Between ITF Junior Tour events and qualifying rounds for international competition, the last month was an extremely busy one for junior tennis on Canadian soil.
Canada hosted four ITF junior tournaments as well as the qualifying for the major junior team events. Needless to say, there were a lot of opportunities for Canada’s aspiring tennis players to show their stuff on home soil.
Here is the monthly junior tennis update by Har-Tru.
The first of the ITF events was held in Woodbridge, ON, followed by Kingston, ON, Quebec City, QC, and finally Verdun, QC.
In Woodbridge, Canada’s top-ranked junior, Nadia Lagaev, successfully defended her title. She was the top seed and did not drop a set in the tournament. She lost just one game or fewer in six of 10 sets.
The title was her third so far in 2025, fifth at the J200 level, and eighth overall on the ITF junior circuit. Her 2024 victory in Woodbridge was her first J200 win.
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Volodymyr Gurenko was the biggest Canadian winner at home over the last month, lifting trophies at three of the four events. He won the doubles in Woodbridge and the singles in both Kingston and Ile des Soeurs. The two singles titles were his first two of the year, while the doubles was his second, having won a J300 in Lima, Peru, in February.
Gurenko could have picked up a trophy in each city but was denied by his countryman Dani Szabo in Quebec City. Szabo beat Gurenko in straight sets for the singles title. It was his second title of the spring Canadian swing as Szabo also won the doubles in Kingston, making him and Gurenko the only two Canadians to win in multiple cities.
After winning two of four draws in the first two events, the Canadians improved their fortunes in Quebec City by claiming three trophies. Laurence Demers won the girls singles title in her hometown, beating top seed Kaya Moe in three sets in the final. Demers defeated Billie Jean King Cup Juniors teammate Charlize Celebrini in the semifinals. Clemence Mercier added a girls doubles title to the Canadian haul.
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Verdun was the most successful event for the host nation as the Canadians swept the titles.
Here is the full list of winners from the Canadian ITF junior events over the last month. All winners are Canadian unless otherwise indicated:
| Boys Singles | Girls Singles | Boys Doubles | Girls Doubles |
J200 Woodbridge | Matisse Farzam (USA) | Nadia Lagaev | Volodymyr Gurenko/ | Kaya Moe (USA)/ |
J100 Kingston | Volodymyr Gurenko | Thara Gowda (USA) | Pablo Robledo Hoyos (COL)/ | Thara Gowda (USA)/ |
J100 Quebec City | Dani Szabo | Laurence Demers | Owen Guistwite (USA)/ | Clemence Mercier/ |
J60 Ile des Soeurs | Volodymyr Gurenko | Viviana Mihai | Enoch Lin/ | Sophie Dement/ |
There is no let-up for the ITF Junior tour in Canada as there are seven events taking place over the next six weeks. The tour spreads out with tournaments in the Maritimes over the next two weeks before heading to Alberta later in May.
Canadians were not just winning on home soil over the last month. There were many victories abroad by Canada’s juniors, headlined by Avery Alexander’s three titles.
Here is the full list of Canadians who reached finals at events outside of Canada over the last month (Titles in bold)
Avery Alexander: J60 Santa Cruz girls singles champion, J60 Managua girls singles champion, J60 Santa Crus girls doubles champion, J60 Managua girls doubles runner-up
Benjamin Azar: J100 San Jose 2 boys singles champion, J100 San Jose 1 boys singles runner-up, J100 San Jose 1 boys doubles runner-up, J100 San Jose 2 boys doubles runner-up
Antoine Clavel: J30 Le Diamant boys doubles champion (w/ Pelletier, d. Hamel van Dun), J30 Saint-Francois boys doubles champion (w/ Pelletier)
Samuel Pelletier: J30 Le Diamant boys doubles champion (w/ Clavel, d. Hamel van Dun), J30 Saint-Francois boys doubles champion (w/ Clavel)
Mathias Hamel van Dun: J30 Le Diamant boys singles champion, J30 Le Diamant boys doubles runner-up (l. To Clavel/Pelletier)
Kye McDadi: J30 Bridgetown boys doubles champion (w/ O’Neill, d. Lallier/Woo)
Thomas O’Neill: J30 Bridgetown boys doubles champion (w/ McDadi, d. Lallier/Woo)
Emy Gauvin: J30 Le Diamant girls doubles champion (w/ Puente)
Tessa Puente: J30 Le Diamant girls doubles champion (w/ Gauvin)
Jay Lin Gibson: J100 Wuhan boys doubles runner-up, J60 Shenzhen boys singles runner-up
Andrea Cabio: J200 Aldershot girls doubles runner-up
Finn Muller: J60 Liepaja boys doubles runner-up
Jolie Mastre: J30 Bridgetown girls doubles runner-up
Romy Gravenor: J30 Ibague girls singles runner-up
Marc-Edouard Lallier: J30 Bridgetown boys doubles runner-up (w/ Woo, l. to McDadi/O’Neill)
Brayden Woo: J30 Bridgetown boys doubles runner-up (w/ Lallier, l. to McDadi/O’Neill)
Camille Michel: J30 Christiansted girls doubles runner-up
Team Canada Shines in Qualifying
In April, the North and Central America and Caribbean qualifying rounds of the Billie Jean King Cup Juniors, Davis Cup Juniors, and U14 ITF World Junior Tennis events were held at IGA Stadium in Montreal.
Photo : David Kirouac
Canada cleaned up, with all four teams booking their spots in their respective finals later in the year.
Click the links below to read about the daily results:
- Day 1: U14s Shine for Canada on Day One of ITF World Junior Tennis
- Day 2: Canada Shocks USA in Billie Jean King Cup Juniors Qualifying
- Day 3: All Four Canadian Teams Qualify for ITF World Junior Tennis Team Finals
Rankings Update
After her win in Woodbridge, Nadia Lagaev remains the top Canadian in the ITF junior rankings at No. 40 on the girls side. She is currently the only Canadian in the Top 100, male or female.
Volodymyr Gurenko is the top Canadian boy. His title last week in Ile des Soeurs saw him jump to a career-high ranking of No. 119.
Check out the full ITF junior rankings here.
Feature Photo : David Kirouac
