A key purpose of the ITF is to provide the pathway by which players can chase their dreams and rise to the top of the game. The Junior Accelerator Programme is an important component of that.

The Junior Accelerator Programme has been in place since 1 January 2023 and rewards the best-performing juniors each year on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors with exposure to higher-level competition.

The programme operates in collaboration with the men’s and women’s professional Tours and ensures that talented individuals have the opportunity to advance their careers and progress along the player pathway.

While still relatively early days in the 2026 season, two beneficiaries of the programme so far this year have been Belgium’s Jeline Vandromme and Hannah Klugman of Great Britain. Both players have used their accelerator places at ITF Women's World Tennis Tour events and reached the quarter-finals.

Alongside other successes, Vandromme won the girls’ titles at the US Open and ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in 2025, which saw her finish the year ranked No. 2 in the ITF World Tennis Tour girls’ standings.

As such, this earned Vandromme, who showed her considerable potential by also clinching four ITF Women's World Tennis Tour titles in 2025, main draw places at two tournaments up to W100s and at three up to W75s in 2026. 

So impressive has Vandomme been in recent years that her ranking, which is currently No. 189 in the world, will mean she will likely gain direct acceptance to many ITF World Tennis Tour events, with the WTA Tour beckoning. 

Nevertheless, Vandromme has used one accelerator place so far this year – at W75 Maribor in March – before winning a further two titles at W50 Nantes and W75 Calvi in April via direct acceptance. 

Indeed, all girls finishing in the Top 20 are entitled during the next calendar year to use accelerator places on a sliding scale. Again, this affords them direct entry to the main draw of a tournament they would not otherwise be eligible for based on WTA, ITF or national ranking.

There is also reward based on Junior Grand Slam performance irrespective of ranking. In short, the Junior Accelerator Programme is designed to accelerate the progression of the world’s best boys and girls as they continue their quest to reach the game's summit.  

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By finishing No. 4 in the year-end ITF World Tennis Tour girls’ rankings in 2025, Klugman, who at the age of 17 remains eligible to play junior tennis, also earned accelerator places.

She used one of those to enter W50 Grenoble in February where she reached the quarter-finals – losing, incidentally, to Vandromme – but nevertheless achieving her joint-best result of the season.

Here is a reminder of the boys and girls who enjoyed productive seasons in junior tennis during 2025 and who will benefit from the Junior Accelerator Programme this season.

On the boys’ side, each player ranked within the Top 20 of the year-end ITF World Tennis Tour boys’ rankings is granted up to eight accelerator places at ATP Challenger Tour 50 and 75 tournaments the following season.

These will be split between main draw (boys finishing within the Top 10) and qualifying (boys finishing 11-20 in the rankings), with players also eligible for two accelerator places at M15 or M25 ITF World Tennis Tour events.

Players ranked 21-30 in the year-end ITF World Tennis Tour boys’ rankings are eligible for eight places at M15 or M25 events the following calendar year.

As the ITF leads the way in providing a global pathway for players, the Junior Accelerator Programme is very much a way of rewarding talented juniors to aid their passage to the professional ranks. 

Who benefitted the most from the Junior Accelerator Programme in 2025?

Laura Samson (CZE) used an accelerator place at W50+H Pazardzhik in September 2025, conquering all before her to scoop the second of three ITF World Tennis Tour titles that season. This remains the joint-second biggest title of the 17-year-old’s career. Samson currently occupies a career-high No. 172 in the WTA Rankings after winning W75 Trnava in February. 

Petr Brunclik (CZE), who is currently ranked No. 314 in the ATP Rankings, used an accelerator place to enter and win M25 Santo Domingo in March, while Reda Bennani (MAR), who is No. 539 in the world, lifted silverware at M15 Tanger in July using an accelerator place. 

In total, accelerator places were used on 118 unique occasions in 2025. As well as the three titles won, a further 35 players reached either a final, semi-final or quarter-final using an accelerator place.