WA continues to prove it’s position as a leader in the development of world class junior tennis players, with 4 WA Players selected from a possible 12 positions, in the ITF World Junior Teams and Junior Fed Cup Team.
Rising tennis stars, Zach Viiala (Claremont), Jessie Culley (Cottesloe) and Taylah Preston (Hocking) will head to Malaysia in April to represent Australia in the World Junior Teams Event (14/U), whilst fourteen year old Talia Gibson (Alfred Cove) was selected for the prestigious Junior Fed Cup Team (16/U) and will play in Thailand later this month.
Reinforcing WA’s selection dominance, Tennis West’s Talent Development Manager, Damien Ward extends the states representation, named Coach of the Boys World Junior Team.
With both domestic and international success, Zach Viiala (13), is currently Australia’s top U14 player, and joins the ITF Boys World Junior Team as the number one player in the team. Selection in the World Junior Team augments Zach’s international exposure, having being selected in 2018 for the prestigious Longine’s Future Tennis Aces Tournament in Paris – an event reserved for the world’s top juniors. Zach was also selected for a subsequent Australian Representative tour of Europe, which followed later in 2018.
Representing Australia in the ITF Girls World Junior Team is Taylah Preston (13) and Jessie Culley (13). Having shared victory at the National 14s Teams Championships at last year’s December Showdown in Melbourne, the pair are accustomed to joint success, winning the 2018 National Grasscourt Doubles Championships together in Adelaide.
Taylah Preston brings to the team an exemplary and highly respected work ethic, a signature quality that affords the young gun unrelenting momentum and success at tournaments, boasting quarterfinal appearances across a number of national competitions, including the 14/U National Championships held in December.
Taylah is also no stranger to international tours, having being selected alongside some of the best juniors in the country to take part in the 13/U European Tennis Tour in August last year.
With a paralleled work ethic, Jessie Culley became the 2017 Australian National Champion at the 12/U Australian Claycourt Championships, and continued her winning form at the 2017 WA State Championships and Victorian Junior Championships. Jessie’s impressive form resumed in 2018 as a quarterfinalist at the Australian Junior Grasscourt Championships and the 14/U Australian Championships held in December.
In continuing her remarkable start to 2019, Talia Gibson (14) was one of three girls selected for the ITF Junior Fed Cup Team, a selection even more impressive when considering Talia is a year younger than her teammates. After being crowed the 14/U National Champion at last year’s December Showdown in Melbourne, success continued for Talia, who joined Taylah Preston and Jessie Culley, in winning the 2018 14/U National Teams Championships.
One of Talia’s most impressive achievement to date, is in making the quarterfinals of the ITF J1 Traralgon Junior International (18/U) in January, where she beat top seeded and ranked players throughout the tournament, and continued to assert her presence as one to watch on the junior circuit. Talia’s first international tennis experience came in 2017 when she was selected on the Tennis Australia 13th Birth Year Tour that travelled around Germany for 4 weeks.
National Academy Manager Tom George says he and the Tennis West team are incredibly proud of the four WA juniors named in the representative teams, noting that the appointment of WA’s Talent Development Manager Damien Ward as coach of the Boys World Junior Team, highlights WA as a leading force in junior tennis.
“Having four of the twelve representative athletes named from WA is incredible, and a true testament to the quality of junior players being produced here in WA. Undeniably, each player will add enormous value to each of the teams they will represent”
“Damien’s appointment speaks volumes. There’s no denying how fortunate we are to have such a high calibre coach on the ground here in WA” Mr George said.
Tennis West CEO, Mr Michael Roberts said the national selections provide unprecedented confidence to all of those involved in the development of junior tennis in WA.
“What these selections prove, is that we’re on the right path in developing world class tennis players right here in WA”
“From our grassroots activities aimed at increasing participation within schools and communities, to investing in coach development and high performance training environments, without a doubt, WA has become a dominant force across the national landscape of tennis” Mr Roberts said.
The ITF World Junior Teams and Fed Cup competitions require nations to win through zone qualifying in order to progress to the Final. Australia will play off against 16 teams within the Asia/Oceanic region, needing to finish in the top four to progress to the Final. Finals are played out in four round robin groups before the top teams progress to the Quarterfinals, where a knock-out competition decides the eventual Champion country.
The full team list is detailed below:
World Junior Teams – Girls
Hana Sonton (Qld)
Taylah Preston (WA)
Jessie Culley (WA)
Coach: Steve Blundell (VIC)
World Junior Teams – Boys
Zach Viiala (WA)
Jeremy Zhang (NSW)
Alex Despoja (SA)
Coach: Damien Ward (WA)
Junior Fed Cup
Annerley Poulos (ACT)
Anastasia Berezov (NSW)
Talia Gibson (WA)
Coach: Jaslyn Hewitt-Shehadie (NSW)
Junior Davis Cup
Philip Sekulic (QLD)
Cooper White (VIC)
Shuannon Tricerri (NSW)
Coach: Bernard Goerlitz (NSW)
-ends-
ITF World Junior Tennis History
The ITF World Junior Tennis competition was started by the ITF in 1991. In the inaugural year, 12 nations were nominated to take part with Spain boys and Czechoslovakia girls emerging the overall winners.
The format changed in 1992 when regional qualifying events were introduced, a system that is still used today with the top teams reaching the Finals. The Finals were held in Japan until 1998, but the following year they were moved to the clay court venue of TK Plus Centre in Prostejov, Czech Republic. This venue continues to be used today.
A number of the past participants have gone on to become household names on the ATP and WTA tours. Former winners in the boys’ event include Rafael Nadal, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, David Nalbandian and Richard Gasquet, while Justine Henin, Kim Clijsters, Amelie Mauresmo, Daniela Hantuchova and Vera Zvonareva have all appeared in the girls’ event.
ITF Junior Fed Cup and Junior Davis Cup History
The International Team Competition for players aged 16 & under was launched by the ITF in 1985 as the “World Youth Cup” with NEC as the title sponsor between 1988 and 2001.
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 2005.
From the competition’s inaugural year in 1985 when 44 nations took part in regional qualifying with the top 16 boys’ and 16 girls’ teams moving through to the Final in Kobe, Japan, the competition has gone from strength to strength. The number of participants has grown to around 100 nations each year.
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