Renee Alame, Koharu Nishikawa and Jizelle Sibai, and Ymerali Ibraimi, Nikolas Baker and Jeffrey Strydom, will signify Australia in Junior Billie Jean King Cup and Junior Davis Cup respectively in Kazakhstan subsequent week.
Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 9 Could 2025 | Camille Russo
Six high Australian junior tennis gamers will signify the nation on the 2025 Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup Juniors offered by Gainbridge Asia-Oceania Ultimate Qualifying occasions from 12-24 Could in Kazakhstan.
The celebrated worldwide event is the head of staff competitors for tennis gamers aged 16 and below. Groups will vie for a coveted place within the finals, to be held in Santiago, Chile in November.
Every staff includes a mix of recent faces and returning expertise in 2025 – Renee Alame (16, NSW), Koharu Nishikawa (16, Vic) and Jizelle Sibai (15, NSW) will contest the Junior Billie Jean King Cup from Monday whereas Ymerali Ibraimi (16, Vic), Nikolas Baker (15, Qld) and Jeffrey Strydom (16, SA) will line up within the Junior Davis Cup.
Alame will return to the Junior Billie Jean King Cup staff for a second consecutive yr, after serving to Australia qualify for the 2024 finals. Nishikawa additionally returns to the staff for the second time after impressing final yr. They’re joined by first-time consultant Sibai, who has carried out constantly properly at Australian tournaments.
David Moore, long-time Tennis Australia Expertise Nationwide Growth Coach, will lead the 2025 women’ staff.
“It’s a extremely thrilling staff,” Moore shared. “Renee and Koharu carry priceless expertise from the finals final yr, and it’s nice to see a brand new face in Jizelle who has actually earnt her spot on this staff.
“They’ve proven they will compete below stress, and I feel they’ll thrive within the staff setting.”
Within the boys’ competitors, Strydom returns to nationwide illustration after making his debut final yr. He will probably be joined by newcomers Ibraimi, who lately superior to the second spherical in his first look within the Junior Boys’ Singles competitors on the Australian Open, and Baker, who has been steadily climbing the rankings over the previous 12 months.
“We’re excited to see what this group can obtain,” stated Paul Vassallo, who’s captaining the Junior Davis Cup staff for the primary time. “They’ve labored laborious to earn this chance and are decided to do Australia proud.”
The Billie Jean King Cup and Davis Cup Junior occasions function a launching pad for future stars. Previous champions embody Rafael Nadal, Lleyton Hewitt, Iga Świątek and Coco Gauff.
Australia boasts a wealthy historical past throughout each occasions, successful the Junior Davis Cup title six occasions, and the Junior Billie Jean King Cup, previously Junior Fed Cup, 5 occasions.
The newest success within the Junior Billie Jean King Cup got here in 2011 when Ash Barty, Belinda Woolcock and Brooke Rischbieth led the staff to a win over Canada. For the Junior Davis Cup, Luke Saville, Jason Kubler and Joey Swaysland have been topped champions in 2009 after they defeated Nice Britain.
The finals from 3-9 November throughout two venues in Chile, Santiago will carry collectively 16 boys’ and 16 women’ groups from world wide. The competitors begins with 4 round-robin teams of 4 groups, with the highest groups progressing to a knockout stage that crowns the world champions.
