Article
15 Sep 2020
Thirteen-year-old Fruhvirtova makes history on ITF junior tour
15 Sep 2020
Thirteen-year-old Brenda Fruhvirtova made the perfect start to her ITF junior career last week, winning both the singles and doubles titles in her first tournament on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors at J2 Cairo in Egypt.
Aged 13 years, five months and nine days, she is the youngest player to win an ITF junior singles title at Grade 2 level or above since Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in 1995.
Lucic-Baroni, who went on to become an Australian Open semi-finalist and rank at No. 20 in the world, was 13 years, three months and nine days when she won her first junior title in Belgium 25 years ago.
Incidentally, Fruhvirtova wasn’t the only 13-year-old to win a junior title last week. Fellow Czech player Tereza Valentova also won the tournament as a wild card at J2 Plzen aged 13 years, six months and 24 days.
Prior to Fruhvirtova and Valentova's triumphs, Brenda’s sister Linda (who won at J2 Piestany in 2019 aged 13 years, 11 months and 27 days) was the only other 13-year-old to have won an ITF junior tournament at Grade 2 level or above since Marta Kostyuk in 2016.
Prior to Fruhvirtova and Valentova's triumphs, Brenda’s sister Linda (who won at J2 Piestany in 2019 aged 13 years, 11 months and 27 days) was the only other 13-year-old to have won an ITF junior tournament at Grade 2 level or above since Marta Kostyuk in 2016.
Fruhvirtova, who became eligible to compete on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors in April but was unable to compete until last week due to the Tour’s suspension as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, played well above her wild card entry status in Egypt.
She charged to the final for the loss of just seven games in four matches, before battling to a 6-0 4-6 6-2 win over Hania Abouelsaad in the title match.
She charged to the final for the loss of just seven games in four matches, before battling to a 6-0 4-6 6-2 win over Hania Abouelsaad in the title match.
She also teamed with 16-year-old Russian Kira Pavlova to beat top seeds Mariam Ibrahim and Jermine Sherif 7-6(5) 6-2 in the doubles final.
Fruhvirtova first made her mark on the international tennis scene last August when, then aged 12, she and elder sister Linda, now 15, helped Czech Republic to their fourth ITF World Junior Tennis title in Prostejov.
She competed at the Ultimate Tennis Showdown exhibition event during the summer, impressing in a match against WTA star Alize Cornet, who described her as an “amazing” prospect.