Four new national singles champions have been crowned at the 2026 12/u and 14/u Australian Claycourt Championships held at the Canberra Tennis Centre.
The finals were a fitting end to a tournament that has hosted 128 players from around Australia over the past week, providing the opportunity to compete for national titles and gain valuable match experience.
The girls 12/u singles final saw top seed South Australia’s Sadie Gillard deliver a dominant performance, defeating Queensland’s Vanessa Fitzgerald 6-2 6-0 to claim the title following a strong run through the draw.
In the boys 12/u final, Queensland’s Thoma Bogatyrev capped off an outstanding week with a 6-1 6-3 victory over New South Wales’ Rohan Tejani, showcasing consistency across the tournament.
The girls 14/u final featured an impressive performance from top seed Queensland’s Seung Yeon Seo, who defeated New South Wales’ Latasha Thimmaiah 6-0 6-1 to secure the championship. Seo delivered a commanding campaign throughout the week.
The boys 14/u final produced one of the matches of the tournament, with Victoria’s Ayush Salunkhe fighting back from a set down to defeat ACT’s Tommy Camus 2-6 7-5 6-4.
Tournament Director Mark Pead said the event once again highlighted the strength of emerging Australian talent. “We have had another fantastic week here in Canberra for the 12/u and 14/u Australian Claycourt Championships. The level of competition continues to rise each year, and it’s been great to see players embrace the challenge of claycourt tennis.
“Congratulations to all of the players who competed, and thank you to the team at Tennis World Canberra and Tennis ACT for their ongoing support and delivery of the event.”
ACT National Development Head Coach, Tom George said it is an honour for the ACT to host the Championships and highlighted the value of the event for junior development.
“It is an honour for the ACT to host the Australian Claycourt Championships at the Canberra Tennis Centre. We are very proud of the 12 Italian claycourts that are world class. It is a great experience for the top juniors in the country to come together for these competitive matches and refine their skills on the clay. They learn to construct points due to the longer rallies on a slower surface, slide on the clay, further develop racquet head speed and develop mental toughness due to the long, gruelling rallies where they need to have strong emotional control and the ability to manage fatigue during extended matches. Having guaranteed top quality matches on the clay is wonderful for their development and ensures they are ready for future clay events domestically and internationally.”
George continued, “The 11 ACT players performed admirably against the nation’s best. ACT won two of the national titles on offer with Tommy Camus (ACT) partnering Ayush Salunkhe (VIC) to win the Boys 14/U Doubles title. Celeste Rubiano (ACT) partnered Maria Gabrys (NSW) to win the Girls 12/U Doubles title. Tommy Camus also reached the final of the singles event. Other stand out performances were Piyushi Bandara (ACT) and Celeste Rubiano (ACT) reaching the singles quarter finals.”
ACT was also well represented across the draws with Tia Barrimore, Alicia Yang, Mitchell Rankin, Dave Gandhi, Jairus Dass, Lindsay Grave, Jana Ayad and Alexandra Lindrud all gaining valuable national-level experience throughout the tournament.
George said: “Across the board, our ACT athletes demonstrated strong effort and competitiveness, and it’s encouraging to see their continued development on the national stage, gaining valuable experience competing against the nation’s best.”
Three National Junior Championships are played each year on each of the Grand Slam surfaces – clay, grass and hard court – as part of Tennis Australia’s player development pathway. A junior teams’ championship will also be held later this year.
RESULTS
2026 12/u and 14/u Australian Claycourt Championships title winners
12/u Singles Girls
Sadie Gillard (SA) d Vanessa Fitzgerald (QLD) 6-2 6-0
12/u Singles Boys
Thoma Bogatyrev (QLD) d Rohan Tejani (NSW) 6-1 6-3
14/u Singles Girls
Seung Yeon Seo (QLD) d Latasha Thimmaiah (NSW) 6-0 6-1
14/u Singles Boys
Ayush Salunkhe (VIC) d Tommy Camus (ACT) 2-6 7-5 6-4
12/u Doubles Girls
Maria Gabrys (NSW) / Celeste Rubiano (ACT) d Maria Ivanova (QLD) / Amber Zhang (NSW) 6-4 6-4
12/u Doubles Boys
Thoma Bogatyrev (QLD) / Rafe Croll (QLD) d Ken Dalla Pozza (NSW) / Gavy Dhindsa (VIC) 6-2 6-4
14/u Doubles Girls
Hope Johns (QLD) / Lucy Page (QLD) d Esther Meng (VIC) / Latasha Thimmaiah (NSW) 5-7 6-3 [10-7]
14/u Doubles Boys
Tommy Camus (ACT) / Ayush Salunkhe (VIC) d Arrush Gaikwad (NSW) / Zayd Joosab (QLD) 3-6 7-5 [10-5]
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