The ITF Junior Circuit is the premier level for world wide competition among under-18 junior tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 players. Founded in 1977 with only nine tournaments, the current 2009 ITF Junior Circuit offered 358 tournaments in 118 different 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

International Tennis Federation

The International Tennis Federation is the governing body of world tennis, made up of 205 national tennis associations.It was established as the International Lawn Tennis Federation by 12 national associations meeting at a conference in Paris, France on 1 March 1913...

. 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

Ivan Lendl is a former world no. 1 professional tennis player. Originally from Czechoslovakia, Lendl became a United States citizen. He was one of the game's most dominant players in the 1980s and remained a top competitor into the early 1990s. He is considered to be one of the greatest tennis...

, Pat Cash

Pat Cash

Patrick Hart "Pat" Cash is a retired Australian professional tennis player who won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1987.-Early career:...

, Gabriela Sabatini

Gabriela Sabatini

Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini is a former professional Argentine tennis player. She was one of the leading players on the women's circuit in the late-1980s and early-1990s...

, Martina Hingis

Martina Hingis

Martina Hingis is a retired Swiss professional tennis player who spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1. She won five Grand Slam singles titles...

, Marcelo Ríos

Marcelo Ríos

Marcelo Andrés Ríos Mayorga is a former World No. 1 tennis player from Chile. Nicknamed El Chino and El zurdo de Vitacura , he became the first Latin American player to reach the top position on the Association of Tennis Professionals singles rankings in 1998. He held the World No...

, Andy Roddick

Andy Roddick

Andrew Stephen "Andy" Roddick is an American professional tennis player and a former World No. 1. He is currently the second highest-ranked American player, behind Mardy Fish....

, Amélie Mauresmo

Amélie Mauresmo

Amélie Simone Mauresmo ; is a French former professional tennis player, and a former World No. 1. Mauresmo won two Grand Slam singles titles at the Australian Open and at Wimbledon....

 and Roger Federer

Roger Federer

Roger Federer is a Swiss professional tennis player who held the ATP no. 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks, and 285 weeks overall. As of 28 November 2011, he is ranked World No. 3 by the Association of Tennis Professionals . Federer has won a men's record 16 Grand Slam singles titles...

. 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 boy's and girl's competition was recognized.

Tournament grades

Just like the ATP

Association of Tennis Professionals

The Association of Tennis Professionals or ATP was formed in 1972 by Donald Dell, Jack Kramer, and Cliff Drysdale to protect the interests of male professional tennis players. Since 1990, the association has organized the worldwide tennis tour for men and linked the title of the tour with the...

 and WTA

Women's Tennis Association

The Women's Tennis Association , founded in 1973 by Billie Jean King, is the principal organizing body of Women's Professional Tennis. It governs the WTA Tour which is the worldwide professional tennis tour for women. Its counterpart organization in the men's professional game is the Association of...

, junior tournaments are divided into different levels. Grade A (which include the junior Grand Slam

Grand Slam (tennis)

The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...

 tournaments), Grades 1-5, and Grade B (regional tournaments). The point distribution for each level of tournaments is as followed:

Singles points distribution

Description	W	F	SF	QF	R16	R32
GA	250	180	120	80	50	30
G1	150	100	80	60	30	20
G2	100	75	50	30	20	-
G3	60	45	30	20	15	-
G4	40	30	20	15	10	-
G5	30	20	15	10	5	-
GB1	180	120	80	60	30	20
GB2	120	80	60	40	25	10
GB3	80	50	30	15	5	-

Doubles points distribution

Description	W	F	SF	QF	R16
GA	180	120	80	50	30
G1	100	75	50	30	20
G2	75	50	30	20	-
G3	50	30	20	15	-
G4	30	20	15	10	-
G5	20	15	10	5	-
GB1	120	80	60	30	20
GB2	80	60	40	25	10
GB3	50	30	15	5	-

Current rankings

Junior boys rankings (5 September 2011) Rk Name Nation Points +/- 1 Jiri Vesely Jiří Veselý Jiří Veselý is a tennis professional player.Veselý is ranked number two in the ITF junior rankings. In 2011, Veselý won the Boys' Singles title at the Australian Open, defeating Australian Luke Saville in straight sets...  Czech Republic 1140 2 Luke Saville Luke Saville Luke Saville is an Australian junior tennis player. Saville is most famous for winning the boys singles at the Wimbledon Championships, and was also runner up in the boys singles at the Australian Open.-Junior career:...  Australia 1090 3 Bjorn Fratangelo Bjorn Fratangelo Bjorn Fratangelo is a professional American tennis player who won the boy's singles title at the 2011 French Open. As a result, he reached a career high of no...  United States 1013.75 4 Hugo Dellien  Bolivia 958.75 5 Thiago Monteiro  Brazil 936.25 6 Filip Horansky Filip Horansky Filip Horansky is a tennis player from Slovakia. Filip, with partner Jiří Veselý, won the 2011 Boys Doubles Australian Open. He is coached by Miloslav Grolmus.-Sources:...  Slovakia 866.25 7 Dominic Thiem  Austria 823.75 8 Liam Broady Liam Broady Liam Broady is a junior tennis player who in 2010 won the Boys' Doubles at Wimbledon partnered with fellow Briton Tom Farquharson.-Personal life:...  United Kingdom 818.75 9 Mate Pavic Mate Pavić Mate Pavić is a Croatian tennis player who won the boys' doubles title at the 2011 Wimbledon Championships in partnership with George Morgan.-External links:**...  Croatia 790 10 George Morgan George Morgan George Morgan may refer to:*George Morgan , American actor and author*George Morgan , American merchant and representative to Native Americans*George Morgan , American screenwriter...  United Kingdom 763.75 11 Andrew Whittington  Australia 715.25 12 Oliver Golding Oliver Golding Oliver Golding is a British tennis player and former child actor, mostly known for his part as Ewan in the 2005 film The Adventures of Greyfriars Bobby...  United Kingdom 718.75 13 Patrick Ofner  Austria 7169.25 14 Roberto Carballes Baena  Spain 692.5 15 Joao Pedro Sorgi  Brazil 671.25 16 Matias Sborowitz  Chile 671.50 17 Jeson Patrombon  Philippines 626.25 18 Robin Kern  Germany 613.75 19 Joris De Loore  Belgium 592.5 20 Bruno Sant'Anna  Brazil 570

Junior girls rankings (5 September 2011) Rk Name Nation Points +/- 1 An-Sophie Mestach An-Sophie Mestach An-Sophie Mestach is a junior Belgian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 408, which she reached on 4 April 2011...  Belgium 1277.5 2 Irina Khromacheva Irina Khromacheva Irina Khromacheva is a junior Russian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 347th, which she reached on November 14, 2011. Her current singles ranking as of November 14, 2011, is 347th.- Personal life :...  Russia 1200 3 Ashleigh Barty Ashleigh Barty Ashleigh Barty is a junior Australian tennis player who is currently the number 3 ranked junior in the world.- Junior Grand Slam singles finals :-External links:...  Australia 1085 4 Eugénie Bouchard Eugénie Bouchard Eugenie "Genie" Bouchard is a Canadian professional tennis player. On November 21, 2011, she reached her highest WTA singles ranking of 301. She is currently playing on the Junior Circuit and on the ITF Circuit.-Early life:...  Canada 975 5 Monica Puig Mónica Puig Mónica Puig is a junior Puerto Rican tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 310, attained on May 9, 2011. Currently Monica WTA single ranking is 313 as of May 16, 2011....  Puerto Rico 860 6 Ons Jabeur Ons Jabeur Ons Jabeur is a Tunisian tennis player. She won the Petits Ducs tournament in Dijon in 2008, and is a two-time under-16s champion in Africa. She got to the final of the 2010 French Open girls' singles, but lost to Elina Svitolina...  Tunisia 850 7 Daria Gavrilova Daria Gavrilova Daria Gavrilova is a junior Russian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 347, which she reached on May 02, 2011.Daria highest junior ITF ranking is at No. 1 reached on August 23, 2010.-2010:...  Russia 810 8 Danka Kovnic  Montenegro 782.5 9 Montserrat Gonzalez  Paraguay 773.75 10 Indy De Vroome  Netherlands 757.5 11 Natalija Kostic Natalija Kostić Natalija Kostić is a Serbian professional tennis player. As of 14 November 2011, she is ranked World No. 12 at the ITF Junior Circuit and No. 589 at the WTA Tour, with her highest rankings being World No. 5 and No. 588, respectively...  Serbia 753.75 12 Caroline Garcia Caroline Garcia Caroline Garcia is a French professional tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 141, which she reached on August 15, 2011. Her career high in doubles is 357, achieved on August 15, 2011....  France 735 13 Lauren Davis Lauren Davis Lauren Davis is a professional American tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 328, which she reached on August 1, 2011.-Personal life:...  United States 680 14 Yulia Putintseva Yulia Putintseva Yulia Putintseva is a junior Russian tennis player. Her highest WTA singles ranking is 230, which she reached on October 24, 2011.- Personal life :...  Russia 665 15 Jovana Jaksic  Serbia 636.25 16 Victoria Bosio  Argentina 630 17 Madison Keys Madison Keys Madison Keys is an American tennis player who, on July 13, 2009 at the age of 14, as a member of the Philadelphia Freedoms, beat reigning Wimbledon champion Serena Williams in women's singles by a score of 5–1. Keys earned her by beating Beatrice Capra in a wildcard playoff on Aug. 21, 2011.She...  United States 600 18 Anett Kontaveit Anett Kontaveit Anett Kontaveit is an Estonian female junior tennis player. Kontaveit won Estonian Championships in 2009 and again in 2010 being the youngest player ever in Estonia to do so. From February 2010 Anett Kontaveit is coached by Märten Tamla.She has had success on the junior tour, her best grand slam...  Estonia 591.25 19 Sofiya Kovalets  Ukraine 585 20 Alison Van Uytvanck Alison van Uytvanck Alison van Uytvanck is a Belgian professional tennis player who is currently ranked World No. 297.In 2011, she won 4 ITF singles titles in Vale Do Lobo , Dijon , Edinburgh and Sunderland...  Belgium 560

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 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.

External links

• Homepage of ITF Junior Tennis