British junior teams qualify for the 2024 Tennis Europe Winter Cup Finals
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Three of the Great Britain junior teams have clinched a place in the finals of this year’s Tennis Europe Winter Cup following last week’s qualifiers.
12U teams set for Finals on home soil
Both the Great Britain 12U boys and girls teams will compete in a home final this weekend in Sunderland.
The boys team – led by Frederick Fabricius, Kai Max Hodkinson and Oskar Laskowski – qualified for the finals having finished runners-up in Zone D.
The Brits won all six of their rubbers against Romania and Turkey en route to the final against Slovakia.
Facing the Slovakian side, Laskowski and Hodkinson both lost their singles matches in straight sets, before the Brits closed out their weekend with a 4-1, 5-3 win over Martin Adamca and Lubos Husenica.
“The team have qualified from a tough group in Istanbul, beating a talented Turkish team in the semi-final in front of a large and very partisan Turkish crowd,” said team captain and LTA National Age Group Coach Richard Plews.
“The most pleasing part of the performance was their growth as a team. The boys worked on their doubles tactics and skills during the week and produced a really excellent level in all their matches.
“Their willingness to take risks and be brave at the net was effective and will benefit both their doubles and singles development. The support for each other and their ability to maintain good energy & teamwork were the stand out qualities.”
The girls team made it through to the semi-finals with a 3-0 win over Netherlands, where they narrowly lost to Croatia.
The squad – consisting of Sophia Cuninghame, Naina Kapoor and Dasha Jones – would eventually finish third, after a comprehensive 3-0 win over Latvia in the play-off.
Despite missing out on a qualification spot, the Brits gain automatic entry into the finals as the host nation.
The 12U Tennis Europe Winter Cup Finals will take place at Sunderland Tennis Centre from 9-11 February. Follow the draws and results
14U boys qualify for Germany
The top seeded GB 14U boys team will head to Niederzier in Germany for the finals having closed out qualifying weekend as the Zone B runners-up.
Having got a bye in the quarter-finals, the British team – Scott Watson, Niall Pickerd-Barua and Eric Lorimer – put in a dominant display against Portugal, dropping just 14 games across three matches.
In the final they eventually lost out to a strong French side. Watson lost a close singles rubber against Quentin Dodin 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-5, before Pickerd-Barua was defeated by Pablo Pradat.
The Brits got their final win in the doubles after Lorimer and Pickerd-Barua clinched a 7-5, 6-4 victory over Dodin and Rafael Thao-Keuang.
“As last year’s champions, it was great to qualify for the Finals once again,” said team captain and LTA National Age Group Coach, Chris Wilkinson.
“We have a strong squad of players and there is no reason why we can’t replicate that success again this year. I thought the team performed very well in the qualifiers.”
The 14U boys finals are set to take place on 15-17 February. Follow the draws and results.
Despite strong performances, the 14U girls team and both GB 16U squads unfortunately didn’t qualify for their finals. Final standings:
- 14U girls: Zone C – Third place
- 16U girls: Zone D – Fourth place
- 16U boys: Zone A – Quarter-final
