While the junior spotlight recently flickered on Cairo, it is now the turn of Blumenau to take centre stage as the Brazilian city prepares to host the season’s second J500 tournament.

J500s provide premier playing opportunities for players on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors and are effectively a rung below Junior Grand Slams in terms of standing and the ranking points on offer.

This year the J500 in Brazil, which is also known as the Banana Bowl, switches to Blumenau – a city founded by German immigrants in the 19th century and a German cultural influence is very much evident in the city today.

Located in the state of Santa Catarina, Blumenau is described as a charming city with a rich heritage surrounded by natural beauty. On the court, there will be no shortage of quality or intrigue either.

Kazakhstan’s Amir Omarkhanov, who made a name for himself by reaching the quarter-finals at January’s Australian Open Junior Championships, is set to be the highest-ranked boy when action gets underway on Monday. 

That accolade in the girls’ draw goes to Wakana Sonobe of Japan, while another Japanese Mayu Crossley, Argentina’s Luna Cinalli, Emily Sartz-Lunde of Norway and home favourite Olivia Carneiro will also hope to be in the mix for silverware.

In the boys’ draw, Pedro Rodrigues, who was part of the victorious Brazil team at the 2022 Davis Cup Juniors Finals, will have designs on triumphing on home soil – rather, the clay of Blumenau.

However, the likes of Hoyoung Roh of Korea, Rep., Morocco’s Reda Bennani and Turkey’s Atakan Karahan – among many others – will expect to be there at the business end of proceedings.

Whatever the outcome, results in Blumenau will further mould the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Rankings as the quest to finish the season as a year-end junior world No. 1 gathers pace.

Blumenau is the second of seven J500 events taking place in 2024, with only Junior Grand Slams and the ITF Junior Finals in Chengdu offering more ranking points for competitors on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors.

Further information on J500 Blumenau, including full acceptance lists, is available here.