The Class of 2020 series recognises and celebrates a range of players who have had a successful year progressing along the ITF player pathway, and beyond. The tennis calendar may have been disrupted due to the Covid-19 pandemic but that has failed to prevent players making their mark and advancing their careers, whether that be on the biggest of stages, within junior tennis, following financial support through the Grand Slam Development Fund or during their transition to the professional arena. Five categories will be explored this week, starting with two players who have ended the campaign as the year-end junior world No. 1s.

The list of future Grand Slam champions, Top 10 heavyweights and emerging contenders on their respective Tours to have progressed through the ITF player pathway after finishing as a year-end junior No. 1 is extensive.

The latest names to be added to that esteemed group are French duo Elsa Jacquemot and Harold Mayot and they now follow the likes of Belinda Bencic, Taylor Fritz, Kristina Mladenovic and Andrey Rublev, who all achieved the feat in recent years.

The quest for the 2020 year-end No. 1 accolade went to the wire in the girls’ rankings as Jacquemot and Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva of Andorra battled for top spot at last week’s Orange Bowl.

Jacquemot, who headed into the prestigious event as the frontrunner and in possession of the coveted No. 1 slot, remained there, securing her status as the top-ranked girl by advancing through the draw while Jimenez Kasintseva bowed out in the third round.

The 17-year-old, who finished third at the 2019 ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu, marked her triumph with euphoric mid-tournament social media posts which reflected her new-found prominence.

It is the third season in succession that France have toasted the year-end No. 1 girl following the exploits of Clara Burel and Diane Parry in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

A second Grade A title of the season proved elusive, however, as Jacquemot lost in the semi-finals to Jana Kolodynska of Belarus. Another trophy would have been a welcome addition to her collection but, despite defeat, it has been a memorable campaign for the Lyon-born teenager, who tasted Junior Grand Slam glory at Roland Garros in October.

But while Jacquemot took the spoils in the race for the year-end No. 1, it would be wrong not to highlight the fantastic season which the prodigiously talented Jimenez Kasintseva, who is only 15 years of age, has had.

Marking her Junior Grand Slam debut in style, Jimenez Kasintseva conquered all before to be crowned Australian Open girls’ champion in January. On four occasions, including in the final against Poland’s Weronika Baszak, the then-14-year-old held her nerve and recovered from a set down to triumph.

2020 was also a year which saw Jimenez Kasintseva make her professional debut, recording her first match-wins in her new surroundings as she reached the semi-finals at W15 Melilla in September.

For much of the year she held the No. 1 ranking, only for Jacquemot to steal a march following her victory at the Roland Garros Junior Championships – a lead she refused to relinquish.

By defeating Russia’s Alina Charaeva in the final, home favourite Jacquemot became the first French girl to claim a Junior Grand Slam title since Mladenovic in 2009. It also continued her nation’s trophy-winning success, with France having a winner at both Junior Grand Slams contested in 2020.  

A second junior title arrived in the weeks following her Roland Garros triumph at J1 Villena, where she coincidentally defeated Jimenez Kasintseva in the final, all of which contributed to her entering the Orange Bowl with a 15-2 win-loss ratio for the year.

It was far more straightforward in the boys’ rankings as Mayot, who ended 2019 ranked No. 3 in the standings, reigned supreme following a maiden Junior Grand Slam triumph in Melbourne.

That success reinforced the strength of French junior tennis as Metz-born Mayot overcame fellow countryman Arthur Cazaux in the final, while Timo Legout, who was also representing Le Tricolore, reached the semi-finals.

A fleeting appearance at the Roland Garros Junior Championships in October – won by Switzerland’s Dominic Stricker – was Mayot’s only other junior outing during a season which saw him focus more on gaining experience within the professional game. 

The 18-year-old reached the quarter-finals at two Challenger events – Bendigo in January and Pau in late February where he lost to Top 100 players Steve Johnson and Jiri Vesely respectively – and the last four at M15 Caslano in September.

There was also a maiden appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam, with Mayot gaining a wild card entry to Roland Garros where he succumbed to Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first round. 

Mayot – the first French boy to finish as the year-end No. 1 since Gael Monfils in 2004 – is already eyeing future Grand Slam exposure.

“This year was special for me as it was my last year playing Juniors,” Mayot, who finished as the runner-up at the 2019 ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu, told itftennis.com.

“My goals were to win a Grand Slam and to finish the year No. 1 in the world and I am very happy I made it after winning the Australian Open and securing the No. 1 spot.

“I will keep great memories of my junior years, I had some great experiences especially playing in the four Grand Slams and I’m sure this will help me a lot when I will go back there to play in the pros.”

Finishing top of the junior pile is no guarantee of future success, although the year-end No. 1 accolade is a significant feather in the cap for two aspiring players with big ambitions to mix it within the professional ranks.