But just to start the thread with a copy of the new names that are now being used instead of Grade 2 or J2 (or whichever generation of names you're up to so far)
ITF:
The new naming structure, which is to be launched from 1 January 2023, will see the tournaments grade reflect the number of ranking points awarded to the singles winner of that particular event.
Currently, a Grade 1 event on the ITF World Tennis Tour Juniors offers 300 rankings points to the singles winner, so from 1 January these events will simply be known as J300 tournaments.
Please see below a list of graded junior events and how they will be referred to in 2023.
Hint to the WTA and their for some time now rebranded WTA 250s and WTA 500s which have continued to award the winner 280 points and 470 points respectively.
Fall into line with the naming structure from the ATP but don't slightly adjust ranking points for the reason the ATP have these names. Duh.
So, it's always exciting to see the start of the New Year
You can work out the new rankings, of course, no trouble, beforehand, but it's nice to see it in black and white
There is, as ever, a big caveat with junior rankings, given how many top players never achieve anything of note in adults (which mathematically has to be the case, given there are new top players in juniors practically every year, by definition, but this doesn't apply to adults).
However, it's still nice to see a good showing.
The two 2007-ers are particularly impressive, as rankings go. There are only 5 boys born in 2007 in the top-100 (and no 2008-ers).
We also have a decent chunk of 2006-ers, even if ony Henry is really stand-out at the moment in terms of ranking. Just my opinion, but none of the 2005-ers are exciting propsects for adult tennis quite yet (Phoenix produced some very exciting stuff, last year, although a bit sporadically).
And we currently have a dearth in the 300-500 range.
We've got a nice batch of girls. Our 2007-ers continue to be our shining cohort. With Mimi and Hep leading the way, and a very good second group backing them up. Individually, Hannah is obviously the star. It'll be interesting to see how much juniors tennis, overall, our 2005-ers play. Their junior ranking is not what it's really all about but there's some good arguments to keeping focus on juniors too (no real right answer to that one - lots of different approaches)
Tennis Europe has also issued the first under 14 ranking lists of the year. Of particular note is that Mark Ceban is now at number 3, the highest ranking since Jack Pinnington Jones took the number one spot in the 2017 year end rankings. Hollie Smart is our top ranked girl, and both Mark and Hollie are entered for the Category 1 event in Bolton later this month as well as Les Petits As which follows it. Note that Hannah Klugman's TE ranking reflects how few under 14 events she has played
Boys U14
3 Mark Ceban
39 Leo Wright
40 Murray Watters
74 Rhys Lawlor
Thanks for this CD. Nice to see so many of the 2006/7 boys lining up fairly close to the top 100. Oliver is already very close and Charlie has made a bit of a charge recently.
Among the girls, of those outside the top 100, Allegra, who is still quite far outside has just had a CH win and seems to have started the season well. Should be an interesting year.
Interestingly I see a large proportion of the girls top 10 are not playing in Australia this year.
Sofia Costoulos for example won the J1 warm up last year and finished runner up in Aus Open juniors is not entered and will drop significant points.
Interestingly I see a large proportion of the girls top 10 are not playing in Australia this year. Sofia Costoulos for example won the J1 warm up last year and finished runner up in Aus Open juniors is not entered and will drop significant points.
Yes, but makes perfect sense for someone like Sofia C not to go - she's 17, she's WTA 441, she's playing W25s this month, she's just made the semis in Argentina, she's in another one next week, all on clay, great development surface - there's no reason to pursue juniors over in Australia
Yes, of course, but Ella being a higher ranked junior (especially given she's already in the top 10) is hardly a biggie. She's in her last year, she's a girl, it's really not about juniors for her any longer.