Australia, 14 December 2021 | Leigh Rogers

In an exciting sign for the future of Australian tennis, the competition for Male Junior Athlete of the Year honours at the 2021 Australian Tennis Awards is exceptionally strong.

Four promising athletes have been named finalists for the award, which is presented annually to a leading 18 and under player who has achieved a commendable ranking in his age group and displayed a positive attitude throughout the season.

The finalists for the 2021 Male Junior Athlete of the Year Award are:

Charlie Camus (ACT): Camus won the 14 and under Australian Clay-court Championships in April. Since then, the now 15-year-old has posted 26 wins from 31 matches on the ITF World Junior Tour. He has claimed four titles in total, winning three tournaments in France and another in Great Britain.

James McCabe (NSW): The 18-year-old built a 13-5 win-loss record in ITF World Junior Tour events across Europe in 2021, with two final appearances helping him achieve a career-high world junior ranking of No.71 in October. McCabe also recently advanced to two ITF Futures quarterfinals to earn his first ATP Tour ranking points.

Philip Sekulic (Qld): Making his junior Grand Slam debuts at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and US Open were 2021 highlights for the 18-year-old, whose ITF junior ranking peaked at world No.22. Sekulic won more than 30 matches for the season at junior level and also made back-to-back ITF Future finals in India last month.

Edward Winter (SA): The hard-working 17-year-old from Adelaide was undefeated in ITF World Tour junior events in Australia during 2021, winning all 20 matches he contested to claim four titles. Winter was also a consistent performer during the UTR Pro Tennis Series and currently has the highest UTR for an Australian in his birth year.

The award winner will be announced at the Australian Tennis Awards on Friday 17 December.

All finalists are hoping to join a stellar list of past recipients, which includes Newcombe Medal winners Alex de Minaur and Nick Kyrgios.

> READ: Finalists announced for the 2021 Australian Tennis Awards