30 September 2025 | Tennis Victoria

Congratulations to the incredibly talented junior athletes who have been named finalists for the 2025 Junior Athlete of the Year Award.

The Junior Athlete of the Year award recognises outstanding junior athletes who have represented Victoria or Australia and/or participated on a Tennis Australia interstate or international Tour and/or in any Australian Championships. They have displayed an appropriate and commendable attitude on and off the court. They have a commendable ATP, ITF or AR ranking, and have complied with all rules and conducts set by Tennis Australia. 

Meet the Finalists:

Ava Beck

17-year-old Ava Beck claimed singles titles at the J200 Miki and J100 Canberra before adding the 2025 J100 Mornington crown to her record. She also competed at the 2025 Australian Open, reaching the Round of 64 in singles and the Round of 32 in doubles. In doubles, Ava’s success includes titles at the J300 Beaulieu-sur-Mer, J100 Canberra and J100 Mornington in 2025, as well as the J200 Sydney and J100 Canberra in 2024. Rising to a career-high ranking of No. 82 during the nomination period, Ava continues to be one of Australia’s top junior prospects.

Scarlett Dattoli

At 16-years-old, Scarlett Dattoli has claimed doubles titles at the 2025 J100 Monterrey and the O5k J125 GBS North West Swan Hill Open and Junior Tournament, also take home the mixed doubles at the latter event. Rising to a career-high ranking of No. 285 during the nomination period, Scarlett has shown strong performances across singles, doubles and mixed doubles.

Koharu Nishikawa

16-year-old Koharu Nishikawa captured the 2024 J100 The Hague singles title and competed at the 2025 Australian Open, reaching the Round of 32. In doubles, she secured titles at the J200 Sydney and J100 Canberra in 2024. Koharu rose to a career-high ranking of No. 132 during the nomination period, continuing to build her formidable reputation.

Daniel Jovanovski

17-year-old Daniel Jovanovski captured singles titles at the 2025 J200 Sydney (Regional Championships) and J60 Darwin, also reaching the Round of 64 in singles at the 2025 Australian Open. In doubles, he won the 2025 J60 Gold Coast and reached the Round of 32 at the Australian Open. Daniel rose to a career-high ranking of No. 99 during the nomination period, establishing himself as one of our top junior prospects.

Novak Palombo

Novak Palombo, who is just 13-years-old, claimed singles titles at the 2024 12/u & 14/u Australian Hardcourt Championships and the Australian Junior Tour Year-End Finals, also winning the doubles titles at both events. He also won the Junior Orange Bowl championship in December 2024 in the 12-and-under category in the USA. Novak is already showing the skill and composure of a player well beyond his years.

Jin Woodman

16-year-old Jin Woodman has risen to No. 3 in the Junior Singles ITF rankings and No. 9 in Quad Singles as of September 2025. Earlier this year, Jin was supposed to go to Korea and Japan to compete, but suffered an injury to his femur which forced him to make a break from tennis. However Jin made his comeback recently, at the 2025 US Open, where he avenged his 2025 Australian Open defeat to Ahmet Kaplan from Turkey, defeating the No. 4 seed 6-1, 4-6, 6-2 to reach the US Open quad singles quarterfinals, proving he is a player to keep your eyes on.

When the winner is announced on Sunday 26 October at Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club, who will join the list of athletes below? If you’d like to attend the Tennis Victoria Player Awards, a limited number of tickets are available now.

Previous Winners: