🎾 Roehampton was the place to be on Good Friday for an Easter tennis treat courtesy of the Lexus Junior National Championships. A busy summer of live tennis in London is underway!
A packed house at the National Tennis Centre was treated to two high quality U18s finals on the feature day at the Junior National Championships. At stake in both, a wild card into the Wimbledon Qualifying Tournament along with a guaranteed spot in the draw for the Junior Wimbledon Championships.
Up first in the Girls’ Final, top seed Mika Stojsavljevic from Middlesex went head-to-head with Surrey’s Hannah Klugman the No.2 seed and runner-up from 2024. The two 16-year-olds put on a show to remember as they underlined just why they are viewed as two future stars of British tennis.
Stojsavljevic – who made headlines last September becoming the first Brit in 15 years to claim US Open junior title – battled back from a set down to seal a 3-6, 6-2, 7-5 victory in a compelling match that lasted two hours and seven minutes.
In the Boys’ final, Surrey’s Oliver Bonding emerged victorious again as he beat Kent’s Benjamin Gusic Wan 6-2, 6-3, with his powerful serve proving to be a potent weapon on the hard courts at the LTA’s National Tennis Centre. Bonding’s victory brought up back-to-back titles in the U18 Boys’ Final.
The event heralded the start of a busy summer of tennis in the capital. Fast forward to June and history will be made at The Queen’s Club which hosts the inaugural HSBC Championships WTA 500 from Monday 9 to Sunday 16 June. It’s the first time in over 50 years that Queen’s has hosted women’s professional tennis. Australian Open champion Madison Keys, British No.1 Katie Boulter, Japanese star Naomi Osaka and former US Open winner Emma Raducanu are all set to compete.
A week later there’s more world-class tennis in West Kensington courtesy of the HSBC Championships ATP500. Taking place from Monday 16 to 22 June, reigning Wimbledon men’s champion Carlos Alcaraz is back to try and reclaim the title he won in 2023.
From West Kensington to the road to SW19, the Wimbledon Qualifying Tournament takes centre stage from Monday 23 to Thursday 26 June. The stakes are high with 32 places (16 for women, 16 for men) in the Wimbledon Championships at stake. For ticket release news subscribe now ⤵️ to the SportonSpec tennis newsletter. An essential guide for breaking news on live tennis experiences in London.
And if you enjoy your stars from years gone by the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic at the Hurlingham Club is the place to be on Saturday 28 June for its annual serving of legends action. Talking of which Park Theatre in Finsbury Park is set for sell-out crowds when it hosts ‘Jimmy’ – the one-man show inspired by the original bad boy of tennis Jimmy Connors – for a limited run starting on Monday 23 June.
Saving the best till last the Wimbledon Championships on the hallowed turf of the All England Lawn Tennis Club take centre stage from Monday 30 to Sunday 13 July. Fourteen days of world-class tennis awaits at the famous tournament which first took place in the 1870s. This year’s ticket ballot has closed but The Queue will once again be in operation with Grounds and Show Court tickets available daily.