Ivanov Claims Second Straight Junior Slam Title; Vandromme Ends Junior Career with US Open Girls Singles Championship; Hance and Kennedy Capture Boys Doubles Title; Anisimova Falls in Women's Final

©Colette Lewis 2025--
Flushing Meadows, NY--

Two months ago, Ivan Ivanov was frantically searching for a tuxedo to wear to the Wimbledon Champions dinner. Today, after his 7-5, 6-3 win over Alexander Vasilev in the all-Bulgarian US Open boys final, the 16-year-old from Varna was planning no celebration at all, with a 10 p.m. flight to Spain next on his agenda. 

Ivanov, seeded No. 1, was facing not only friend Vasilev on Court 12 Saturday morning, but the ghost of the junior success of 2008 Wimbledon and US Open boys champion Grigor Dimitrov. Trying to equal the accomplishments of the greatest men's player in Bulgarian history was never going to be easy, but the support of a large, flag-bearing crowd, who were also celebrating a national holiday commemorating the country's unification, played an important role.

"I knew that it's going to be people coming, but they were very loud," said Ivanov, who hasn't been home to celebrate the national holiday since moving to the Nadal Academy in Spain more than three years ago. "I'm really happy that there was a lot of people watching, Now that we played on that day, I'm very happy that this success came, especially now. I'm very happy about it."

Ivanov served for the first set at 5-4, but did not manage to get to set point. He immediately broke Vasilev again, and served out the set, although he needed to save a break point to avoid a tiebreaker.

"He start putting more pressure on me, and I really felt it," said Ivanov, who hadn't played Vasilev since the 12s, yet still experienced déjà vu in some moments of the match. "I tried to escape, and I tried to make those moments come as short as possible, which I'm very happy today, because I managed to do that."

Ivanov also failed to serve out the match at 5-2, but broke Vasilev in the final game to win his 12th consecutive junior slam singles match.

"He was doing well with the pace, but I didn't have time and my legs weren't on point, and physically I wasn't there," said Vasilev, an 18-year-old left-hander, who is Dimitrov's cousin. "He played well, I dropped the level, tiredness kicks in, soreness in legs, sweating, it was quite humid, it was tough to get through today."

As for equaling Dimitrov's accomplishment, Ivanov admitted the second leg in New York was challenging.

"I don't think I could find the same level as Wimbledon," said Ivanov, who turns 17 next month. "But I was playing at a very good level, which I'm very happy about, keep finding solutions even though sometimes I was not feeling very well or having some tough moments. But I was always finding good mentality and positive mentality."

Ivanov and Vasilev were receiving a taste of the support they will have next weekend, when they play their first Davis Cup tie against Finland, in Bulgaria. 

"I'm very excited," Ivanov said. "I think I'm going there Friday or Thursday, so I'm really looking forward to play and to compete for Bulgaria. I mean, if we win, we can go to world group, so I'm very excited."

In the post-championship ceremony, Ivanov's coach at the Nadal Academy, Jeremy Paisan, received the new award the USTA has begun distributing to the coaches of all US Open champions.

While Ivanov and Vasilev have had limited contact with Dimitrov doing their junior careers, girls champion Jeline Vandromme of Belgium has been supported all week by three-time US Open women's singles champion Kim Clijsters and has received messages from Kirsten Flipkens, the last Belgian girl to win a US Open junior title back in 2003.

But it was Vandromme who earned the spotlight on a warm and humid Saturday, with the No. 14 seed winning her 23rd consecutive match in hard-fought 7-6(2), 6-2 victory over qualifier Lea Nilsson of Sweden.

After three consecutive titles on the ITF women's World Tennis Tour, Vandromme admitted she considered skipping the last junior slam she was eligible for, having lost in the first round of the Roland Garros and Wimbledon Junior Championships. But Vandromme, who turns 18 in November, was drawn to New York.

"I was thinking about it, too, whether I should play it or not," said Vandromme, who broke into the WTA Top 500 with those three titles in August. "The junior Grand Slams are always something different, and if it would be my last one, I just wanted to try to make it a memorable one. I mean, that kind of worked. Here at the US Open especially, it's very nice and energetic to play here. I actually really wanted to come here."

Vandromme hadn't lost more than four games in any set before encountering Nilsson, who had beaten top seed Julieta Pareja of the United States in the the third round and defending champion Mika Stojsavljevic of Great Britain in the semifinals. Nilsson had 2-0, and 4-2 leads in the first set, standing up to Vandromme's power, but once she got back on serve, Vandromme began taking control of the match. Improving her first serve percentage to 75% in the second set gave Vandromme the ability to dictate points, which eventually wore Nilsson down.

"I wouldn't say I felt the best, but I tried to show my best," said Nilsson, who displayed her first emotion all week, blinking back tears. "I just tried to fight. Right now I don't feel so happy about it; overall I think it was good."

Vandromme admitted that staying in the present when up 5-1 in the second set was difficult.

"Yeah, it happens," Vandromme said of her mind jumping ahead to holding the winner's trophy. "Then I'm just, like, okay, I just need to be disciplined and keep doing that instead of focusing on results. I just try to keep my mind busy so that I don't think about those things, like the results or the title."

Despite the excitement of claiming the title, Vandromme was able to empathize with Nilsson during the handshake and the ceremony. 

"At the net when the match was finished, I told her congrats on a good week, the level that you showed this week coming from qualies, making it to the final, it's also something to be proud of," Vandromme said. "When we were doing the ceremony, I think she was crying a bit, and I wanted to hug her...I mean, I know it's probably tough to lose like this in the final if you've come this far. But she's also incredibly kind off the court, so I just wanted to make sure that she knows she could be proud."

Vandromme also expressed satisfaction in her own accomplishment.

"It's going to be, I think, my last junior tournament, and to be able to win this one makes me incredibly proud," said Vandromme, who received messages from Flipkins both before and after the final. "Also, it was 22 years ago the last Belgian won the title. It's also a huge honor for my country and that makes me proud as well."

Both Vandromme and Nilsson are expected to concentrate on the ITF women's World Tennis Tour after some time off, with Nilsson's 700 points from her run this week helpful in assuring her a spot in the junior slams next year, if she decides to play them.

"I'm not sure exactly the plan for next year," said the 17-year-old from Stockholm, who trains with Milos Sekulic at the Salk Tennis Club. "But I think I'll play more women's tennis. I don't think there's too much more to do in juniors, so I'll focus on the women's tour."

Vandromme, who has been working with Philippe Galadé since this spring, had the difficult task of playing a second final shortly after the first. With a thunderstorm approaching, Vandromme and partner Laima Vladson of Lithuania, the No. 4 seeds, were sent quickly out to Court 12 to compete in the girls doubles final against No. 3 seeds Alena and Jana Kovackova of the Czech Republic. The Kovackova sisters, who had reached the girls doubles semifinals at the Australian Open and Wimbledon this year and the finals at Roland Garros, took that final step today, beating Vandromme and Vladson 6-2, 6-2 less than 30 minutes before the rain arrived.

"We enjoy playing doubles together," said the 17-year-old Alena, who won the Wimbledon girls doubles title with fellow Czech Laura Samson in 2023. "And we're happy to finally win this one."

Despite being "so nervous" Kovackova said they were able to play their game.

"We were serving good and we both had aggressive volleys," Alena said.

The boys doubles final, played at the same time as the two singles finals due to the threat of rain, featured four Americans and a hometown favorite in Long Island's Jack Kennedy. Kennedy and Keaton Hance, the No. 6 seeds, had the majority of the fan support on Court 14, due to the large contingent of Kennedy's family and friends. They needed every bit of that support in their 6-3, 1-6, 10-8 win over No. 7 seeds Benjamin Willwerth and Noah Johnston.

After Hance double faulted to put them in a 3-7 hole in the match tiebreaker, Kennedy knew it was up to him to pick up his friend and partner.

"I think in the years I've been playing with him Keaton's gotten better and better at resetting when stuff doesn't go our way, in big moments," said Kennedy, 17. "He doesn't get mad or frustrated, so I just give him that reminder to stay calm and stay present in the moment and not focus too much on that point."

Hance responded immediately with a good first serve, and won a rally on Willwerth's serve to get back to 7-5 at the change of ends. Kennedy held both his serves, but Johnston had the match on his racquet, up 8-7 with two serves coming. Hance and Kennedy hit a second consecutive overhead winner to pull even, then Johnston lost the next point as well, missing an overhead sitter at the net while suffering an apparent injury.

"On that overhead I slipped a little bit before I hit it and I felt my glute, my right glute, and then I missed," said the 17-year-old from South Carolina, who began his freshman year at Georgia this summer. "I got hurt four days ago, in a doubles match, but I didn't tell anyone, and I've been getting treatment. But I didn't miss because of that, and it should be fine."

"In that situation we just have to focus on ourselves," said Hance, a 17-year-old from California. "After he missed that overhead, I was like, okay, it doesn't matter, let's just lock in and play a good point right here, and not worry about what was going on on the other side of the net."

Now leading 9-8, Hance made a first serve, and when Willwerth's lob drifted past the baseline, the Long Island cheering section let out one last vocal celebration.

Kennedy has been coming to the US Open since he was four years old, so this title has extra significance for him.

"Being here, calling ourselves grand slam champions, in my backyard, it's really special," Kennedy said. "I'm happy to do it with Keaton, happy to do it in front of my family, the ton of support that's helped us through every match, yeah, I couldn't be happier."

Willwerth gave credit to Hance and Kennedy for their rebound in the tiebreaker.

"They definitely stepped it up, did what they needed to do," said Willwerth, who, with Johnston, had reached the Roland Garros final in June and the Kalamazoo 18s final in August. "They hit the shots that worked. But maybe a few more first serves on my end, I think, but that's tennis."

The USTA coaching awards in the boys doubles were given to Kennedy's coach Greg Lumpkin, and Hance's coaches, his parents Ken and Courtney.

"It's great for me and Greg, our relationship has gone so far together," Kennedy said. "The trophy is nice to show my appreciation, but hopefully how I contribute on the court and how we work together is also another way. I'm really glad he's done a great job with me and is getting an award for it."

"They've done a good job of raising me to be a good competitor," Hance said of his parents, who operate South Bay Tennis Club in Torrance. "I wish I had two trophies to give to each of them, but they'll have to share one."

In the women's singles final this afternoon, top seed Aryna Sabalenka defended her title, beating Amanda Anisimova 6-3, 7-6(3). For more on the women's final, see this article from usopen.org.

In the men's doubles final prior to the women's singles final, Roland Garros champions Marcel Granollers of Spain and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina saved three match points at 4-5, 0-40 in the third set and went on to defeat Neal Skupski(LSU) and Joe Salisbury(Memphis) of Great Britain 3-6, 7-6(4), 7-5 in a rematch of the final in Paris. For more on the final, see this article from usopen.org.