My Orange Bowl 16s Recap; Michelsen Secures Semifinal Berth at Next Gen ATP Finals, Basavareddy and Tien Can Join Him with Wins Friday; Tennis Europe Names Junior Players of the Year; Brooksby Reveals Autism Diagnosis

Fourteen-year-old Jordan Lee has put together an outstanding year in 2024 and he closed it with 12 consecutive straight-sets victories to capture the 16s titles at the IMG Academy International Tennis Championships in Bradenton and the Orange Bowl in Plantation. Fifteen-year-old Xiaotong (Bella) Wang of China lost in the first round at IMG, to eventual champion Hanne Estrada of Mexico, but rolled through the draw at the Orange Bowl the following week. My recap of the Orange Bowl 16s tournament is available today at the Tennis Recruiting Network.

Americans went 2-1 in group play today at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Jeddah Saudia Arabia, with 20-year-old Alex Michelsen, who went winless in last year's event, earning a place in the semifinals with one more match remaining in group play. Michelsen, who had beaten 19-year-old Nishesh Basavareddy in the red group yesterday, defeated Luca van Assche of France 1-4, 4-2, 4-3(6), 4-3(5), while Basavareddy defeated Jerry Shang of China 3-4(4), 4-2, 4-2, 4-1. Basavareddy will face van Assche Friday, with the winner advancing to the semifinals along with Michelsen.

In the blue group, 18-year-old Joao Fonseca of Brazil, the youngest player in the field, advanced to the semifinals with a 4-0, 4-0, 1-4, 4-2 win over Learner Tien. Arthur Fils of France defeated Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic 4-2, 4-3(4), 4-2, eliminating Mensik. Fils and Tien will play for the second time this year (US Open main draw round 1) with the winner advancing to the semifinals. 

All matches are available on Tennis Channel.

Tennis Europe has announced its Junior Tour Players of the Year for 2024 in the 14s and 16s age divisions, with a team award for the 12s.

Jana Kovackova, who is No. 16 in the ITF junior rankings, didn't win Les Petits As or the European Championships, but she posted two Super Category titles in 14s, the Wimbledon 14U event, despite spending much of her time competing on the ITF Junior Circuit, not in Tennis Europe events.

The boys 14s Player of the Year is Scott Watson of Great Britain, who won the year-end Junior Masters and was runner-up at the European Championships.

The girls 16s Player of the Year is Tea Kovacevic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who played the 14s in the recently completed IMG Academy International and Junior Orange Bowl tournament. Kovacevic lost to Daniel Baranes of Israel in both events: the final in Bradenton and the round of 16 in Coral Gables.

The boys 16s Player of the Year is Goncalo Da Rosa Castro of Portugal, who won two Category 2 titles. I would have expected the award to go to Yannick Alexandrescou of Romania, the European 16s champion, who played No. 1 singles for the Junior Davis Cup finalists.

There were also awards for Overseas Player of the Year, Doubles Team of the Year and National Team of the Year. 

Jenson Brooksby, out for two years due to injuries and a suspension related to missing drug tests, is back training, participating in the USTA's preseason in Lake Nona. The 2018 Kalamazoo 18s champion spoke with Howard Fendrich of the Associated Press last week about living with autism, a diagnosis he first received as a toddler. Although he is now "on the very mild end of the spectrum" according to Michelle Wagner, a behavior analyst specializing in autism, she said he was a "severe" case when she first began working with him as a child. Brooksby explained why he decided to reveal this now, as he prepares to return to tennis competition in Australia next year. 

“I just want people to know me for who I am fully, and that’s just another part of me,” Brooksby said. “I’ve had a lot of time out of playing and a lot of thinking I’ve had to do.”

The AP article is here.