Czech Republic’s Lucie Havlickova and Nishesh Basavareddy of the United States claimed the biggest titles of their careers after conquering all before them at JA Criciuma – the prestigious and historic Banana Bowl tournament.

It was a big statement for the winners as, in addition to the Junior Grand Slams, JA Criciuma is the first of seven Grade A tournaments to feature on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors calendar this season.

Such events carry the greatest kudos for the winners and indeed a sizeable number of ranking points, with Havlickova and Basavareddy significant beneficiaries as they topped the podium in the girls’ and boys’ singles respectively.

There was even greater distinction for Havlickova after the 16-year-old navigated qualifying to reach the main draw, from where she advanced to the final without dropping a set. In the final, she dispatched Canada’s Annabelle Xu 6-2 6-2.

“This is the most important title of my career, I’m very happy,” said Havlickova, whose previous career-best win was her silverware charge at J2 Oradea in May 2021.

“It was something very special, a very big challenge. I just want to thank the Brazilian Tennis Confederation, which gave me a wild card to compete. Without that support, nothing would have happened.”

Basavareddy was equally potent in the boys’ draw, progressing to the final where he defeated Slovenia’s Bo Artnak 6-1 6-4 for his second title in as many weeks, having triumphed at J1 Porto Alegre seven days earlier.

“It was definitely the best two weeks of my life,” said Basavareddy, who was part of the winning United States team at the 2019 ITF World Junior Tennis Finals in Prostejov. 

“Last year, I was recovering from an injury, so my ranking was not so good. But I managed to come here and beat myself.

“It was two tournaments with a very high level of tennis, which makes me even happier to be able to win these two trophies that are the most important in my career so far.”

On a historic level, victory sees Havlickova and Basavareddy join an illustrious list of past Banana Bowl winners, which includes John McEnroe, Gustavo Kuerten, Andy Roddick, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Monica Puig.

A more recent winner, in 2018, was Canada’s Leylah Fernandez, who has since made considerable strides, competing in last year’s US Open final and climbing to No. 19 in the world rankings. Her career trajectory shows the rate at which junior players can progress.

In the immediacy, however, Havlickova’s triumph has seen her surge 29 places to No. 14 in the girls' rankings, while Basavareddy has risen 57 places to No. 25.

In the doubles, meanwhile, American duo Aidan Kim and Cooper Williams defeated Paraguay’s Daniel Vallejo and Martin Antonio Vergara del Puerto in the boys’ final as Slovakia’s Irina Balus and Nikola Daubnerova were crowned girls’ champions.

The next Grade A junior event takes place in April in the German city of Offenbach, with the tournament upgraded from a Grade 1 from this year, before attentions turn to Milan’s Trofeo Bonfiglio in May.

As the campaign unfolds and further to the Junior Grand Slams, the Grade A focus on the ITF World Tennis Tour moves to South Africa, Japan and Mexico before the season-ending Orange Bowl at JA Plantation.