Burel Takes Over as ITF Junior No. 1 after Masters Title; Chopra, Crowley Claim Titles at Atlanta ITF Grade 4; Guzauskas, Benabraham Win Singles Titles at Barbados Grade 5; Montgomery Falls in Grade 2 Final in Japan

The ITF Junior Masters in China was the main focus last week, with girls champion Clara Burel of France moving into the No. 1 spot in the ITF Junior rankings released today, with former No. 1, US Open girls champion Xiyu Wang of China falling to No. 2. Despite losing in the final to Brandon Nakashima, Taiwan's Chun Hsin Tseng maintains his large lead in the boys rankings, but Nakashima did move up to a career-high of No. 5 with his title.

Another major on last week's schedule, an ITF Grade B1 Closed in India, also produced a big move in the rankings for the winners. Girls singles and doubles champion Manachaya Sawangkaew of Thailand, seeded No. 3, moved up 39 places to No. 29, and boys singles champion Siddhant Banthia of India, seeded No. 4, moved up 52 places to No. 51

At the ITF Grade 4 in Atlanta, Briana Crowley won her second ITF Junior Circuit title, with the 17-year-old Northwestern recruit, seeded No. 7, beating No. 8 seed Michelle Sorokko 6-4, 6-3 in the final. Crowley was playing her first tournament since the USTA National Team Championships at the end of July.  No. 9 seed Keshav Chopra, who turned 17 last week, defeated top seed Andres Martin 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 in the championship match, avenging his loss to Martin in last year's quarterfinals in Atlanta. It's Chopra's first ITF Junior Circuit singles title.

Two unseeded teams met in the boys doubles final, with Georgi Mavrodiev and Tyler Stice beating Huntley Allen and Chad Nash 7-6(1), 3-6, 11-9 for the title.

The girls doubles final also featured two unseeded teams, with Allie Gretkowski and Anna Ross beating Carly Briggs and Anne Marie Hiser 6-2, 7-5 for the title. 

At the Grade 5 in Barbados, Daniella Benabraham swept the singles and doubles competitions, with the 14-year-old winning her second ITF Junior Circuit singles title, both since June. Benabraham, the top seed, didn't drop a set in her four victories, beating No. 3 seed Isabella Ciancaglini of Bolivia 6-2, 6-2 in the final.  The two singles finalists paired up to win the doubles title, beating No. 3 seeds Hannah Chambers and Chloe Weekes of Barbados 6-1, 7-6(5) in the final.

Fifteen-year-old wild card Gabrielius Guzauskas won his first title in just his third ITF Junior Circuit event, taking the boys singles championship with a 6-3, 7-5 win over No. 2 seed Milledge Cossou.

Elizabeth Stevens won her second straight doubles title in a Grade 4 in Morocco, again partnering with Julie Belgraver of France. The top seeds took the title when their opponents, No. 3 seeds Oumaima Aziz of Morroco and Luisa Meyer auf der Heide of Germany retired trailing 3-1 in the final.

Robin Montgomery, who had a quarterfinal showing at the Grade A in Osaka, continued her impressive form the following week at the Grade 2 in Japan, reaching the final. The unseeded 14-year-old beat three seeds before falling to No. 7 seed Valentina Ryser of Switzerland 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 in the final. Montgomery is now ranking in the Top 200 of the ITF Junior rankings.

The 2017 Junior Orange Bowl 12s champion and 2018 Les Petits As champion Alexandra Eala of the Philippines won her first two ITF Junior Circuit titles last week at the Grade 5 in Spain. The 13-year-old, who has been old enough to compete in ITF Junior events only since late May, had already reached a Grade 4 final in Indonesia this summer. The No. 6 seed in Alicante, Eala defeated top seed Jessica Bouzas Maneiro of Spain 6-2, 6-3 in the final, her fifth consecutive straight-sets win.  She and Joelle Steur of Germany, the top seeds, took the doubles title with a 6-2, 6-2 win over unseeded Maria Dzemeshkevich of Russia and Lily Hutchings of Great Britain.