Last week, two season finales closed the 2026 junior year: the Tennis Europe Junior Masters in Monte-Carlo and the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu. Eight champions were crowned. In my preview, I asked if the best juniors were really there. Now we have the results. This article stays on the facts: who won, where they started in the rankings, and what families can learn from it.
I am Geoffroy Dupuis, founder of JuniorToPro and an independent high-performance and travelling tennis coach based in Montpellier, in the South of France. I work with players on the Tennis Europe Junior Tour, the ITF Junior circuit, the ITF World Tennis Tour and the WTA. I did not watch every match this year, so you will not find a technical analysis here. Only official results, checked in several sources. And the same rule as always: every player in these two events earned their place. Congratulations to all of them, winners or not.
The champions at a glance
| Event | Champion | Final | Place in the race (champion / finalist) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monte-Carlo, boys 14 & Under | Rafael Papoian | bt Bruno Dzhenev (BUL) 6-2 6-4 | #4 / #8 |
| Monte-Carlo, girls 14 & Under | Mariia Kocherzhenko (UKR) | bt Olivia Serena Conticello (ITA) 7-6 6-4 | #2 / #3 |
| Monte-Carlo, boys 16 & Under | Blazej Krzysko (POL) | bt Mark Jony (HUN) 6-4 6-1 | #4 / #2 |
| Monte-Carlo, girls 16 & Under | Lydia Panagiotidou (GRE) | bt Zana Peric (SRB) 6-2 6-3 | joint #1 / joint #1 |
| Chengdu, boys | Jordan Lee (USA) | bt Ziga Sesko (SLO) 6-3 7-5 | Wimbledon champion / Australian Open champion |
| Chengdu, girls | Sun Xinran (CHN) | bt Anna Pushkareva 6-3 5-7(4) 6-1 | US Open champion / Wimbledon champion |
For Monte-Carlo, the “place in the race” is the final position in the Race to Monte-Carlo, the season ranking that decides who qualifies. Names and nationalities are written as published by Tennis Europe and the ITF.
Monte-Carlo: what the race predicted, and what it did not
Girls 16 & Under: the race was right
Lydia Panagiotidou and Zana Peric arrived in Monte-Carlo level at the top of the race, with the same number of points. They met for the first time in the final, and Panagiotidou won 6-2 6-3 in 80 minutes. She is the first Greek girl to win the event. Over the week she won all four matches in straight sets, lost only 13 games and, according to Tennis Europe, won 76% of her first-serve points, the best figure of all 32 players. It was her fourth Tennis Europe title of the season, after Thessaloniki, Larissa and the Super Category event at the Foro Italico in Rome.
Girls 14 & Under: the top of the race, with a twist
The final was between the number 2 and the number 3 of the race. Mariia Kocherzhenko beat Olivia Serena Conticello 7-6 6-4 and became the first Ukrainian girl to win the title. Her week was not perfect: she lost one group match, 7-5 3-6 6-3 to Beata Maresova (CZE), and still reached the final. This is the reality of a round-robin format. One defeat does not end your week, but every set counts.
Boys 16 & Under: the fourth seed, without dropping a set
Blazej Krzysko, fourth in the race, won all four of his matches in straight sets and beat Mark Jony, second in the race, 6-4 6-1 in 68 minutes in the final. He is the first Polish player to win a Junior Masters title.
Boys 14 & Under: number 4 against number 8
This is the result that tells the most about rankings. Rafael Papoian, fourth in the race, won the title against Bruno Dzhenev, who was eighth in the race, the last of the eight players in Monte-Carlo. Papoian led 6-2 3-0 before Dzhenev came back, and closed it 6-2 6-4. The eighth player of the race can reach the final. The race measures a season. It does not decide a week.
Chengdu: the junior Grand Slam champions held their rank
In Chengdu, the hierarchy of the season was respected. The two finals were played by four of this year’s junior Grand Slam champions.
- Boys: Jordan Lee (USA), the Wimbledon boys’ champion, beat Ziga Sesko (SLO), the Australian Open champion, 6-3 7-5. Three days earlier, Sesko had beaten him 7-6(5) 6-7(3) 6-2 in the group stage. In the final, Sesko served for the second set, but Lee won the last four games. At 16, Lee is the first American to win the event since Brandon Nakashima in 2018, and he will move up to No. 2 in the junior rankings.
- Girls: Sun Xinran (CHN), the US Open girls’ champion, beat Anna Pushkareva, the Wimbledon champion, 6-3 5-7(4) 6-1. It was their fourth meeting since July. Sun won all five of her matches in Chengdu, and this was her seventh final in her eight junior events of 2026. With this title, she secures the year-end title of World Tennis girls’ junior champion.
The stakes were high: up to 1,000 ranking points for the winners, the same as a junior Grand Slam, and more than US$220,000 in travel grants shared between the 16 players, with up to US$23,000 for each champion. A higher year-end ranking also opens more professional events in 2027 through the ITF Junior Accelerator Programme.
Time on court: the hidden result
One number does not appear in the draws: the time spent on court. Lydia Panagiotidou won the girls’ 16 & Under title with a total of 4 hours and 10 minutes on court for four matches. In the boys’ 14 & Under group stage, one single match lasted 3 hours and 14 minutes: Liam Sharkey (GBR) against Anastasis Mosaikos (CYP).
I saw part of that match. Mosaikos had match points, then cramps, and he lost in the third set. He came back the next days and finished fifth overall. This is not a criticism. At 13 or 14 years old, a three-hour match in a round-robin event, with matches on consecutive days, is a huge physical and mental test. It reminds us of a simple truth:
- Endurance is part of the level. Long matches are won with the body as much as with the strokes. Aerobic work, strength and recovery are not “extras”.
- Hydration and fuelling start the day before. Not at 5-5 in the third set.
- Load must be followed. A player who spends three hours on court on Thursday does not start Friday with the same body. This is why I follow the training load (TRIMP, ACWR and monotony) and use a daily wellbeing check-in, especially in tournament weeks.
Efficiency is a skill too. Winning in straight sets is not only about talent. It is also about protecting your energy for the next match.
Back to the seeding question
In my preview, “Are the best juniors really there?”, I explained why I think the Tennis Europe ranking is the right reference up to 14 & Under, and why, from 16 & Under, seeding should follow the highest circuit a player competes on. The results of the week fit that picture:
- At 14 & Under, the best players of the age are on the Tennis Europe tour, and the finals were played by the top half of the race, plus the eighth player of the race. The level is close, and the race is a fair reference.
- At 16 & Under, the Monte-Carlo finals were very strong, but the players who reached the European 16 & Under final in Parma in September were not in the line-up. Many of the best players of that age now compete on the ITF Junior circuit or in professional events.
- At 18 & Under, Chengdu rewarded the junior Grand Slam champions. The junior hierarchy worked. But the most advanced players born in 2008 or later were not there, because they already play on the WTA and ATP tours.
None of this takes anything away from the champions. It simply shows that each ranking measures one tour, one season. When we use a ranking to seed a championship, we must choose the one that reflects the real level of the players.
What families and coaches can take from this week
- Starting eighth is not a weakness. Bruno Dzhenev was eighth in the race and reached the boys’ 14 & Under final.
- One defeat does not end a week. In round-robin events, keep fighting for every set: Mariia Kocherzhenko lost a group match and won the title.
- Prepare the body for long matches. A three-hour match at 14 is a physical test. Train for it, fuel for it, and follow the load after it.
- Junior titles open doors. Points, travel grants and access to professional events through the Accelerator Programme: a strong junior season has real value for the transition to pro tennis.
- Plan the next step. With her Tennis Europe 16 & Under career over, Lydia Panagiotidou now turns to the ITF Junior tour. That transition needs a schedule, a budget and clear goals.
Frequently asked questions
Who won the 2026 Tennis Europe Junior Masters?
Rafael Papoian (boys 14 & Under), Mariia Kocherzhenko of Ukraine (girls 14 & Under), Blazej Krzysko of Poland (boys 16 & Under) and Lydia Panagiotidou of Greece (girls 16 & Under). The finals were played on 24 October 2026 at the Monte-Carlo Country Club.
Who won the 2026 ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in Chengdu?
Jordan Lee of the United States won the boys’ event, beating Ziga Sesko 6-3 7-5. Sun Xinran of China won the girls’ event, beating Anna Pushkareva 6-3 5-7(4) 6-1. The finals were played on 25 October 2026.
How do players qualify for the Tennis Europe Junior Masters?
Players qualify mainly through the Race to Monte-Carlo, a season ranking based on Tennis Europe Junior Tour results, in the 14 & Under and 16 & Under categories. According to Tennis Europe, the European champion of the age group can also earn a place. Players are split into two groups of four, and the group winners play the final.
Planning the next season?
If your player is moving from Tennis Europe to the ITF Junior circuit, or from juniors to professional events, and you want a clear plan for 2027, you can book a call with me.
Sources
- Tennis Europe, “Tennis Europe Junior Masters – Live Coverage”, 21–24 October 2026.
- Monaco-Matin / Nice-Matin, “Future Tennis Stars Crowned at Tennis Europe Junior Masters in Monaco”, 25 October 2026.
- Greek City Times, “Lydia Panagiotidou Wins Tennis Europe Junior Masters Title”, 26 October 2026.
- UA.NEWS, “13-year-old Maria Kocherzhenko became the first Ukrainian girl to win a European U14 tournament”, 24 October 2026.
- ITF, “Who is in the final?: 2026 World Tennis Tour Junior Finals”, 24 October 2026, and official draws and results.
- ZooTennis (Colette Lewis), “Jordan Lee Claims Boys Title, Xinran Sun Captures Girls Championship at World Tennis Junior Finals”, 25 October 2026.
