominees for the awards were sent to the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Committee earlier this year and, after careful consideration of the shortlist, Oda and Fosbinder emerged as worthy winners.

Oda achieved incredible success in 2021, becoming the sport’s youngest world No. 1 boy in the Cruyff Foundation Junior Wheelchair Tennis Rankings at the age of 14 in April, following an impressive sequence of tournament victories in Turkey in both junior and senior competition.

He completed 2021 with seven senior men’s singles titles and five junior singles titles, including winning his first ITF 2 and ITF 1 senior titles and beating his first top 10-ranked opponents. 

His success in senior competition saw him improve his men’s singles ranking by 80 places during the year, ending 2021 at world No. 10.

The ITF Wheelchair Tennis Committee also recognised the sportsmanship and leadership he showed both on and off court at the 2021 BNP Paribas World Team Cup, leading Japan to its first ever World Team Cup junior title. Aside from his on-court performances, he impressed in his media interviews, paying tribute to Shingo Kunieda and Yui Kamiji, while also expressing his own desire to be an inspiration for other children.

Named Junior Girl of the Year, Fosbinder played in her first BNP Paribas World Team Cup in Sardinia in 2021 and reached a career-high junior ranking of No. 10.

She impressed her teammates and the ITF Wheelchair Tennis Committee with her leadership and motivational qualities whilst representing the USA for the first time in Sardinia and played a big part in the USA Junior Team being voted Team of the Year.

Born in Ukraine, 18-year-old Fosbinder's willingness to share her background and her journey from being adopted through to going on to proudly represent USA in wheelchair tennis was inspiring. 

Both Oda and Fosbinder serve as role models to younger athletes, setting a positive example with their work ethic and eagerness to learn, marking them out as future ambassadors for the sport.