Tennis Europe has published the first official ‘Race to Monte-Carlo’ rankings of 2021 following the return of the Junior Tour’s biggest events last week.
The top 8 players of the 14 and 16 & Under age categories qualify to take part at the season-ending Tennis Europe Junior Masters, which will be held for the first time at its new home at the world-renowned Monte-Carlo Country Club in Monaco from 13-15 October.
At this early stage, the 16 & Under boys’ race is headed by Slovenia’s Ziga Svec, winner in Siauliai (LTU) earlier this year. Dutch player Rose Marie Nijkamp heads the girls’ list, on the strength of her Istanbul title and a runner-up spot in Pancevo.
The 14 & Under lists are dominated by Russian players, following last week’s inaugural Super Category tournament of 2021, the Christmas Cup. The boys’ runner-up, Egor Gorin, is in pole position having reached six finals (including one title win) so far this season. On the girls’ side, we again find the Christmas Cup runner-up leading the Race: Ksenia Smirnova failed to win her third title of the season but did manage to build some space between herself and the chasing pack.
Race updates will be published each and every Tuesday in the run up to the season-ending event in Monaco. The Junior Tour is set for a busy summer, with almost 200 events scheduled in 38 countries between now and July.
Former champions of the Junior Masters include the likes of Rafa Nadal, Kim Clijsters, Alex Zverev and Belinda Bencic.
The Race is on! Check out the full rankings here.