Melbourne, Australia , 4 December 2023 | Leigh Rogers

Jizelle Sibai is proving one to watch at this week’s 14-and-under Australian Junior Tour Masters.

The 14-year-old from Sydney is the top seed in the girls’ singles competition and has conceded just four games across her opening two round-robin wins at the December Showdown.

“I’m playing pretty well,” Sibai said after recording a 6-0 6-2 victory today against Victorian Pauline Ma at Melbourne Park.

“I’m moving well and playing my game. Being the No.1 seed is okay. I guess there is a little bit of pressure, but I feel worthy to be the No.1.”

Sibai is looking to improve on the ninth-place finish she recorded in the event at the 2022 December Showdown.

“I struggled, so a year later to be the No.1 seed in the same tournament feels good,” Sibai said.

Last year’s December Showdown was Sibai’s first experience playing in a professional environment with umpires and linespeople. She was originally a reserve, before snaring a last-minute place in the draw.

Since then, the promising athlete was recorded several impressive results.

Sibai was a finalist at the 14/u Australian Junior Grasscourt Championships in January and led New South Wales’ 13-and-under team to victory at the 2023 Australian Teams Championships in June.

She represented Australia in a 14 and under event at Wimbledon in July and then claimed her maiden ITF junior singles title at Fiji during October.

Sibai is now determined to finish a memorable season by clinching the Australian Junior Tour Masters title.

“It would mean a lot and be a good confidence booster,” she said. “I do feel like I’m ready for another step in my journey.”

> READ: Jizelle Sibai – A rising star of Australian tennis

The round-robin stage of the 14/u Australian Junior Tour Masters concludes tomorrow, with the top-performing athletes progressing to knock-out quarterfinals.

The boys’ and girls’ singles finals in the 14/u event are scheduled for Friday 8 December.

> FOLLOW: Live scores from the December Showdown

More than 260 of Australia’s leading junior athletes are competing at the 2023 December Showdown, which runs until 16 December at Melbourne Park. Entry is free for spectators wishing to attend.

14/U AUSTRALIAN JUNIOR TOUR MASTERS

TODAY’S RESULTS
Girls’ singles, round-robin
[1] Jizelle Sibai (NSW) d Pauline Ma (Vic) 6-0 6-2
[2] Georgia Campbell (Qld) d Isabella Cameron (Vic) 6-0 6-0
[3] Brooke Komorowski (NSW) d [13] Sofia Savic (Qld) 6-2 6-3
[5] Leana Nannapaneni (SA) d [10] Ruby Thompson (NSW) 6-4 6-4
[6] Bhavya Bhardwaj (NSW) d [11] Elena Manoj (WA) 6-4 6-3
[7] Jennifer Ott (NSW) d [9] Tori Russell (Qld) 6-3 6-4
[8] Emelie Chen (NSW) d Isabella Welsh (Qld) 6-3 6-2
[12] Vesna Marinkov (NSW) d Jovana Novakovic (WA) 6-2 6-2
[16] Angel Warang (NSW) d [4] Scarlett Dattoli (Vic) 6-2 6-3
Sophia Gregg (NSW) d [14] Valentyna Rosa (NSW) 6-0 7-6(5)
Tongni Chen (NSW) d [15] Karin Hiramatsu (WA) 6-3 6-1
Claudia Shearwood (WA) d Elisa Mouhtaropoulos (Vic) 6-1 6-0
Mia Slatina (NSW) d Ashlee Lessue (SA) 6-3 3-6 [10-3]
Isabelle Criddle (WA) d Lily Khonsavang (Vic) 7-6(6) 6-0
Aurelie Kostova (Vic) d Ana Popovich (Qld) 6-2 2-6 [10-5]
Jessica Fernandez (NSW) d Addison Franklin (WA) 6-7(5) 6-2 [10-7]

Boys’ singles, round-robin
[1] Nikolas Baker (Vic) d [16] Lachlan Rye (Qld) 6-2 6-4
[2] Lachlan King (Vic) d [15] Jake Spurrell (Qld) 6-3 6-4
[4] Connor McEvoy (Qld) d [14] Salvatore Soepardi (Vic) 6-3 6-0
[6] Shannon Anek (NSW) d [12] Elroi Chiripamberi (WA) 6-3 6-2
[7] Jenson Yokota-Ho (Vic) d [9] Ethan Domingo (NSW) 2-6 6-4 [10-6]
[10] Flynn Coventry-Searle (NSW) d [8] Pengju Chen (NSW) 6-2 7-5
[11] Samarth Patel (Qld) d [5] Heaton Pann (NSW) 6-4 2-6 [10-3]
[13] Raphael Savelli (Vic) d [3] George Diable (WA) 7-5 7-5
Arkin Amin-Patel (Qld) d Joseph X. Zhang (NSW) 4-6 6-4 [10-8]
Charlie William Grainger (SA) d Darren Lew (Vic) 0-6 6-1 [10-3]
Christopher Sakal (NSW) d Lakshya Bidhuri (Vic) 6-1 6-2
Hayato Sata (Vic) d Elijah Liu (WA) 6-4 6-7(3) [11-9]
George Wills (Vic) d Zachary Chai (Qld) 6-0 6-1
Jonathan Zhang (Vic) d Thomas George (Vic) 6-2 6-1
Oliver Hancin (Vic) d Max Edwards (SA) 6-1 6-1
Oliver Lam (NSW) d Parth Chitroda (Vic) 6-0 7-5

> VIEW: 14/u Australian Junior Tour Masters draws

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