Hance, Lee and Preston Set to Play in World Tennis Junior Finals in China This Month; Tennis Europe 14s and 16s Masters Fields Announced; Registration Deadline Next Week for IMG Academy International Event

The annual World Tennis Tour Junior Finals are set to begin in two weeks in Chengdu China, and unlike the WTA and ATP Finals, where all who qualify are certain to play, there is always some doubt regarding which juniors will make the long trip, even when their qualification has been determined. The points awarded are the same as junior slams, with 1000 points to the winner, and there is prize money in the form of travel grants, but that is often not enough to compensate for the disruption to fall training blocks or pro tournaments on juniors' schedules.

With the WT's announcement of the field today, we now know that two girls and four (and a half) boys have opted out. WT No. 1 junior and Roland Garros champion Guto Miguel of Brazil is not playing, nor is No. 4 Michael Antonius, No. 8 Marcel Latak and No. 9 Duke freshman Yannick Alexandrescou of France. (These are the rankings at the conclusion of the US Open Juniors, not current rankings). No. 13 Andy Johnson was offered the alternate spot, but he declined.

The girls from the Top 10 who are missing the event are the Brazilian duo of No. 4 Victoria Barros and No. 7 Nana Leme Da Silva.

Keaton Hance and Jordan Lee, Orlando April 2026

The boys field (Sept. 14 ranking in brackets):

• Jamie Mackenzie[2], Germany
• Thilo Behrmann[3], Austria
• Keaton Hance[5], USA
• Jordan Lee[6], USA
• Ziga Sesko[7], Slovenia
• Dimitar Kisimov[10], Bulgaria
• Vincent Reisach[11], Germany
• Yannik Alvarez[12], Puerto Rico

No, 14 Matias Domenc of France is the boys alternate. There is no Chinese boy in the Top 75, so there is no representation for the home country, even as an alternate, in the boys field.

The girls field (Sept. 14 ranking in brackets):

• Xinran Sun[1], China
• Anna Pushkareva[2], Russia
• Jana Kovackova[3], Czechia
• Ksenia Efremova[5], France
• Janae Preston[6], USA
• Mariia Makarova[8], Russia
• Anastasija Cvetkovic[9], Serbia
• Polina Skliar[10], Ukraine

Because she is in the Top 75, Ruien Zhang of China, No. 43, will serve as the girls alternate. There are three other Chinese girls ranked above Zhang--Yushan Shao Yu Jun Lin and Yihan Qu--so they must have declined the alternate position.

With her decision to play in China, Preston may have opted out of the Junior Billie Jean King Cup because it starts in Egypt barely a week after the Junior Finals conclude. Skliar and Kovackova are scheduled to play both events.

The format is two groups of four, competing in round robin play, with the top two finishers in each group advancing to the semifinals.

Sun is obviously the favorite going into the event, particularly given her third round appearance at the WTA 1000 in Beijing. Steve Tignor wrote about Sun's first big result in a WTA tournament for his new Substack newsletter.

While the Junior Finals are taking place in China, Tennis Europe will be holding its annual Masters Tournament for the 14s and 16s age divisions in Monte Carlo. The fields are the same, with eight boys and eight girls competing in each division, but the format is completed in four days, with no semifinals; the two groups' top finishers meet in the final. 

The full list of competitors can be found in this announcement of the fields from Tennis Europe.

For a recap of the European 16s Championships, which concluded on September 26th, see this Tennis Europe article.

The IMG Academy International Tennis Championships are less than two months away, with qualifying beginning on Tuesday November 24th. The deadline for entry for the 12s, 14s and 16s divisions is next Tuesday, October 13th. The entry deadline for the J300 in Bradenton the week of November 30th is November 10th.

See the tournament website for the requirements for entry and the event's key dates.