20 September 2018 | Tennis Australia

The bright future of Australian tennis will be on show next week, as six rising stars get set to compete in the Junior Davis Cup and Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas Finals in Budapest, Hungary from 25-30 September.

The Junior Davis Cup team sees Australia’s top three ranked 16-and-under players Chen Dong (Yeronga, Qld), Tai Sach (Varsity Lakes, Qld) and Cooper White (Alphington, Vic) led by Tennis Australia Performance coach Mark Draper.

Sixteen-year-old Olivia Gadecki (Hollywell, Qld), 15-year-old Annerly Poulos (ACT) and 14-year-old Anastasia Berezov (Terrey Hills, NSW) will compete for Australia’s Junior Fed Cup team, with accomplished tennis coach Emma Doyle taking on the captaincy.

All six players have been selected for the premier 16/u teams’ event after impressive results both in Australia and around the world at elite junior events.

The group has been in Europe competing and training for the past month in preparation for the Finals which get underway next week.

Australia will compete against 15 other teams from around the world who qualified from their respective Africa, North / Central America, South America, Europe and Asia / Oceania regional zones held earlier in the year.

Tennis Australia Head of Women’s Tennis Nicole Pratt, believes Junior Davis and Fed Cup are the perfect stepping stone for junior athletes wanting to get a feel for professional tennis.

“Junior Fed and Davis Cups are two of the most respected events on the junior calendar,” Pratt said.

“It’s a great platform for junior development with the world’s best coming together to compete for their country, it provides a great opportunity for our players to gauge what level they are at.

“The teams have had some really strong preparation leading into this event and I’m sure they will bring their best tennis to the table when they compete next week.”

One of the impressive junior prospects, Annerly Poulos is hoping her recent form will help with the team’s result.

“The lead in preparation has been really good, it’s always good to get so many matches in before an event, it’s helped all of us gain form and confidence in our game so it’s been really good,” Poulos said.

“The goal for Junior Fed Cup is to win, but to do that we just need to take it day-by-day, focus on what we do best and hopefully the results will speak for themselves.”

Meanwhile Chen Dong is looking forward to the Junior Davis Cup.

“To represent Australia is about competitiveness; our three mottos are compete, commit and respect,” Dong said.

“Hopefully we can just make our country proud, keep fighting, show them what Australia is like and how we compete… It’s been a big dream for me to compete for Australia since I was 8 years old so I’m really looking forward to it,” Dong said.

Notable 2018 Junior ITF tournament results

Junior Davis Cup – Australian 16-and-under boys’ team

Chen Dong

15-years-old from Yeronga, Queensland

2018 ITF Junior tournament singles results: 32-9 W/L record

• Singles finalist – ITF 3 Ockel Tournament Leeuwenberg Championship, Netherlands (Sept 2018)
• Singles finalist – China Junior 6 Grade 3 (March 2018)
• Singles finalist – China Junior 5 Grade 4 (March 2018)
• Winner – China Junior 1 Grade 4 (January 2018)

Tai Sach

16-years-old from Varsity Lakes, Queensland

2018 ITF Junior tournament doubles results: 11-11 W/L record

• Singles semifinalist – ITF3 Ockel Tournament Leeuwenberg Championship, Netherlands (Sept 2018)
• Doubles finalist – ITF3 Ockel Tournament Leeuwenberg Championship, Netherlands (Sept 2018)

Cooper White

15-years-old from Alphington, Victoria

2018 ITF Junior tournament doubles results: 21-12 W/L record

• Doubles finalist – Australian Winter International (August 2018)
• Singles semifinalist – Darwin Junior International (June 2018)
• Doubles finalist – Darwin Junior International (June 2018)
• Doubles finalist – Nicholas Lynch Real Estate Victorian Junior International (April 2018)
• Singles finalist – Canberra Junior International
• Doubles winner – Canberra Junior International

Junior Fed Cup – Australian 16-and-under girls’ team

Anastasia Berezov

14-years-old from Terrey Hills, NSW

2018 ITF Junior tournament singles results: 14-7 W/L record

• Doubles finalist – 4th Torneo Internazionale Junior “Citta’ Di Palermo” (Sept 2018)
• Singles semifinalist – Australian Winter International (August 2018)
• Singles winner – Wilson Tennis Canterbury ITF (Feb 2018)

Olivia Gadecki

16-years-old from Hollywell, Qld

2018 ITF Junior tournament doubles results: 19-3 W/L record

• Singles finalist – 4th Torneo Internazionale Junior “Citta’ Di Palermo” (Sept 2018)
• Doubles winner – 4th Torneo Internazionale Junior “Citta’ Di Palermo” (Sept 2018)
• Doubles winner – ITF3 Ockel Tournament Leeuwenbergh Championships 2018 (Sept 2018)
• Singles semifinalist – Mapei Gold Coast Junior International (July 2018)
• Doubles winner – Mapei Gold Coast Junior International (July 2018)
• Doubles winner – Rod Laver Queensland Junior Championships (July 2018)
• Singles semifinalist – NZ ITF Summer Championships 2018 (Feb 2018)

Annerly Poulos

15-years-old from Canberra

2018 ITF Junior tournament singles results: 26-8 W/L record

• Singles winner – ITF3 Ockel Tournament Leeuwenbergh Championships 2018 (Sept 2018)
• Doubles winner – ITF3 Ockel Tournament Leeuwenbergh Championships 2018 (Sept 2018)
• Singles winner – 4th Torneo Internazionale Junior “Citta’ Di Palermo” (Sept 2018)
• Doubles winner – 4th Torneo Internazionale Junior “Citta’ Di Palermo” (Sept 2018)
• Singles winner – Australian Winter International (August 2018)
• Doubles finalist – Australian Winter International (August 2018)

For more information and a list of nations competing at the Junior Davis and Fed Cup Finals visit: itftennis.com/juniors/