The junior competitions at the 2022 US Open saw surprises and hard-fought victories from both top seeds and dark horses alike–not to mention groundbreaking historical achievements.
Perhaps most importantly, the junior winners hailed from across the world–representing three continents. The United States’ 17-year-old pals Ozan Baris and Nishesh Basavareddy claimed boys’ doubles in all of 41 minutes and are now off to their freshman years of college faster than you can say “McLovin,” giving North America a victory; boys’ singles winner Martin Landaluce of Spain and girls’ doubles winner Lucie Havlickova of the Czech Republic (with partner Diana Shnaider) foreshadowed the future of European tennis; and Alexandra Eala ("Alex")—who closed this chapter of her tennis career with a fairytale ending—became the first male or female tennis player from the Philippines to win a junior Grand Slam title, one of the biggest Asian success stories from this tournament.
(Speaking of geography: Junior girls wheelchair singles and doubles champion Jade Moreira Lanai of Brazil adds a fourth continent, South America, to the list of 2022 US Open representation; as for the pros, mixed doubles winners Storm Sanders and John Peers put Australia on the map. Tunisian Ons Jabeur lost to Pole Iga Swiatek in the women’s singles final on Saturday—but considering she’s the first North African player to reach a US Open final, we'd say she and her homeland deserve a special nod.)
Looking at results from all four junior Grand Slam tournaments this year (as well as the ITF ranking lists), here are some names watch in the very near future:
Alex Eala
In arguably the most enchanting junior story of the 2022 US Open, No. 10 seed Eala—a 17-year-old from Quezon City, Philippines, who relocated to Mallocra, Spain as a pre-teen to train at the Rafa Nadal Academy–overcame incredible odds to clinch the US Open girls’ singles title over No. 2 seed Havlickova.
A former ITF-ranked No. 2 junior who fell to the No. 167 position this September after flirting with professional tennis for a few years, Eala now plans to return to the pro tour in the coming months. She previously won the 2020 Australian Open girls’ doubles title (alongside Priska Madelyn Nugroho) and the same event at the 2021 French Open (with partner Oksana Selekhmeteva).
Read more about Eala in the article below.
Lucie Havlickova
Like Eala, the Czech Republic’s 17-year-old Havlickova has bounced between junior and adult events this past year or so. However, she’s enjoyed much more success on the younger circuit: In 2022 alone, she won the girls’ doubles titles at the French and US Open (alongside partners Sara Bejlek and Diana Shnaider, respectively), and claimed the girls’ singles title in Paris while serving as the singles runner-up in Queens.
Havlickova was seeded No. 2 in girls’ singles and No. 1 in doubles at the 2022 US Open. She climbed as high as No. 2 in the ITF Junior Rankings–reaching that personal best in June—and currently stands at No. 3. (That could change on Monday.) With one foot already in the WTA waters, she’ll likely make a splash on the pro tour after she turns 18 next spring.
Make no mistake: Spain’s 16-year-old Landaluce–who defeated Bailly in the US Open boys’ singles final, and also ousted the Belgian in the third round at Wimbledon—could easily be a major player on the pro circuit in the coming years. (Perhaps this is the beginning of a storied rivalry?)
But pay attention to Bailly, who was the No. 2 seed in boys’ singles at the 2022 US Open and, perhaps appropriately, served as the event’s runner-up. At the French Open this year, Bailly advanced to the boys’ singles final–but fell to hometown hero Gabriel Debru. He reached a personal-best of No. 4 in the ITF Junior Rankings in July, and now stands at No. 5 (again, that could change Monday).
Diana Shnaider
Diana Shnaider book-ended 2022 with girls’ doubles wins at two Grand Slam tournaments: alongside American Clervie Ngounoue at the Australian Open and Havlickova in Queens. (Shnaider also reached the French Open girls’ double final in 2020, and won the Wimbledon event in 2021.)
With a career-high of No. 2 in the ITF Junior Rankings–which she initially achieved back in January, shortly after her win Down Under–and a 2021 year-end spot at No. 3, the 18-year-old will likely navigate the professional tour as the calendar flips.
Liv Hovde leads a strong American contingent
The future of American tennis shines bright, as well. So bright, in fact, we’re blinded by the number of potential prospects.
Texan Liv Hovde strung together four impressive girls’ results at Grand Slam tournaments this year. In singles, she advanced to the Australian Open semifinals, the French Open quarterfinals, won the Wimbledon competition, then bowed out of the US Open in the second round.
The 16-year-old also reached the doubles quarterfinals at the Australian and French Opens (with Alexis Blokhina and then Qavia Lopez), and the semifinals here in Queens with Aussie Taylah Preston. (Hovde and Lopez withdrew from the first round of Wimbledon.)
“You have to have the right mindset,” Hovde said after winning the 2021 Easter Bowl girls' 18s singles title last year. “Just keep staying positive and go match by match.”
Appropriately, Hovde achieved her best ranking of No. 4 on July 4, 2022.
A number of junior players from the U.S. have excelled since January. Brazilian-born, former ITF No. 1 Bruno Kuzuhara won boys’ singles and doubles at the Australian Open (but has since turned pro); Californians Sebastian Gorzny and Alex Michelsen earned the boys’ doubles title at Wimbledon, then competed in the men’s doubles main draw at the US Open as wild cards–exiting in Round 1; and “balling” 17-year-olds Baris and Basavareddy won the boys’ doubles title in Queens on Saturday before heading to college at Michigan State and Stanford, respectively.
