Another record year: 2024 ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors by the numbers
The ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors – the breeding ground for the stars of tomorrow and a major step on the ITF player pathway – has enjoyed another outstanding year. A record 980 tournaments – up from 922 last year – were staged around the world as playing opportunities have increased further.
An additional record has been set in terms of players competing. 18,505 players (10,157 boys, 8,348 girls) have contested ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors events this year, beating the previous best of 17,804 – set in 2023.
A total of 130 nations hosted ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors events in 2024. Liechtenstein hosted an ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors event for the first time, while Mozambique, Northern Mariana Islands, Macau, Philippines and Ukraine all retuned to the calendar as host nations during the past 12 months.
At the Grand Slams, Rei Sakamoto became the first Japanese player – boy or girl – to claim a singles title at the Australian Open Junior Championships. Sakamoto won the season’s first Junior Grand Slam by defeating Czechia’s Jan Kumstat in the boys’ final.
Nicolai Budkov Kjaer became the first player from Norway to win a Junior Grand Slam title after conquering all before him at the Junior Championships, Wimbledon in July.
Slovakia’s Renata Jamrichova became only the second girl since Switzerland’s Belinca Bencic in 2013 to win two Junior Grand Slam titles in the same season. Alina Korneeva won the girls’ title at the Australian Open and Roland Garros in 2023, while Jamrichova won the girls’ title at the Australian Open and Wimbledon in 2024.
Rafael Jodar became the third Spanish boy in four years to win the US Open Junior Championships. Daniel Rincon and Martin Landaluce were crowned boys’ champions in 2021 and 2022 respectively, while Jodar claimed the title – his first Junior Grand Slam crown – in September.
There were nation firsts at the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu as boys’ champion Mees Rottgering became the first winner of the event from Netherlands and girls’ champion Emerson Jones became the first winner from Australia.
Budkov Kjaer is also the first Norwegian player to finish as a year-end No. 1 and be named an ITF World Champion. Emerson Jones, meanwhile, finished the year as the top-ranked girl on the planet. She is the first Australian junior player to be named an ITF World Champion this century – since Jelena Dokic in 1998.
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In addition to the four Junior Grand Slams, in 2024 there were seven J500 tournaments held for the third consecutive year. J500s provide premier playing opportunities on the ITF World Tennis Tour and, in effect, are one rung below Junior Grand Slams. The J500s were held in Cairo (EGY), Blumenau (BRA), Offenbach (GER), Milan (ITA), Osaka (JPN), Merida (Mexico) and Plantation (USA).
There were also 34 J300s, 61 J200s, 138 J100s, 292 J60s and 443 J30s – the latter category of event being the entry level to the Tour – in 2024.
By winning J500 Milan in May, Emerson Jones became the youngest player in history to win multiple J500 titles. Jones, who also claimed victory at J500 Osaka in October 2023, was aged 15 years and 10 months when she won this season's Trofeo Bonfiglio.
There were other interesting stats and facts from this year’s J500 events. Mika Buchnik became the first Israeli player to win a J500 singles title after triumphing at J500 Osaka in September. Andres Santamarta Roig, meanwhile, was the first Spanish winner – boy or girl – of the Orange Bowl this century while, by winning J500 Cairo in February, Luca Preda became the first Romanian to win a J500 title since 2008.
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In terms of titles won at all levels, France’s Aaron Gabet was the most successful boy to compete on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors in 2024, winning a combined 13 titles (five singles and eight doubles).
Czechia’s Jana Kovackova was the most successful girl on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors this year, winning a combined 17 titles (eight singles and nine doubles). This is the most titles won by a player on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors since 1994 when Federico Browne of Argentina won 21. With eight, Kovackova has also won the most singles titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors this season.
With six, Romania’s Yannick Theodor Alexandrescou, Thilo Behrmann of Austria and Japan’s Shion Itsusaki are the boys to have won the most singles titles on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors this season.
The longest winning streak on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors in 2024 was achieved by Kovackova. The 14-year-old recorded 25 match-wins across five tournaments (at J100, J200 and J300 level) between August and September.
The longest winning streak by a boy, meanwhile, was achieved by Alexey Shibaev, who won 23 consecutive matches in topping the podium at J60 Tsakhadzor, back-to-back J60 Isfahan events and J60 Tehran. He then won his opening round match at J100 Tehran, an event which was cancelled midway through, before winning two more matches at J100 Hong Kong.
This is just a snapshot of the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors in 2024 and, while there is so much from this year to celebrate, the new ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors season is only days away.
2025 promises plenty of electrifying tennis and a season during which names will be made and reputations enhanced.