2 May 2011 | Tennis Queensland

The Australian Junior Fed Cup team, including top QLD junior Ashleigh Barty, has defeated top seeds Japan 2-0 to win the Asia Oceania qualifying event in New Delhi, India.

The second seeded Australian team of Ashleigh Barty (Qld), Belinda Woolcock (Vic) and Brooke Rischbieth (SA) with captain Ken Richardson stormed through the event, winning their round-robin matches over India, Sri Lanka and No.8 seed Thailand, and qualifying for the world final with a quarterfinal win over No.6 seed Kazakhstan.

In the semis the girls dropped just seven games in three matches to win 3-0 over Chinese Taipei, setting up a final showdown against top seed Japan. Barty and Woolcock were pushed to three sets for the first time during the week, with Woolcock prevailing 6-3 2-6 6-2 and Barty winning 6-7(5) 6-2 6-0.

The girls join Australia’s Junior Davis Cup team, Thanasi Kokkinakis (SA), Nick Kyrgios (ACT), Blake Mott (NSW) in the number one spot for Asia Oceania qualifying, results which will help them achieve a favourable seeding in the world finals of Junior Davis & Fed Cup in Mexico later in the year.

Junior Davis Cup and Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas are international team events for boys and girls aged 16 and under.  The finals will be played between 16 nations in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, in September.

Junior Davis Cup and Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas background

The international team competition for players aged 16 and under was launched by the International Tennis Federation in 1985 as the World Youth Cup.  In 2002 the ITF re-branded the boys’ competition as part of a new partnership with BNP Paribas to Junior Davis Cup by BNP Paribas.  The girls’ competition was also changed to Junior Fed Cup by BNP Paribas in 2006.

Australia has won the World Youth Cup boys event four times, in 1985, 1986, 1987 and 2000, and was runner-up in 1990 and 1996.  In 2007 Australia won both the Junior Davis Cup and Junior Fed Cup, and in 2009  Jason Kubler (Qld), Luke Saville (SA) and Joey Swaysland (NSW), captained by Ray Ruffels, won the Junior Davis Cup.

ITF World Junior Tennis competition

This week Asia Oceania qualifying commences in Kuching, Malaysia, for the ITF 14/u World Junior Tennis Competition. Australia is represented by Marc Polmans (Vic), Omar Jasika (Vic) and Jake Delaney (NSW), under the leadership of former player and now National Academy coach, Wayne Arthurs. The No.2 seeded Australian team meets home team Malaysia in first round action today.