The 2021 Tennis Europe Junior Masters took place from 13-15 October in Monte-Carlo.
The Top 8 European boys and girls aged 14 and 16 & Under battled for the prestigious season-ending championship, which were hosted by the Monegasque Tennis Federation for the first time. Former champions at the event include the likes of Rafa Nadal, Alexander Zverev, Kim Clijsters and Belinda Bencic.
Follow all the news, draws, results, photos and social media chatter (#TEJM) from the tournament below:
Draws, Results, Information...
Boys 14 & Under | Girls 14 & Under
Boys 16 & Under | Girls 16 & Under
Order of Play | Player Profiles | Roll of Honour
📷 Photo Gallery
16.10.2021 - THAT'S A WRAP!
What a week! Thanks to the Monte-Carlo Country Club and the Monegasque Tennis Federation for staging an unforgettable event. We can't wait to see you again next year! We end our coverage with this clip of highlights from the tournament...
Day 3 - As it happened...
20:10 - 2021 TENNIS EUROPE JUNIOR MASTERS MONTE-CARLO CHAMPIONS
Here they are - left to right: Marko Maksimovic (BIH, Boys 16&U), Laura Samsonova (CZE, Girls 14), Max Schoenhaus (GER, Boys 14), Mariia Masiianskaia (RUS, Girls 16).
19:45 - "I KNEW I COULD DO IT"
Asked if he had he believed he could win here at the start of the tournament, 16 & under boys' champion Marko Maksimovic said, “Actually, yes! I came here with a lot of confidence because I have been playing well, training hard and believing in myself.”
18:45 - MAKSIMOVIC BECOMES FIRST EVER BOSNIAN MASTERS CHAMPION
Marko Maksimovic has become the first ever player from Bosnia & Herzegovina to win a Tennis Europe Junior Masters title, after battling to a 7-5 6-3 win over Slovakian Michal Krajci. With the win, Maksimovic ends his Junior Tour season with four titles, a win/loss record of 22/3, and an unbeaten streak of 17 matches.
17:00 - MASIIANSKAIA CLAIMS GIRLS' 16&U TITLE
Mariia Masiianskaia has beaten Monika Stankiewicz (POL) to secure the 16 & Under girls' title. The 6-4 7-5 win completes a hat trick of upset wins in a week which saw the 14-year old upset the second, third and fourth seeds en route to the championship.
The win is Masiianskaia's Tour-leading 6th title of the season. She becomes the fourth Russian winner of the 16 & under girls' title, following in the footsteps of Elena Bovina (1997), Ksenia Lykina (2005) and Ksenia Zaytseva (2019).
16:35 - THOMAS HOGSTEDT SPEAKS ON GERMAN SUCCESS
The German boys were guided by super coach Thomas Hogstedt in Monte-Carlo, who gave this glowing assessment of the two future stars:
14:50 - SCHOENHAUS WINS ALL GERMAN BATTLE TO BECOME 14&U BOYS CHAMPION
Max Schoenhaus survived a tough test from Summer Cups team-mate Justin Engel, eventually triumphing 7-5 7-5 in the Boys 14 & Under final.
The win sees the 14-year old German end the season in style, and with a little luck. Ranked 9th in the Race to Monte-Carlo he entered the draw thanks to a last minute withdrawal. Making the most of his ticket to Monaco, he beat top seed Maxim Mrva and European Junior Champion Nikola Djosic en route to the final. The win gives him a second Junior Tour title of the season, following victory in Szceczin in May, and will ensure he enters the Junior Tour's Top 10 for the first time.
He told Tennis Europe: "It’s an incredible feeling to win this tournament. I was never expecting that. I’m so happy! It’s unbelievable, first of all just to even play here, that was a goal, to play on these courts, so to win this, it’s unbelievable."
12:40 - SAMSONOVA CLAIMS GIRLS 14&U TITLE
Laura Samsonova is the new Girls 14 & Under Junior Masters champion. The 13-year old Czech beat Eva Maria Ionescu of Romania 6-4 6-4 in a two hour battle, the first of Friday's four finals. The win marks her fourth Tennis Europe Junior tour title of the season, and 37th match win.
Seeded #3 but ranked #1 in the Race to Monte-Carlo, Samsonova was in dominant form all weekend, winning all three of her matches without conceding a set. Expressing her delight with the win, she told us, "I know Halep and Bencic were here, so hopefully I can play them one day!".
11:45 - PLACEMENT MATCHES
The unique format of the Junior Masters means that all 32 qualifiers play on all three days. While our eight finalists are battling for gold medals, the rest of the players are still scrapping for pride and ranking points.
Sadly, due to injuries, the seventh and eighth places in the 16 & Under categories are already decided: Laima Vladson (pictured, LTU) has a walkover win today over Ekaterina Ivanova (RUS), while Egor Pleshivtsev has a walkover against his Russian compatriot Timofei Derepasko.
09:00 - FOUR NEW CHAMPIONS TO BE CROWNED
With play due to commence at 10am, four new Junior Masters champions will be crowned by the end of the day. Here's your order of play for the famous centre court of the Monte-Carlo Country Club. Matches will be streamed live for viewers of Tennis Channel international (Austria, Germany, Greece, Switzerland, UK), and broadcast on Monaco Info in the host nation.
08:30 - PHOTO UPDATES
All the best images from yesterday's semi-final action are now available in our gallery, including this shot of 14 & Under girls' finalist Laura Samsonova.
Day 2
20:30 - ENGEL SETS UP ALL GERMAN BOYS' 14&U FINAL
Justin Engel set up a final against his Summer Cups team-mate Max Schoenhaus, powering to a 7-6 6-1 win over Sweden's Ludvig Hede in Thursday's late match. Here's a preview of tomorrow's final:
18:50 - SAMSONOVA TO FACE IONESCU FOR GIRLS' 14&U TITLE
Third seed Laura Samsonova of the Czech Republic will face Romania's Eva Maria Ionescu in the 14 & Under girls' final. Both players survived tricky encounters; Samsonova edged past second seed Ksenia Smirnova (RUS) 7-5 7-5. In the most dramatic girls' match of the day, Ionescu eventually emerged victorious after a bruising 7-6(6) 2-6 7-6(4) win over top seed Alena Kovackova (CZE).
Samsonova and Ionescu have met once before on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour, with the Romanian claiming victory at the Soul Cup in Istanbul earlier this year.
18:25 - FROM ALTERNATE TO FINALIST
Max Schoenhaus is making the most of his trip to Monte-Carlo. Ranked 9th, the German #2 was the last player to be accepted, following the withdrawal of Ognjen Milic last week. Today he upset European 14 & Under champion Nikola Djosic (SUI) to book his place in the Junior Masters final. He'll face the winner of the battle between his comptriot Justin Engel and Sweden's Ludvig Hede.
18:00 - KRAJCI LOOKS AHEAD
16:30 - 16 & UNDER FINALS SET
A look at how tomorrow's 16 & Under finals shape up...
16:00 - KRAJCI SURVIVES MARATHON
Michal Krajci battled past top seed Tomasz Berkieta (POL) to reach tomorrow's Boys 16 & Under final. Having dropped the first set on a tie break, the Slovakian fought back to secure a 6-7 7-5 7-5 win over three hours. He'll be hoping to extend his unbeaten record against rival Marko Maksimovic. The pair last met earlier this year at the Summer Cups qualifying, where Krajci won in three sets.
14:50 - MAKSIMOVIC POWERS ON
In-form Bosnian Marko Maksimovic has booked the first spot in the Boys 16 & Under final. He won through the hard way, recovering from a 2-6 deficit against Poland's Jakub Jedrzejczak before claiming the last two sets 7-5 7-5 in over two and half hours of play. He awaits the winner of the semi-final between another Pole, top seed Tomasz Berkieta and Michal Krajci of Slovakia, which is into a third set.
12:30 - STANKIEWICZ & MASIIANSKAIA ADVANCE TO GIRLS' 16&U FINAL
Monika Stankiewicz of Poland upset top seed Rose Marie Nijkamp (NED) 6-4 6-3 to become the first player into a final here in Monte-Carlo. She'll take on unseeded Mariia Massianskaia of Russia, who outlasted #2 Anastasiia Firman (UKR) 6-2 2-6 6-4. Here's what Monika had to say...
10:05 - PLAY BEGINS
08:20 - GALLERY UPDATE 📷
Our online photo gallery is fully updated with images of all 32 competitors in action on Wednesday.
Day 1
20:30 - GALLERY UPDATE 📷
The first selection of images from Day 1 is now online, including this great shot of 14 & under second seed Ksenia Smirnova (RUS)...more to come...
18:30 - MAKSIMOVIC POWERS THROUGH
Marko Maksimovic of Bosnia & Herzegovina (pictured) provided the sole upset in the Boys 16 & under competition, conceding just one game in victory over second seed Petr Brunclik on the famous centre court of the Monte-Carlo Country Club to extend his JuniorTour win streak to 16 matches.
(1) Tomasz Berkieta (POL) d. Victor Kuznetsov (RUS) 6-1 7-5
(4) Michal Krajci (SVK) d. Ziga Svec (SLO) 6-2 7-6(4)
(3) Jakub Jedrzejczak (POL) d. Nikola Jovic (SRB) 6-1 6-0
Marko Maksimovic (BIH) d. (2) Petr Brunclik (CZE) 6-0 6-1
17:00 - STANKIEWICZ FIGHTS BACK TO REACH SEMIS
Fourth seed Monika Stankiewicz of Poland produced the comeback of the day, recovering from a set down to outlast Ekaterina Ivanova (RUS) 1-6 6-2 7-5. The semi-final line-up is completed by Russia's Mariia Masiianskaia, a 6-4 7-6(2) winner over third seed Karolina Krajmer (SLO).
15:35 - 16&U GIRLS' FAVOURITES THROUGH
No trouble for the 16 & Under girls' top seeds as #1 Rose Marie Nijkamp (NED) concedes just one game to Artemis Aslanisvili (GRE), while #2 Anastasiia Firman (UKR) beats Laima Vladson (LTU) 6-2 6-3.
14:50 - ANDREA GAUDENZI - "THESE KIDS ARE PLAYING A TREMENDOUS LEVEL."
ATP Chairman Andrea Gaudenzi has been among the spectators on Day 1 of the competition. He told us: "I have to say I am impressed. These kids are playing a tremendous level. They look very professional and I like the way they behave on court from an early age. There is more attention to the mental aspects and the psychology behind the sport. It’s impressive, and I’m looking forward to seeing these guys become champions in the future."
14:20 - ALL 14&U BOYS' SEEDS UPSET
Double joy for Germany as Max Schoenhaus and Justin Engel upset top seed Maxim Mrva (CZE) and #3 Egor Gorin (RUS) respectively to complete tomorrow's semi-final line up. The boys are joined in Monte-Carlo by super coach Thomas Hogstedt.
13:30 - UPSETS BEGIN
Two seeds have been upset as the Boys 14 & under competition gets under way. European Junior Champion Nikola Djosic (SUI) ousted second seed Egor Pleshivtsev of Russia 6-2 6-4, while Ludvig Hede of Sweden conded just two more games in defeating another Russian talent, #2 seed Timofei Derepasko.
11:50 - TOP 14&U GIRLS' SEEDS ADVANCE TO SEMIS
The first results are in, with wins for the top seeds in the 14 & Under girls' event:
(1) Alena Kovackova (CZE) d. Dora Miskovic (CRO) 6-1 6-2
(2) Ksenia Smirnova (RUS) d. Elisa Forejtkova (CZE) 7-5 6-0
(3) Laura Samsonova (CZE) d. Melinda Biro (HUN) 6-1 6-4
(4) Eva Maria Ionescu (ROU) d. Maria Golovina (RUS) 6-3 5-7 6-2
10:45 - LIVE STREAMING
Our friends at the Tennis Channel are streaming action from the Junior Masters in selected markets (Austria, Germany, France, Greece, UK). Check it out at www.tennischannel.com. A 7-day free trial is available.
10:00 - READY? PLAY...
Under glorious sunny skies, play gets underway on four courts of the Monte-Carlo Country Club.
09:30 - TENNIS EUROPE JUNIOR SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS
On the eve of the competition, the players were joined by rising star Holger Rune for a special edition of the Junior School. The youngsters took the opportunity to ask questions about the former Junior Masters silver medallist's transition from top junior to ATP Pro.