The ITF Junior Circuit is the premier level for worldwide competition among under-18 junior

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball cov ...

players. Founded in 1977 with only nine tournaments, the 2011 ITF Junior Circuit offered over 350 tournaments in 118 countries. Mirroring the ATP and WTA circuits, the ITF Junior Circuit ranks players and crowns a year end world champion.

History

The ITF Junior Circuit is organized by the

International Tennis Federation The International Tennis Federation (ITF) is the governing body of world tennis, wheelchair tennis, and beach tennis. It was founded in 1913 as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by twelve national tennis associations. As of 2016, there ...

. Since its creation it has been the beginning of many successful careers. Some Junior World Champions that have gone on to achieve great success on the pro tour include

Ivan Lendl Ivan Lendl (; born March 7, 1960) is a Czech–American former professional tennis player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Lendl was ranked world No. 1 in singles for 270 weeks and won 94 singles titles. ...

, Pat Cash,

Gabriela Sabatini Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini (; born 16 May 1970) is an Argentine-Italian former professional tennis player. A former world No. 3 in both singles and doubles, Sabatini was one of the leading players from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, amassing 41 ...

, Martina Hingis,

Marcelo Ríos Marcelo Andrés Ríos Mayorga (; born 26 December 1975) is a Chilean former world No. 1 tennis player. Nicknamed ''"El Chino"'' ("The Chinese") and ''"El zurdo de Vitacura"'' ("The Lefty from Vitacura"), he became the first Latin American play ...

Andy Roddick Andrew Stephen Roddick (born 30 August 1982) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He is a major champion, having won the 2003 US Open. Roddick reached four other major finals ( Wimbledon in 2004, 2005, and 2009, and the US Ope ...

Amélie Mauresmo Amélie Simone Mauresmo (; born 5 July 1979) is a French former world No. 1 tennis player and tournament director. Mauresmo won two major singles titles at the 2006 Australian Open and Wimbledon Championships, and also won the silver medal in s ...

Roger Federer Roger Federer (; born 8 August 1981) is a Swiss former professional tennis player. He was ranked world No. 1 by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-e ...

, and many more. From 1982 through 2003, the ITF Junior Circuit recognized Year End Champions in singles and doubles. Beginning in 2004, the rankings were combined and a single champion in both boys' and girls' competition was recognized.

Tournament grades

Just like the ATP and WTA, junior tournaments are divided into different levels. The highest level tournaments are the junior grand slams and the Youth Olympics, followed by the

ITF Junior Masters The ITF Junior Masters is a year-end singles tournament for the top-ranked 18-and-under tennis players on the ITF Junior Circuit (ITF Junior World Ranking). It is the second most prestigious annual junior event in terms of rankings points awarded, ...

, an event that resembles the year-end finals. The five Grade A tournaments are the junior equivalent of the

ATP Masters 1000 The ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (previously known as ATP Masters Series) is an annual series of nine tennis tournaments featuring the top-ranked players on the ATP Tour. The series' events have been held in Europe and North America since the ...

and WTA Premier Mandatory events in terms of points awarded relative to the grand slams. In calendar order, these are the

Copa Gerdau The Porto Alegre Junior Championships (Portuguese: Campeonato Internacional Juvenil de Tênis de Porto Alegre), also known as the Copa Gerdau, is a prestigious junior tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts in Porto Alegre, Brazil. T ...

, the

Trofeo Bonfiglio The Trofeo Bonfiglio, also known as the Campionati Internazionali d'Italia Juniores, is a prestigious junior tennis tournament held on outdoor red clay courts in Milan. It is one of five Grade A tournaments, the junior equivalent of ATP Masters ...

, the

Osaka Mayor's Cup The Osaka Mayor's Cup is an ITF Grade A junior tennis tournament. It is held annually in Osaka. Champions Boys Singles Boys Doubles Girls Singles Girls Doubles {, class="wikitable" , - !Year !width="200", Champion !width="200", Runner- ...

, the

Abierto Juvenil Mexicano The Abierto Juvenil Mexicano is a prestigious junior tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts in November in Mexico City. It is one of five Grade A tournaments, the junior equivalent of ATP Masters or WTA Premier Mandatory events i ...

, and the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game in ...

. All remaining tournaments are assigned Grades 1 through 5. Tournaments labeled B1 through B3 refer to regional tournaments. The ITF mostly recently changed the points system in 2018. The new system is designed to give the higher-level Grade A and Grade 1 tournaments more weight, and to reward players who progress deeper into tournaments regardless of the level. It also elevated the junior grand slams, the Youth Olympics, and the

above the Grade A level, which was previously the highest tier. Lastly, Grade B tournaments now award the same points as their non-regional counterparts with the same grade number instead of a slightly higher amount like they did before. The ITF rankings system combines both singles and doubles results. However, doubles results are underweighted by a factor of one-fourth. Additionally, only the best six results in singles and the best six results in doubles count towards a player's ranking. The point distribution for each level of tournament is as follows: Note: The

awards 320, 250 for 3rd–4th place, and 200, 185, 165, 150 for 5th–8th place.

Junior Exempt project

In 1997, the ITF began the Junior Exempt project to help the world's top junior girls to transition to the professional level. The Junior Exempt project provides wild cards into

ITF Women's Circuit The ITF Women's World Tennis Tour, previously known as the ITF Women's Circuit, is a series of professional tennis tournaments run by the International Tennis Federation for female professional tennis players. History It serves as a developmental ...

events to the girls who ended the year in the top 10 of the world rankings. The number and tournament level of wild cards received depends on how high a player finishes in the top 10. Beginning with the 2007 season, the Junior Exempt project expanded to include the top 10 Boys, who receive wild cards into Futures events. Since 2018, ITF World Tennis Tour (former Futures) $15,000 tournaments reserve places in the main draw for top players in the ITF Junior Circuit.

References

External links

Homepage of ITF Junior Tennis
{{DEFAULTSORT:Itf Junior Circuit Tennis tours and series Junior tennis International Tennis Federation