Australia’s leading junior tennis players have closed out the 2025 season with national champions crowned across the 12/u, 14/u, 16/u and 18/u age groups, following end-of-year events in Sydney and Launceston.
Action began at Sydney Olympic Park Tennis Centre where four rising stars claimed national titles at the 2025 12/u and 14/u De Minaur Junior Tour Finals.
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.
Top seed Palombo showed a commanding performance in the boys’ 14/u final, saying belief and smart decision-making were key to his dominant performance.
“I think I just played really well. I played with the wind, had some good strategies and believed in myself,” Palombo said. “This is my first 14-and-under national title, so it’s definitely right up there among my best wins.”
Girls’ 14/u winner Ami Dalla Pozza described the victory as one of the biggest moments of her junior career.
“It feels pretty good, it’s exciting to win a national title,” Dalla Pozza said. “I think the start of both sets was pretty tough, but once I got some momentum, I handled the conditions well.”
Alongside their national titles, all four singles champions earned selection into the Alex de Minaur Foundation for 2026, gaining access to a year of high-performance development alongside De Minaur himself, including an upcoming camp at the United Cup in January.
Attention then turned to Tasmania, where Australia’s top juniors competed at the 18/u and 16/u Australian Championships at the Launceston Regional Tennis Centre.
Emilie Chen (NSW) and Luca Connaughton (Vic) emerged as the nation’s leading under-18 players, claiming singles titles and securing main draw wildcards into both the 2026 Burnie and Launceston International Australian Pro Tour events.
Just 15 years old, Chen produced a standout week to defeat a series of older opponents before claiming the girls’ title, while Connaughton capped off his junior career with a commanding win in the boys’ final.
Chen’s Launceston campaign continued the following week, where she backed up her performance and added the 16/u Australian Championship to her growing list of achievements.
“It feels pretty unreal,” Chen said. “I came into this week trying not to put too much pressure on myself after winning last week. I just focused on every match and am really happy to win again.”
Chen also credited the past two weeks of competition as an important learning experience as she continues to progress through the junior pathway.
“I learned a lot from all of my matches, especially winning in three sets and staying mentally strong,” she said. “Now that I’ve got the wildcard, my next event is definitely the ITF J300 in Traralgon and then AO juniors. I’m hoping to win a couple of rounds there and hoping to play more higher-level ITFs from now on.”
In the boys’ 16/u event, Lachlan King (Vic) claimed his first individual national title, overcoming a challenging draw and tough conditions throughout the week.
“It feels pretty nice to be honest,” King said. “I’ve done alright at a few teams events, but individually, this one was pretty special.”
Both 16/u champions earned main-draw wildcards into the 2026 Australian Open Junior Championships and the AGL Loy Yang Traralgon Junior International, marking a significant milestone in their development as they prepare for the next stage of their junior careers.
The national finals once again highlighted the strength of Tennis Australia’s junior pathway, with players earning opportunities to step onto the international stage while gaining invaluable experience competing against the best in their age groups.