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Elsa Jacquemot (FRA)
France’s Elsa Jacquemot made her presence felt during a progressive 2019 campaign, in which she reached the quarter-finals at two Junior Grand Slams – Roland Garros and Wimbledon. The 16-year-old’s exploits, which included two titles at J1 level – at Beaulieu-sur-Mer and Repentigny – helped guarantee her place at October’s ITF Junior Finals in Chengdu. Jacquemot defied her status as the youngest competitor in the girls’ draw at the Sichuan International Tennis Centre to finish in third place behind eventual year-end No. 1 Diane Parry and 2019 Wimbledon girls’ champion Daria Snigur. If Jacquemot is looking for omens, however tenuous, then her performance in Chengdu was a mirror image of Clara Tauson’s 12 months earlier. Tauson was the youngest girl competing in Chengdu as she finished third before proceeding to triumph at the Australian Open a matter of months later. Jacquemot, who rose 119 places during 2019 to finish the year ranked No. 7, would appear to be on the march and a contender for honours and a maiden Junior Grand Slam title. She is the top seeded girl.
Harold Mayot (FRA)
Describing himself as a lion on court and having a tattoo depicting the king of the jungle on his back, Harold Mayot certainly snarled with intent as he ended 2019 in imperious form. His surge gained considerable momentum with a maiden Grade A title at Osaka in October before dispatching two Junior Grand Slam winners – Jonas Forejtek and Shintaro Mochizuki – as he reached the final of the ITF Junior Finals in Chengdu, only to be denied silverware by Holger Vitus Nodskov Rune. This was followed by another final appearance, this time at the M25 Saint Dizier, and then a first professional title at M15 Villers Les Nancy in November. His 2020 campaign has started with inroads at Challenger level, with Mayot reaching the third round at the Noumea Challenger and the quarter-final at the Bendigo Challenger. Such form has landed Mayot the billing as the top seed in the boys’ draw at the Australian Open as the 17-year-old, who reached the last four at Wimbledon in July, eyes a maiden Junior Grand Slam trophy.
Robin Montgomery (USA)
After winning her maiden Grade A title at the prestigious Orange Bowl event in December, American Robin Montgomery described her victory as a “stepping stone”, clearly believing that loftier silverware is a distinct possibility. The left-hander, 15, triumphed at Plantation in style as she claimed the ultimate prize there without dropping a set, and while her season may have been something of a slower burner, it was one filled with steady progress. Two rounds were navigated at the two Junior Grand Slams – Wimbledon and the US Open – she contested before a glory-filled week at the USTA National Campus in Orlando. Montgomery returned a perfect record from the seven matches she played as USA were crowned Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas champions for the third year in succession. The first junior title of her career arrived at Nicholasville before the perfect crescendo to her campaign ensured she climbed from No. 123 at the end of 2018 to a year-end junior ranking of No. 8. Montgomery is among the frontrunners for Melbourne honours.
Khololwam Montsi (RSA)
South Africa’s Kholowam Montsi hit the headlines in recent weeks as he and Eliakim Coulibaly, from Ivory Coast, ensured that Africa have two boys in the Top 20 of the junior rankings for the first time in history. Montsi currently occupies the No. 12 spot in the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Rankings presented by IMG Academy, a position fuelled by a powerful end to 2019 which saw him embark upon a 28-match winning streak and claim his maiden Grade A title at Cape Town in September. In total, Montsi, who was first spotted during an African Talent ID camp for youngsters aged 12 and under in 2012 – topped the podium on six occasions last season, with all of his trophies lifted on a hard court. Such a record has led to admiring glances and suggestions that Montsi – a recipient of significant support from the ITF and Grand Slam Development Fund in recent years – could assume the status of Africa’s first Junior Grand Slam boys’ champion since compatriot Byron Bertram in 1970.
