It came out of nowhere, a flash of lightning or a thunderbolt or whatever weather metaphor you’d like.

Mika Stojsavljevic arrived at the 2024 US Open pretty unknown to most of the world, outside of junior tennis. She was tall, and had a big serve, but nobody expected what came next.

The then 15-year-old from Great Britain went on a remarkable run, beating top seed Emerson Jones of Australia in the third round and then powering all the way to the championship.

The Loughborough native was the first British girl to win the US Open since Heather Watson in 2009. But despite the historic achievement, Stojsavljevic said she did not celebrate too much.

“It was just so unexpected but to be honest with you I didn't really make it a massive deal,” Stojsavljevic said after the No. 9 seed won her second-round match here at the US Open Junior Championships. 

“Education is such a big thing in my family, so yeah winning the US Open was a big milestone, but we didn’t make a big fuss.”

She came home and still had to take some exams at the Loughborough Amherst School the following week, so there was not a lot of time for huzzahs and accolades.

But a fuss was certainly made by others, as Stojsavljevic got heaps of media attention from the British press.

That made expectations on the 6-foot-tall Brit coming into 2025 perhaps unreasonably high, but she didn’t let that burden her.

“Yeah, of course, I think as soon as I won, the other players want to definitely beat you more, but I kind of like that,” Stojasavljevic said. “It means that I want to beat them more too, because they’re shooting for me.”

Hannah Klugman, a fellow Brit seeded No. 2 here this year, knows what it is like to have massive expectations heaped on her; as a 14-year-old here in 2023 she reached the quarter-finals.

She said seeing her friend Stojsavlevic triumph here in Flushing Meadows was thrilling, and also presented a challenge.

“You know, we all have our time and I was so happy for her, but yeah it definitely pushed me more,” Klugman said.

“It was a little bit of an awakening tool for me to kind of work harder, push harder and want to do better, because seeing what Mika did … you know, we’ve got that friendly rivalry.”

Stojsavljevic’s season this year at the Grand Slams has been challenging; she lost in the first round at the Australian Open and in the same round at Wimbledon to eventual champion Mia Pohankova, a result she chalked up partly to having just completed exams.

“I was really quite emotionally taxed from school, and I played a really good player,” Stojsavljevic said.

She has competed in many pro events as well, getting a wild card into the Wimbledon women's main draw (losing to WTA Top 50 player Ash Krueger) and reaching the quarter-final at W35 Nottingham, while winning matches at other W35s also.

Stojsavljevic, who said she’s switched to online schooling this year, said the biggest improvements in her game have come from maturing mentally.

“I think I understand how I play better,” she said. "And I think a massive thing is knowing when to pull the trigger, when to go for more and when to pull back a bit. I've developed more in that area.”

Stojsavljevic isn’t promising a US Open repeat this year, although she has looked solid in her first two wins. Now making her third appearance here, she is due to face No. 6 seed Jana Kovackova on Wednesday.

“It’s definitely exciting to be back, all the memories I made last year definitely are still in my head,” Stojsavljevic said. “I just love the atmosphere here and the energy, so much.”

A full list of results from the 2025 US Open Junior Championships is available here