Four rising stars have claimed national titles at the 2025 12/u and 14/u De Minaur Junior Tour Finals at Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre, while also securing their positions as the newest athletes in the Alex de Minaur Foundation for 2026.
Victorian players led the way across the week, with Oliver Baker, Darcy Basist, and Novak Palombo all securing singles trophies. New South Wales’ top seed Ami Dalla Pozza also added her name to the honour roll in the girls’ 14/u event.
In the boys’ 12/u final, second seed Oliver Baker dominated over third seed Ethan Wang (NSW) 7-6(3) 2-6 6-3, while top seed Darcy Basist claimed the girls’ 12/u title with a 6-1 6-3 win against fellow Victorian Kyla Guirguis.
The boys’ 14/u title was awarded to top seed Novak Palombo, who showed a commanding performance against Sebastian Lavorato (NSW) to win the final 6-0 6-0.
“I think I just played really well. I played with the wind, had some good strategies and believed in myself,” said 13-year-old Palombo, adding that he has been working on his serve and further developing his backhand in recent months.
In the girls’ 14/u final, New South Wales’ Ami Dalla Pozza secured the title with a 6-1 6-2 victory over Eleni Makantasis (Vic).
“It feels pretty good, it’s exciting to win a national title,” said Dalla Pozza, describing the performance as one of the biggest wins of her junior career.
RELATED: Rising Aussies: Ami Dalla Pozza
Alongside becoming national champions, the four winners will now join the Alex de Minaur Foundation in 2026. The Foundation provides a year-long high-performance development experience connected to De Minaur and his team.
This includes attending a camp at the United Cup in January, where the athletes will have the opportunity to observe Team Australia's preparations and spend time learning from the world No.6 himself.
Doubles champions were also crowned, with Jobe Dikkenberg (Qld) and Ethan Wang (NSW) winning the boys’ 12/u event, Grace Janjua and Jocelyn Jia (Vic) winning the girls’ 12/u title, Christopher Manton and Novak Palombo (Vic) claiming the boys’ 14/u title, and Ami Dalla Pozza (NSW) partnering with Eleni Makantasis (Vic) to prevail in the girls’ 14/u doubles.
Attention now shifts to Tasmania for the 16/u and 18/u Australian Championships, taking place in Launceston from 7 to 15 December, where the final national titles of the year will be decided.
beIN SPORTS is the home of the Pro Tour & Junior Nationals in Australia. Sign up now for a seven-day free trial.