In different circumstances, the sixth edition of the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals would be taking place this week at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre in Chengdu, China. The event, which has this year been cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic, has become synonymous with fantastic on-court action as the best junior players from the previous 12 months do battle for silverware. The ITF Junior Finals is more than just another tournament, however, as the players who qualify are treated to a host of cultural experiences, including much-cherished visits to the famous Chengdu panda sanctuary, and receive travel grants totalling up to $15,000 depending on their finishing position. The competition is very much a gateway to the professional arena and, despite only being five years old, has provided some tremendous memories. Each day this week, the ITF will be reliving an edition of the tournament, starting with the inaugural event in 2015.

It is now a regular and much-anticipated fixture on the ITF calendar, but rewind five years and the ITF Junior Finals was only just making its debut as a tournament – and what a first impression the competition made.

The event was designed to replicate the ATP and WTA year-end championships whereby the top eight players in the boys’ and girls’ rankings compete for silverware and prestige.

Since rebranded as the ITF Junior Finals, back in 2015 the contest was known as the ITF Junior Masters but, like now, the tournament has always aimed to further boost the development of aspiring players as they prepare to turn professional.

Far removed from many other competitions, the players in Chengdu receive the red-carpet treatment and are exposed to aspects of the professional world which may become the norm should they successfully transition from junior tennis.

“A big deal” is how US superstar Taylor Fritz remembers the 2015 event, while fellow American Michael Mmoh, who surged into the Top 100 during the latter stages of 2018, insists it is “one of the coolest events to play as a junior”.

That increased professionalism comes in many forms: the official draw ceremony, at which players tend to wear traditional Chinese clothing, interviews, autograph sessions, official dinners, mini-coaching sessions, visits to local schools and other promotional activities.

Reflecting on the cast list for the inaugural event, several names immediately leap off the page, but perhaps one more than most – Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko. Two years after appearing at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre, Ostapenko was a Grand Slam champion.

It is a source of immense pride for the ITF and tournament hosts, the Chinese Tennis Association, that in Ostapenko and American Sofia Kenin 12 months later, the Finals, while still in their infancy, have played host to two Grand Slams winners.

In 2015, Ostapenko arrived as the only Junior Gram Slam champion in the girls’ draw following her exploits at Wimbledon the year before, while she also had an astonishing 15 professional titles to her name across singles and doubles. However, she could not hit such heights in Chengdu and slipped to a sixth-place finish.

The plaudits were taken by top seed and home favourite Xu Shilin as she defeated Slovakia’s Kristina Schmiedlova in the girls’ final to ensure China could toast a winner in the event’s first appearance.

The boys were not to be outdone and there was a heavyweight tussle in their final with top seed Andrey Rublev, who is now ranked No. 8 in the world after claing four Tour-level titles in 2020, overcoming Fritz in a captivating encounter.

Fritz, currently ranked 20 places lower in the rankings than Rublev, took the first set before the Russian – a Junior Grand Slam winner at Roland Garros a year earlier – stormed back to top the podium.

Despite missing out on top spot, Fritz reserves special praise for the Finals, which were held in April until 2017 when they moved to their more-accustomed October slot.

“I felt like a pro," he told itftennis.com. "It was a really good event. Eight guys, eight girls and every match you had was really tough. The stadium was big, the hotel and courts were right next to each other – it was a really big deal.

“It’s something that you should do in your junior career. If it fits into players’ schedules, they should definitely do it. One of my goals was to qualify for the Junior Masters. It’s definitely something juniors should aim for.”

As well as the diary change, from 2017 onwards the tournament also adopted a round-robin format, whereas in the opening two years of the event it was a straight knockout to begin with followed by positional play-offs, with each player guaranteed three matches.

Xu, meanwhile, might not have won a Junior Grand Slam but her pedigree ahead of the 2015 edition was unquestionable. The teenager sealed gold in the girls’ singles at the Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing and conquered all at another Grade A tournament – the Osaka Mayor’s Cup – a matter of months before the Chengdu extravaganza.

She overpowered Aliona Bolsova Zadoinov of Spain in her opening match before requiring three sets to navigate her semi-final clash with Switzerland’s Jil Teichmann. In the final against Schmiedlova, however, she was ruthless and prevailed 6-4 6-2.

Schmiedlova – defeated by Ostapenko in that Wimbledon final in 2014 – had sprung a surprise in the other semi-final by overcoming No. 2 seed Iryna Shymanovich of Belarus, who in turn had accounted for Ostapenko in round one following her enforced retirement.

In the boys’ draw, Rublev, who had been named boys’ ITF World Champion in 2014, advanced to the final courtesy of victories over Mmoh and Lee Duck-hee of Korea, Rep.

Fritz, who would follow in Rublev’s footsteps and scoop the ITF World Champion award for 2015, accounted for Spain’s Jaume Munar and then second seed Orlando Luz of Brazil.

Rublev, however, who was a member of the Russia team that reached the last four of the inaugural Davis Cup by Rakuten Madrid Finals in 2019, proved a step too far in the final.

In the end, Mmoh finished in sixth place behind Lee who sealed third spot, Luz and Korea Rep’s Chung Yun-seong. Nevertheless, he firmly believes his experience in Chengdu laid significant groundwork for the future. 

“It was amazing and you felt like a pro," Mmoh told itftennis.com. "Being a part of an elite group at such a young age gave me huge confidence.

“Junior tennis generally is great preparation for your future career. Getting big wins and playing the Junior Grand Slams before you go pro is vital as you know what it entails playing and performing on those courts. The ITF Junior Finals fall into that bracket also.”

In total, eight of the players who competed in 2015 either are or have been ranked within the Top 100 of the men’s or women’s world rankings.

As well as Rublev, Ostapenko and Fritz, the others are Czech Republic’s Marketa Vondrousova, who reached the 2019 Roland Garros final before slipping to defeat against Ashleigh Barty of Australia, Munar, Teichmann, Mmoh and Bolsova Zadoinov.

Vondrousova was just 16 when she competed in Chengdu, but it was a similar story for her as it was for Ostapenko in so far as failing to showcase her best tennis, finishing eighth after being forced to retire from her final match with a shoulder injury. Still, Vondrousova has nothing but kind words for the tournament.

“I remember it was a great competition and another opportunity to play against the top junior players,” she told itftennis.com. “The round-robin format is great and the tournament as a whole gives players motivation to play their best the whole year in the hope of qualifying.”

Final placings

Boys

1. Andrey Rublev; 2. Taylor Fritz; 3. Lee Duck-hee; 4. Orlando Luz; 5. Chung Yun-seong; 6. Michael Mmoh; 7. Marcelo Zormann; 8. Jaume Munar

Girls

1. Xu Shilin; 2. Kristina Schmiedlova; 3. Iryna Shymanovich; 4. Jil Teichmann; 5. Aliona Bolsova Zadoinov; 6. Jelena Ostapenko; 7. Elena Gabriela-Ruse; 8. Marketa Vondrousova