Issue 149 I August I 2021 TENNIS EUROPE NEWS New European 14, 18 & Under Champions crowned New champions have been crowned at the European Jun- ior Championships after a frenetic week of tennis saw breakthrough performances from several of the region’s most promising players . 300 young athletes were in action in Most (CZE) for the 14 & Under event and in Klosters (SUI) for the 18 & Un- der Championships . The 16 & Under event in Moscow has been postponed until later this year . The 18 & Under singles titles were claimed by unseeded Antonia Ruzic and second seed Viacheslav Bielinskyi . As the beautiful weather took a break on the final day, the end, Ruzic is a worthy title winner .In her four previous championship deciders had to be played indoors . The nu- matches, she had consecutively beaten the number 7, 9, 3 merous spectators saw a fascinating first set between Ru- and 1 seeds and proved her ITF junior ranking of 174 zic of Croatia and Alina Granwehr, with the Swiss player was no measure of her ability . “I am focusing on my pro unable to convert any of her six set-points . Shortly after, career, but I am extremely happy to take this title”, she she took a medical timeout but there was no improvement smiled . The future looks bright for the former Junior as far as her shoulder was concerned . She then took the Masters cham-pion, who made her Billie Jean King Cup difficult decision to retire at 5-7, 0-2 . debut for Croatia back in February . “It is never nice to finish a match this way,” Ruzic said in Both finalists then posed for pictures with Martina Hingis, the on-court interview, “but I wish Alina a speedy recovery who took part in the prize-giving ceremony . The Swiss su- and that she soon can compete again ”. Despite the unlucky perstar was the very first winner of the Championships Inside this issue European Junior Championships . 01 Candidates for Tennis Europe Elections 2021 . 02 C-Nations benefit from COVID-19 Emergency Fund . 08 14&U European Summer Cups . 10 Tennis Europe Gold to Olympic Gold for Bencic & Zverev . 13 Race to Monte-Carlo Update . 14 European Beach Tennis Championships in Sofia . 17 European Senior Championships in Umag . 18 Service Line . 20 European Results & Rankings . 21 TENNIS EUROPE NEWS 01 Tennis Europe Elections 2021 The candidates for Tennis Europe’s forthcoming Presiden- • David RAWLINSON (GBR)* tial and Board elections have been revealed . • Dariusz M . SALETRA (POL) • Jordi TAMAYO DE WINNE (ESP) The candidates for the President are: • Cem TINAZ (TUR) • Ivo KADERKA (CZE)* • Henrik THORSØE PEDERSEN (DEN) • François KNAFF (LUX) • Dietloff VON ARNIM (GER) • Henrik THORSØE PEDERSEN (DEN) • Dmitry VIKHAREV (RUS) • Spyros ZANNIAS (GRE)* A record 21 candidates are standing for the 8 available • Evgeniy ZUKIN (UKR)* Board of Management positions: • Nikolina BABIC (CRO)* The elections, which correspond to the three-year peri- • Roger DAVIDS (NED) od 2021-2024, will be held at the 2021 Annual General • Dirk DE MAESENEER (BEL) Meeting, hosted by the Luxembourg Tennis Federation • Giorgio DI PALERMO (ITA) from 23-25 September . • Florence Alix GRAVELLIER (FRA) • Allar HINT (EST) The Meeting will focus on European unity and construc- • Razvan ITU (ROU)* tive collaboration, after the previous Board of Manage- • Christiane JOLISSAINT (SUI)* ment were recalled by member nations at an Extraordi- • Ivo KADERKA (CZE)* nary Meeting on 3 July, 2021 . • Gevork KARAMANOUKIAN (ARM) • François KNAFF (LUX) *Names marked with an asterisk are standing for re-election . • Epaminondas Cl . METAXAS (CYP) ROPEA U N E New European 14, 18 & Under Champions crowned Tennis Europe J U S N P I I O H second seed Diana Shnaider (RUS) and a mara- R S C N thon 7-5 6-7(6) 6-2 win over recent Roland Gar- HAMPI O ros champion Linda Noskova (CZE) in the semi-fi- nals . Ruzic, for her part, had ended the hopes of two more pre-tournament favourites for the title, 2020 Roland Garros champion Elsa Jacquemot (FRA), and WTA Charleston quar- terfinalist Linda Fruhvirtova (CZE) . The boys’ final had the air of a ‘family affair’, albeit with players from different nations . “He is my best friend”, Bie- linskyi explained after taking the title 7-5, 6-3 . And the Boys singles champion Viacheslav Bielinskyi (UKR). in Klosters back in 1994, when she won the title at the tender age of 13 years and 10 months . “Junior events were very important for my development”, the superstar, winner of 25 Grand Slam titles and the world number one for 209 weeks, said in a short interview on court, “…and some of the memories last forever ”. It was an unfortunate ending for Granwehr, who had rid- den a wave of local support to record a series of upsets over the tournament’s biggest names, including wins over Champion Antonia Ruzic with Martina Hingis. TENNIS EUROPE NEWS 02 SHOP NOW HEAD PRO PLAYERS MAY PLAY WITH DIFFERENT RACQUETS FROM THE MODEL SHOWN. FROM WITH DIFFERENT RACQUETS PLAY MAY PLAYERS HEAD PRO THEY CATCH EVERY OPPORTUNITY, THEY LAUNCH EVERY WINNING SHOT AND THEY SPAN EVERY SINGLE FRAME WE MAKE. UP YOUR GAME WITH HEAD TENNIS STRINGS. .COM ROPEA U N E Tennis Europe J U S N P I I O H New European 14, 18 & Under Champions crowned R S C N HAMPI O In doubles action, Czech pair Adam Jurajda & Daniel Sini- akov etched their names into the record books by achiev- ing the rare feat of winning back-to-back doubles gold medals . The unseeded Swiss team of Jérôme Kym & Jan Sebesta was in the driving seat and leading by a set and a break when play was halted because of a short spell of rain . On the return, the Czechs bounced back, forcing a decider . Again, the Swiss gave their fans plenty of hope, leading for most of the match tiebreak and had a good chance at 8-7 to secure themselves two match points . The Czechs Alina Granwehr celebrates another win during her memorable run to the final. showed strong defensive skills however and eventual- ly prevailed 11-9 . Jurajda & Siniakov duly secured them- selves a second gold medal to add to their 16 & Under title from Moscow in 2019 . Jurajda said, “We enjoyed the tournament a lot, it’s a beau- tiful place to play and the organisation was brilliant . I heard about this tournament through the years and now finally I had chance to play it and we are so happy we made a title for the second time ”. Germany claimed the girls’ doubles gold with an upset win for Mara Guth & Julia Middendorf . They overcame top-seeded international combination of Noskova (CZE) & Adam Jurajda and Daniel Siniakov celebrate their win. Shnaider (RUS), who had conceded just fourteen games in four matches prior to the final . Having split the first two sets 6-3 3-6, the German pair eventually claimed the match on a Champions’ tie break, 10-7 . Guth was more than satisfied with her week in Klosters, saying, “It was a great tournament, and the club had the most beautiful view of the mountains . I really en- joyed my time there ”. 14 & Under Nikola Djosic of Switzerland and Czech Tereza Valentova Doubles winners Mara Guth & Julia Middendorf (GER). are the new European 14 & Under Champions. runner-up Petr Nesterov (BUL) added: “It is one of the Unseeded Djosic capped an unforgettable week in which toughest things to play against him for me ”. he beat seeds #9, 7, 4 and 1 with another upset, this time over fifth seeded home hope Jan Kumstat . The marathon Bielinskyi was the number two seed and dropped only one match saw Djosic drop his sole set of the week . After be- set on route to the final, as did his opponent . The Ukraini- ing broken in the twelfth game to lose the first set 7-5, it an, a quarter finalist at this year’s Roland Garros, has high was Kumstat who held his nerve at the crunch end of the hopes for the future: “My goals are to play Grand Slams, second, eventually claiming it 7-4 in the tie break to lev- Davis Cup and possibly the ATP Tour finals,” he said . el . Djosic reasserted his authority in the decider though, running away to a 6-3 win to become the first Swiss boy With the victory, he stands out as the first Ukrainian boy since Michael Kratochvil 28 years ago to win the 14 & ever to win the 18 & Under title . Yulia Beygelzimer’s Under title . Remarkably, the win is just his fourth Tennis 2000 girls’ victory remains the only previous Ukrainian Europe Junior Tour singles title, and first above Category singles title . 3 level . TENNIS EUROPE NEWS 04 ROPEA U N E Tennis Europe J U S N P I I O H New European 14, 18 & Under Champions crowned R S C N HAMPI O Nikola Djosic (SUI). Boys doubles finalists in Most. “The experience here was indescribable, I learned so The four singles finalists have extra reasons to celebrate, much,” Djosic told us . “After the final I could not really be- with confirmation that each will receive an invitation to lieve what a good tournament it was . All of them played so compete at the season-ending Tennis Europe Junior Mas- good that I had to fight for every point ”. ters in Monte-Carlo in October . Tereza Valentova gave the home fans something to cheer In the doubles events, home players completed a best-ev- when she became the second unseeded singles cham- er haul of three of the possible four gold medals in Most .